PRO FOOTBALL / DAILY REPORT : AROUND THE NFL : Woodson Accuses Bengal of Racial Slur

Rod Woodson, cornerback for the Pittsburgh Steelers, said a Cincinnati Bengal taunted him with a racial slur during Sunday’s game.

Woodson didn’t identify the player or disclose what was said, but the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that two unidentified Steelers said Bengal wide receiver Carl Pickens taunted Woodson with the phrase “jungle fever,” a reference to the Spike Lee film by that title about a white woman who falls in love with a black man.

“I was upset,” said Woodson, who is married to a white woman and who has a black father and a white mother. “A lot of talking goes on in football, but what was said doesn’t go on very much.” Pickens is black.

After initially confronting Bengal Coach David Shula after the Steelers’ 24-16 victory, Woodson got into a brief altercation with Pickens. Witnesses say Woodson took a swing at Pickens as the two teams walked to the locker rooms.

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Dallas quarterback Troy Aikman, limping with the first pulled hamstring of his career, said he might try acupuncture in an effort to play next Sunday against Phoenix. Aikman was injured during the third quarter of Sunday’s 31-9 victory over the New York Giants. . . . Pro Bowl guard Carlton Haselrig has returned to the Steelers, six weeks after leaving the team to enter a substance-abuse treatment center for the second time this year. Dallas Cowboy tight end Jim Price will undergo surgery on his right foot today and will be sidelined for the rest of the season. Price was acquired in a trade with the Rams on Oct. 5. . . . Defensive end Michael Sinclair and linebacker Rufus Porter of Seattle have been sidelined for the season. Sinclair suffered a broken right thumb in Sunday’s game against Houston and Porter suffered a torn right Achilles’ tendon.