National Football League

Maurkice Pouncey and Clifton Geathers get heated at Steelers minicamp

Published Jun. 16, 2015 6:57 p.m. ET

foxsports

Tempers flared in the trenches on the first day of Steelers minicamp Tuesday.

Center Maurkice Pouncey and defensive lineman Clifton Geathers got into a fight toward the end of practice, and their linemates didn't hesitate to join the fray, according to PennLive.com.

Both players declined comment after practice, but Pouncey did eventually confirm that the incident occurred.

"Haha, I don't know, it's football," Pouncey said, a sentiment shared by head coach Mike Tomlin.

"It’s football," Tomlin said after the session via Steelers.com. "It’s obviously not something you embrace, but it’s an element that comes with the game. It’s an opportunity to teach more than anything, and that’s the way I approach it. Things are going to happen along the way, as we build this group, which will provide us with opportunities to instruct our guys on how to deal with situations when they occur in the fall. When it’s happening out here, under this setting, that’s the spirit in which I approach it. Obviously, if it happens later, this will be a different story."

Pouncey on O-line fight with Geathers: "We don't go out there to patty-cake. Things happen sometimes and tempers get flared. #steelers
— Chris Bradford (@BCTBradford) June 16, 2015

h/t: PennLive.com