Aqib Talib Explains Why He Ripped Michael Crabtree’s Gold Chain Off His Neck

Things got testy during the AFC West battle between the Denver Broncos and Oakland Raiders on Sunday.  During the first quarter, Aqib Talib and Michael Crabtree had a brief little shoving match then Talib got up in Crabtree’s face and ripped his gold chain from his neck, in front of an official.  Talib then reenacted it in front of his teammates as he sat on the bench.

“I can’t react, or [the referees are] going to kick me out,” Crabtree said via ESPN. “Then I’m the bad guy.”

Crabtree also called Talib “fake” as a football player.

“Acting,” Crabtree said. “You aren’t defending anybody up like that.  You hard? You tough? You snatch a chain in front of the police and run off? Childish, man.”

Talib later explained his reason for ripping the chain off.

“He’s just been wearing that chain all year, man, it’s just been growing on me,” Talib told reporters in the Broncos locker room after the game. “I said if he wears that chain in front of me, I’m going to snatch it off. So he wore it in front of me, so I had to snatch it off.”

Crabtree also had issues with the referees, saying they were “one-sided” and that they treated him like a “criminal” during the game.

“Disrespectful,” Crabtree said of their treatment of him. “They were acting like I was the problem. That’s what I didn’t like. I’m not even that type of dude. I play football … I could have cut [blocked] him; I could have hurt him. But I don’t like that.”

The Broncos beat the Raiders 24-6, but they were eliminated from playoff contention with a 9-7 record.  The 12-4 Raiders will face the Houston Texans in the AFC Wild Card game on Saturday, Jan. 7 at 1:35 p.m PST, 4:35 p.m. EST.