MINNEAPOLIS -- Minnesota Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr explained his version of events after Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers went on Conan O'Brien's late-night talk show and detailed what happened after the play where he suffered a broken collarbone.
Barr's hit on Rodgers, which knocked the quarterback out of the game in Week 6 and for the foreseeable future, has added to the vitriol of the Vikings-Packers rivalry.
Fox's television cameras caught Rodgers yelling in Barr's direction as he walked off the field and only kept the quarterback in frame until the next play began. On "Conan," Rodgers said the cameras missed Barr giving him the finger and a "suck it" sign.
Rodgers said that Barr gestured to him, so Barr started yelling at the quarterback. Barr says the opposite occurred -- that Rodgers yelled profanities first, and Barr responded by gesturing at him. Barr replied on Twitter.
"smh this guy got y'all fooled man," Barr's tweet said. "after the play i go back to the huddle, don't even look or say a word to him. once he gets up i'm waiting for the play call, and hear someone shouting all kinds of profanities. i look over and it's y'all mans calling me all kinds of names, F you this F you that as he's walking off the field. so naturally, i responded. i don't care if you aaron rodgers or Mr. Rodgers, if you say something like that you're gonna get a response from me. i could go on a talk show every weekend and complain about the 'disrespectful' things players say or do. if he takes the lick and keeps it pushing we aren't STILL talking about this. get over it. #13dayslater."
Barr initially said he could not make out what Rodgers was saying.
"I wasn't really paying attention," Barr said the day he was removed from the NFL's concussion protocol. "I saw the replay kind of blurred his mouth out. He wasn't happy, and I understand. He probably realized that he was injured at that time, and he wasn't happy. I probably would have had that same reaction. It's fine."
Barr's hit on Rodgers was not deemed illegal, but the NFL gave the linebacker a $9,115 fine for head-butting Packers WR Davante Adams in the same game.
The Vikings are in London preparing to face the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. Kickoff is set for 9:30 a.m. ET.