Steelers Ward Wins “Dirtiest Player in the NFL” Award

By: Matt Loede

Ward
We all know that Hines Ward is a tremendous blocker, and yes, he’s knocked some players out over the years (Earl Little and Keith Rivers come to mind), but would you call him “dirty”? That’s the results of a poll on Sports Illustrated, that called Ward and the Skins Albert Haynesworth as the two dirtiest players in the game.

Here’s the tidbit from PFT:

A Sports Illustrated poll of NFL players has found that Hines Ward is considered by his colleagues to be the dirtiest player in the league, with Albert Haynesworth and Joey Porter tied for second.

The question, “Who is the dirtiest player in the league?” was asked of 296 players during training camp this summer, and Ward, the Steelers’ wide receiver, got 11.6 percent of the vote, according to Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Haynesworth, the Redskins defensive tackle who as a Tennessee Titan in 2006 received a five-game suspension for stepping on the helmetless head of Cowboys center Andre Gurode, got 6 percent of the vote. Porter, the Dolphins’ linebacker, also got 6 percent.

Rounding out the Top 5 (or should it be Bottom 5?) are Bengals safety Roy Williams, who got 5.1 percent of the vote, and Titans center Kevin Mawae, with 4.6% percent.