This weekend, former Houston Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson will be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. As the NFL world gears up for his enshrinement and looks back at his career accomplishments, one of the most viral moments of his time in the league is coming back to the forefront: The on-field fight with Courtland Finnegan.
Back on Nov. 28, 2010, Houston was taking on the Tennessee Titans in a Week 12 matchup. It was in that game between AFC South rivals where Johnson and Finnegan would come to blows in a vicious fight that was won by the Texans' star pass catcher. After a third-and-8 play with just over eight minutes left in the game, Finnegan could be seen jamming Johnson at the line of scrimmage by hitting him in the head/neck area. While the play (a run up the right side) went on, the two instantly started brawling. Johnson could be seen ripping Finnegan's helmet off and then throwing him to the ground.
"People think that's something that just happened out of the blue," Johnson recently told KPRC2's Chancellor Johnson about the fight. "That had been going on for probably about three or four years. He [Finnegan] had been asking for it, though, because even his teammates knew. His teammates even admitted that he karate-chopped me under the pile. Tried to hit me in my throat one time, so it was little stuff he did. It wasn't just me. It was the other guys that he played against that he did stuff to, too. I just wasn't a person who tolerated it."
Both players were ejected from the game, but -- as Johnson noted -- his teammates didn't think much of the incident because of Finnegan's reputation as a dirty player. In fact, Johnson even got a hero's welcome later that night when he attended a Houston Rockets game.
"Nobody really said much about it 'cause they knew he was an a--hole," Johnson said of Finnegan. "Somebody was going to do it to him sooner or later, so nobody really cared. The funniest thing was me and Vonta Leach, we went to a Rockets game that night and I walked in and they gave me a standing ovation. That was the funny thing. I would say they probably enjoyed it more than anything. As far as the team, it was what it was."
Johnson and Finnegan were fined $25,000 by the NFL, but it doesn't sound like the receiver had to dip into his wallet to pay the fine. Rumor has it that various receivers around the league pooled together to pay Johnson's fine because Finnegan had acted similarly to them throughout his career.
"I don't know how that fine got paid," Johnson said with a smirk when asked if his fellow receivers paid it. "That's all I'll say."
Johnson, a seven-time Pro Bowler, enters the Hall of Fame as the Houston Texans' all-time leader in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. He also holds the NFL record for most seasons with 100 or more receptions and 1,400 yards with four.