There’s no question that, out of the current Pittsburgh Steelers players, CB Joey Porter Jr. has the most unique perspective on the organization. He spent a lot of formative years around the Steelers thanks to his father, Joey Porter. That meant he was already familiar with members of the staff, including head coach Mike Tomlin.
It also meant that Porter grew up not only watching Pittsburgh closely but also keeping an eye on the team’s AFC North rivals. When Porter joined Daniel Jeremiah and James Palmer on NFL Network’s Inside Training Camp Live, he was asked about a player he could not stand. That gave him a chance to shed some light on some hatred he harbored against a well-known, and equally as hated, player on the Cincinnati Bengals.
“That’s tough, but I’ve got to go with Vontaze Burfict,” Porter said Saturday after practcie. “Like I have nothing towards him, he doesn’t even know me. But just that rivalry around that time, it was crazy. We did not like that guy at all.”
There’s no question that Burfict might be one of the most universally disliked players from the 2010s. The linebacker played seven seasons with the Bengals from 2012-2018, and he was a constant point of contention whenever he was on the field. In fact, he was fined in three separate seasons for conduct against Pittsburgh alone, including the 2015 postseason when he knocked out WR Antonio Brown with a headshot.
That hit on Brown also brought Burfict and the original Joey Porter together. At that time, Porter Sr. served as a defensive coach for the Steelers. Porter Sr. came out onto the field to check on the injured Brown, which led to a confrontation with Burfict and others from Cincinnati. The Bengals were flagged twice, once for Burfict’s hit and a second time for when Burfict’s teammate Adam “Pacman” Jones went after Porter. That led to Pittsburgh kicking the game-winning field goal.
It’s quite easy to understand why Porter Jr. would grow up hating Burfict after watching him injure players like Brown and then even getting involved in confrontations with Porter’s father. There are plenty of Steelers fans who feel exactly the same way about Burfict.
