Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson mediated a truce between former NFL players Taylor Lewan and former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Andrew Hawkins following a viral dispute.

The WWE star reportedly used a text thread to resolve the 48-hour clash over Canadian Football League rules.

"Don’t want to go into it too much here… but I hopped on a call with @TaylorLewan77 and we talked it out like men," read Andrew Hawkins' X post on May 5. "We agree to disagree on some things, but overall agree we are both fathers, sons, uncles, nephews, brothers, and cousins and that neither of us were proud how showed up in the last 24 hours. We good. Thanks to @TheRock for connecting us via text.

The conflict ignited when Lewan, co-host of the Bussin' With The Boy podcast, shared a clip from a 2024 matchup between the Toronto Argonauts and Saskatchewan Roughriders.

The footage showed the Argonauts clinching a 20-19 victory on a missed field goal that travelled through the end zone.

From there, the exchange had quickly escalated, with both former players firing personal shots while debating CFL football culture and roster standards,

The game itself ended on a rogue, to which Lewan criticised the play on X, calling it "the dumbest rule" he had ever seen. To which Hawkins fired back, calling Lewan a "NOOB" and jokingly threatening to show him what "Saskatoonians" would do to him north of the border.

As the dust had settled, Hawkins admitted neither side was proud of how things unfolded publicly, officially putting an end to one of football social media's most unexpected clashes of the week.

What Happened Between Lewan and Hawkins?

The social media altercation between Taylor Lewan and Andrew Hawkins did not cool off after just one exchange. Instead, the two former NFL players reignited the argument several times over nearly 48 hours.

The first major back-and-forth came after Hawkins responded to Lewan criticising the CFL's rogue rule while reacting to a clip involving the Toronto Argonauts and Saskatchewan Roughriders.

After Hawkins defended the league, Lewan fired back.

“Just cuz I never got the once in a lifetime ‘opportunity’ to play in the CFL doesn’t mean the rules aren’t dumb as h***," Lewan's post read on X. " Standing on business for Canada football is CRAZY WORK 😂😂😂.”

Hawkins quickly responded with another jab while defending the history and competitiveness of the CFL.

“The fact you think you had what it takes to play in the CFL, shows how much you don’t know smh… Maybe you should google how those rules have been in place long before American football was even a thing,” Hawkins' X post read.

Then, Lewan shifted the conversation towards on-field competition, saying he would have dominated Hawkins and stopped him from winning a Grey Cup, to which Hawkins replied swiftly.

“Unfortunately for you, they could pick up a Taylor Lewan at any convenient store in Canada,” Hawkins' reply read.

Hawkins also took aim at Lewan’s college record at Michigan Wolverines football and referenced former CFL and NFL star Cameron Wake while continuing the online shots.

Read more at the Cincinnati Bengals Community!

Written by

Debanjali Rakshit

Edited by

Aadesh Dhote