Packers GM/Head Coach Mike Sherman said Monday that he doesn't regret having confronted Warren Sapp on the field at Raymond James Stadium following the Packers' 21-7 loss to the Buccaneers Sunday, but he is disappointed that their meeting has overshadowed the events of the game itself.
"They're the No. 1 team in the National Football League right now," Sherman said of the Bucs. "They've done a great job and I certainly hope right now that yesterday didn't detract from that. They deserve all the accolades because they played a heck of a football game . . .
"I don't regret being honest and truthful about how I felt, no. I regret the fact that an issue has been made about it. (Buccaneers head coach) Jon Gruden won a big game yesterday and I would hate to think that this has taken away from that."
Sherman said he confronted Sapp to express his displeasure not so much with the hit that injured Packers offensive tackle Chad Clifton, but with the celebration that occurred while Clifton was on the ground hurt.
"I thought the reaction afterwards was what I responded more to, which I perceived as inappropriate," Sherman said. "That bothered me. I was concerned about a player's health. They tell me they had to take (Clifton) on a stretcher to an ambulance, so I was responding to Chad Clifton and his situation."
As of Monday, Clifton was still in a Tampa-area hospital having suffered multiple injuries to his pelvic region, which may keep him out for the remainder of the season.
The injury occurred midway through the third quarter when Sapp hit Clifton during Brian Kelly's 31-yard interception return. After the hit, Clifton experienced some numbness in his limbs and had to be carted off the field.
Sherman said his meeting with Sapp wasn't premeditated.
"I responded to the situation as it unfolded," Sherman said. "It's just the way I am. I just thought I should tell him how I felt about it. I didn't want to be confrontational, I just wanted to say what I felt was important.
"Chad wasn't there to represent himself. I just walked over and stated my piece and was going to leave it at that."
Gruden called the confrontation "inappropriate" at his press conference Monday morning, but Sherman said he understood Gruden's feelings.
"Jon's going to defend his player, just like I defended mine yesterday," Sherman said. "I have no problem with what Jon said. I would probably say the same thing.
"I see things a certain way and he sees them his way. He's head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I'm the head coach of the Green Bay Packers. I wouldn't expect it to be any different."
Asked if he felt the league would issue fines to Sapp or himself for the confrontation, Sherman said he didn't think they were in order.
"I don't think there should be any disciplinary action about the conversation either way," he said. "I stated my point of view, he stated his very eloquently. We leave it at that."
