Saints fan who grabbed Bengals ball breaks silence: 'I'm keeping the ball'

Tony Williams became the unexpected star of Sunday night's NFL matchup between Cincinnati Bengals and the New Orleans Saints when he grabbed a touchdown football intended for another fan. After receiving the ire of the Internet over the incident, Williams broke his silence on Monday.

"First of all I would like to say to the people of New Orleans I really wasn't trying to put the city down and make the city look bad. I love this city," the grandfather told ABC 26 New Orleans.

After Bengals tight end Jermaine Grisham scored a touchdown, he tossed the football to Christa Barrett, a woman wearing a Bengals jersey in the stands. However, Williams snagged the football intended for Barrett, and refused to give it up despite multiple pleas from Barrett and other fans in the section. The incident was captured and shared by many social media users, quickly becoming a trending topic online.

"She was pleading for me to give her the ball and I said 'no ma'am I'm keeping the ball,'" Williams told ABC 26. Saints fans in the section even began to chant "give her the ball!" but Williams still held onto the football, ESPN reported.

Williams has been a Saints season ticket holder for 46 years, and has caught balls three other times during games. "That's what we do down there because we're all on the first row. We have a chance to get the ball. When it comes our way we jockey for the ball. That's it," Williams told ABC 26.

"He's really not a bad guy. He's a loving, caring husband, father, grandfather," Williams' wife Minnie told ABC 26.

Following the incident, Jermaine Gresham reached out to the intercepted fans directly via Twitter.

Eventually Barrett was given another ball by the Saints organization.