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Vontaze Burfict: Public Perception 'Bothers Me a Lot' After 12-Game Suspension

Leila Coker/Associated Press

Vontaze Burfict has played seven years in the NFL and has been suspended for 22 games and fined more than $5.3 million. The linebacker knows the perception that his hard-hitting play carries. It hasn't been easy for him to wear it.

"I think about how the world sees me. That bothers me. It bothers me a lot," Burfict told NFL.com's Tom Pelissero. "People think (from what they see in) football, 'that's how he is off the field.' Nah."

Twelve of the games Burfict has been suspended for took place last year after he made helmet-to-helmet contact with the Indianapolis Colts' Jack Doyle during Week 4.