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Panthers receiver Steve Smith recently boasted that he ruined the career for former NFL cornerback Fred Smoot.

Smoot, who rarely chooses to say nothing, has responded to Smith.

“I think he’s a bully,” Smoot said regarding Smith, on 106.7 The Fan in D.C. “Actually, I think he’s a weak bully at that. And I’ll be honest with that. I don’t care about saying that. He’s Steve Incognito to me. I call him Steve ‘Pinocchio’ Smith, cause he’s a liar. He went on national TV and lied. He’s a liar.”

Smooth had more. A lot more.

“I can say this about Steve Smith, and I can say this, my worst day in the NFL, he had a part in,” Smoot said, in reference to a 2005 game between the Vikings and Panthers. “He’s the guy that beat me. But I don’t say he beat me. [Quarterback Jake] Delhomme threw great passes all day long, and beat me. I had Ted Cottrell as a defensive coordinator call Cover Three all day, and got me beat. So it’s fine, I don’t make excuses. He beat me. But no, you didn’t ruin my career, and yes, I’m happy and I’m still smiling, and I’m good, and I’m fine Steve Smith. So don’t worry about it, Steve Incognito. You’re so soft.”

And there was even more.

“He’s soft!” Smoot exclaimed. “I’ve seen him jump on Ken Lucas. Ken Lucas, anybody will tell you about Ken Lucas. . . . Only reason [Smith] wants to fight people during a game, is because we got helmets on, we got shoulder pads on, and somebody’s gonna rush and break it up . Referee, teammate, it doesn’t matter.

“Put it like this, if I’m in a dark alley and I’m gonna fight a couple guys, I don’t want Steve Smith with me. He’s nothing but a talker, he’s soft. Come to Mississippi with that. That’s what you do. You come to Mississippi and we’ll teach you a couple lessons out there. We’ll show you how to be tough. He’s not tough. He wants to fight everybody in front of everybody, when he knows everybody’s gonna break the fight up.”

And the ball is now back in Smith’s court. We have a feeling he’ll smack is back over the net.