Schlereth: ‘Never, ever’ allowed to put hands on a teammate

By its nature, football is an emotionally-charged sport. Tempers will flare. Situations will get heated.

So, it shouldn’t come as a total surprise to fans watching Sunday night’s tilt between the Kansas City Chiefs and Denver Broncos when cornerback Aqib Talib and wide receiver Jordan Norwood scuffled during a tight, important divisional game.

But when Talib shoved Norwood — who was running off the field after muffing a punt in the fourth quarter, giving the Chiefs the ball right back — was when Sports Radio 104.3 The Fan’s Mark Schlereth said Tuesday that the star defender crossed the line.

“Tempers flare and you get heated and sometimes you get in a shouting match, but you’re never, ever, allowed to put your hands on guys. That is not appropriate,” said the “Schlereth and Evans” co-host.

By Monday morning, the water was under the bridge when Talib apologized to Norwood.

But when asked if he was “OK” with Norwood and Talib’s sideline interaction, head coach Gary Kubiak said, “I want our guys to compete.”

“They have to handle those situations better,” Kubiak said. “I tell our guys, ‘We battle together; we don’t battle each other.’ They understand that, but we’re out there competing.”

And with Talib being a player who feeds off his emotion, 9News Broncos Insider Mike Klis told “Schlereth and Evans” Tuesday that the club might go the way of chalking up the situation as “Aqib being Aqib.”

“Talib’s an emotional player, and I like that about him and I think a lot of people like that about him. He cares,” Klis said.

Klis added, “For better or worse, he’s an emotional player and he shows those emotions.”

Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @JohnnyHart7.