RENTON, Wash. -- Seattle Seahawks defensive end Frank Clark said he apologized to Germain Ifedi and the rest of his teammates after punching Ifedi in the face and getting kicked out of practice earlier this month.
"It was a heat of the moment thing," Clark said. "I let my emotions overcome the situation. For a brief moment, I thought that myself, that I was bigger than the team in all regards. I thought about myself first before I thought about my defense as a whole and my defensive line, to be more specific. Because it was a one-on-one drill. And that was basically it. It was an overheated thing. We always get heated up. It's O-Line, D-Line. It's supposed to happen. But it just got taken too far."
"I just wanted to let them know that I was actually sorry. And I wanted to let Germain know that I was sorry, besides the team. ... I just wanted to let him know that it was my fault and that it would never get to that point again."Frank Clark, on his apology to the Seahawks and teammate Germain Ifedi
During an Aug. 3 practice, Ifedi was jawing with defensive players when Clark punched him. Ifedi wasn't wearing a helmet at the time, and the punch knocked him to the ground. Pete Carroll ejected Clark from practice, and Ifedi missed three days of work because of the injury.
Carroll held Clark out of practice the day after the fight to discipline him. Clark missed additional days because of an MCL sprain in his knee.
Clark said he has apologized to Ifedi individually.
"The biggest message was just letting them know how remorseful I was," Clark said. "I just wanted to let them know that I was actually sorry. And I wanted to let Germain know that I was sorry, besides the team. That was my biggest thing. I just wanted to let him know that it was my fault and that it would never get to that point again. I'm sure things are going to get heated again. It's football. It's the offensive line and defensive line. But you've got to be aware of those situations and know how to take the actions out another kind of way."
In addition to meeting with Carroll, Clark said he also heard from general manager John Schneider.
"John Schneider came up to me and said, 'Do we have to have another one of those conversations?' And the first thing I said was, 'No,'" Clark said. "Because three years in, I understand what it takes to be a part of this team and what it takes to be a part of the NFL."