Bill Romanowski

William Thomas "Bill" Romanowski (April 2nd, 1966 - ) is a former American football player. He was born in Vernon, Connecticut and is of Polish descent. A linebacker, he graduated from Rockville High School in 1984, Boston College in 1988 (with academic honors and Scanlan Award Recipient), and then went on to a 16-year career in the NFL, playing for the San Francisco 49ers (1988–1993), Philadelphia Eagles (1994–1995), Denver Broncos (1996–2001), and Oakland Raiders (2002–2003).

Romanowski played 243 consecutive games, an NFL record among linebackers, won 4 Super Bowl Championships, and is the only linebacker to start 5 Super Bowl Games (Super Bowl XXIII, Super Bowl XXIV, Super Bowl XXXII, Super Bowl XXXIII and Super Bowl XXXVII). During his 16 year career, Romanowski compiled 1,105 tackles, 39.5 sacks, 18 forced fumbles, and 18 interceptions, which he returned for a net total of 98 yards and 1 career touchdown. Romanowski was a Pro Bowl selection twice, in 1996 and 1998, both during his tenure with the Denver Broncos.

Altercations

Romanowski has been involved in numerous altercations with both teammates and opponents. In 1995, while with the Eagles, he was ejected from a game — and subsequently fined $4,500 — for kicking Arizona Cardinals fullback Larry Centers in the head.

Two more incidents occurred during the 1997 season while he played for the Broncos: In the first, he was fined $20,000 after a helmet-to-helmet hit on then-Carolina Panthers quarterback Kerry Collins in a preseason game resulting in Collins sustaining a broken jaw; in the second, Romanowski spat in the face of 49ers wide receiver J. J. Stokes in a regular-season game played in December on a Monday night in response to Stokes' taunting. Two years later, while still with the Broncos, he was fined a total of $42,500 for three illegal hits plus a punch thrown at Kansas City Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez, and was also fined an undisclosed amount for throwing a football at Bryan Cox of the New York Jets, the ball hitting him in the crotch area.

In 2003, Romanowski attacked and injured one of his teammates, Marcus Williams, during a scrimmage. Williams, a backup tight end for the Oakland Raiders, was forced to retire after Romanowski confronted Williams after a play, ripped off his helmet, and crushed his eye socket with a punch. Williams sued for damages of $3.4 million, arguing that Romanowski had been suffering from "roid rage" when he attacked him. This argument was later rejected by the judge on the grounds that Williams could not prove that Romanowski had actually used steroids on the same day as the attack. Williams was awarded $340,000. Williams was quoted as saying he and his lawyers "just wanted to prove what was right and wrong about football".

Involvement in the BALCO Scandal

Off the field, he and his wife were investigated for prescription drug fraud, though the charges were later dropped.Records seized by the government belonging to the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative, later discovered to be the source of a designer steroid, indicate that he had used the anabolic steroid "The Clear" and synthetic testosterone ointment "The Cream" provided by BALCO since 2003. In an October 16, 2005 appearance on 60 Minutes, Romanowski admitted to using steroids and human growth hormone that he received from Victor Conte, BALCO owner.