New York Jets safety Jamal Adams tackled Pat the Patriot on the sidelines during Pro Bowl practice on Thursday.
The hit resulted in the New England Patriots mascot being sent to the hospital.
The exchange began as a joke, but took a turn with the apparent injury.
Adams says the NFL has been calling him about the incident.
\"He [the mascot] was running around and everybody was booing him, so I said, \'You know what? Let me go tackle him,\'\" Adams said. \"I didn\'t hit him that hard, man. All jokes aside, I didn\'t hit him that hard. I don\'t know what\'s really going on, but they did tell me he\'s in the hospital. My intention was never to hurt him. it was all about just a joke but I definitely want to check on him and make sure everything is good. At the end of the day we were out here just having fun and it wasn\'t nothing intentionally to try to hurt the guy.\"
