Joe Horn on draft-day hugs: Roger Goodell 'will rip their throat apart'

Former New Orleans Saints receiver Joe Horn offered one of the strongest rebukes yet of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, calling him "the devil" and saying he doesn't like to see rookies hugging Goodell on the stage during the NFL draft.

Horn, who was one of the league's more brash, outspoken personalities when he played for the Kansas City Chiefs, Saints and Atlanta Falcons from 1996 to 2007, made his comments in a wide-ranging interview with TheFootballGirl.com.

"Here's what I don't like. I don't like what Roger Goodell is doing. He has so much power that he can almost shut people down. I just don't like him," said Horn, who went into his rant on Goodell when asked for his thoughts on the current state of the NFL.

"And I don't like that on draft day these kids don't know that they're hugging the devil. I hate to see kids that are lost and then happy but they really don't know that the man they're hugging will rip their throat apart. If he has an opportunity to take money from them, or there's a situation where they're guilty before they go to court, he'll rip them apart. And there's nothing no one can do about it. If the owners are happy with Roger Goodell, the fans, the media, no one can take his job from him. I hate it."

Horn was fined $30,000 under previous commissioner Paul Tagliabue for his infamous 2003 touchdown celebration with a cell phone hidden in the padding of a goalpost. He was fined at least $37,500 in his career.

Among other topics in the interview, Horn also said he's not mad at New England PatriotsquarterbackTom Brady for trying to "get ahead" if he had a part in deflating footballs.

Horn, however, said he has "disrespect" for Patriots coach Bill Belichick and thinks he should be suspended for a year for his part in Deflategate, because Belichick "knows what everyone is doing."