Bengals' Burfict blames NFL officials for provoking him into ejection

Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict was ejected from Sunday's game against the Tennessee Titans for making contact with an official, but it wasn't entirely his fault, at least according to the player himself.

Burfict asserted he was egged on by the referees, though he did recognize he acted in an inappropriate way.

Related - Watch: Bengals' Burfict ejected vs. Titans for contacting official

"The refs, they come up to me, talking to me disrespectfully, wanting me to curse back at them, but me cursing back at them isn't going to help me," Burfict said Friday, according to Laurel Pfahler of ESPN. "I'm not going to get a flag in my favor next time around, but that's the way they handle business, I guess. I told Coach I'm just going to try to stay out of the refs' way."

Burfict added: "Obviously, you are not supposed to touch the officials, but I didn't think I touched him maliciously at all. I pretty much said, 'Excuse me.'"

Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis told ESPN's Adam Schefter earlier in the week that Burfict needs to let the officials do their job and focus on his own.

"They have a job to do and they are going to separate players, and players are in a situation where they are there," Lewis said. "That's not what this is about, where the NFL should be. So, get back to the huddle and get going, and that's the most important thing."