Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward was voted the NFL's dirtiest player in a Sports Illustrated players poll.

He won by a wide margin, receiving 11.6 percent of the vote, to beat out Washington Redskins defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth and Miami Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter.

"I beat Joey? Wow," Ward said. "How can I be the dirtiest player on the field, a little, old wideout with no speed? I don't know whether to be happy or mad about it."

Ward broke Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Keith Rivers' jaw on a block last year, prompting the league to enact the Hines Ward Rule penalizing crack-back blocks.

"I'm not going to change the way I play," Ward said. "If people think I'm dirty, I apologize to them now."

Ward's teammate defended his rugged approach to the game.

"By no shape, form or fashion do I consider Hines a dirty person," outside linebacker James Harrison said. "Those must be people who can't take a little bit of a crack-back block. I don't consider it dirty."

Added free safety Ryan Clark: "Other guys are such pansies now. When I play a guy like Hines, I vote for that guy to go to the Pro Bowl."

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