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In 13 NFL seasons, Joe Horn caught 603 passes for 8,744 yards and 58 touchdowns. Back in 2003, he also pulled a cell phone from a goal post during a touchdown celebration that resulted in a $30,000 fine. Thirteen years later, Steelers wideout Antonio Brown was flagged for his "sexually suggestive" touchdown dance, and he was later fined for too many pumps.

So suffice it to say that Horn isn't a fan on the league's continued crackdown on player expression, and he holds commissioner Roger Goodell, the man he once referred to as "the devil," responsible.

"Roger Goodell wants to control," Horn told SI.com's Jonathan Jones recently. "Referees think you're overly celebrating and they throw flags. It's either going to count against your team or it's going to count out of your pocket. It's control, man. They want to control. He controls the players."

And Horn was just getting warmed up.

"Roger Goodell is like the Vladimir f------ Putin of the NFL," he continued. "You quote me on that s---. Roger Goodell is the Vladimir Putin of the NFL when it comes to players. Putin punks every country when he gets ready to. And there's no rules when it comes to Putin, and Goodell is the same f------ way when it comes to players. He sets all the standards."

To carry the analogy further, wouldn't Goodell have dissenting voices taken care of?

"If they read that quote, they would know that he's not having people killed and none of the players killed," Horn explained. "But as far as dictatorship, as far as making moves to do what he wants, that's what Putin does."

If nothing else, Horn has been consistent in his distaste for Goodell. In May 2015, he echoed similar sentiments.

"Here's what I don't like," Horn said at the time. "I don't like what Roger Goodell is doing. He has so much power that he can almost shut people down. I just don't like him. And I don't like that on draft day these kids don't know that they're hugging the devil. I hate to see kids that are lost and then happy but they really don't know that the man they're hugging will rip their throat apart. If he has an opportunity to take money from them, or there's a situation where they're guilty before they go to court, he'll rip them apart. And there's nothing no one can do about it. If the owners are happy with Roger Goodell, the fans, the media, no one can take his job from him. I hate it."

While this is the first time we've heard Goodell compared to Putin, the Russian president has made NFL news before. In 2013, Patriots owner Robert Kraft insinuated that Putin stole his Super Bowl ring. Putin, meanwhile, had a different retelling of events.