Rascal Flatts have said they are done talking about kicking Eric Church off of their Me & My Gang Tour in 2006, but apparently the ‘Give Me Back My Hometown’ singer has more to say on the subject.

“I got fired,” Church explains simply to ‘CBS Sunday Morning.’ “We were on the Rascal Flatts tour, and it just honestly wasn’t a great fit. I’m not a guy that follows rules great and when some rules were put out there, I broke them. I probably played too long. I played louder than I was supposed to. I went to places on the stage I wasn’t supposed to go.”

The North Carolina native says he had a feeling that he was about to get kicked off the tour prior to the infamous show at Madison Square Gardens that sealed his fate.

“Well I kind of knew during [the show], but I thought if you’re gonna go down ..,” he recalls with a chuckle.

While it took Church a little while to recover from his negative reputation, he resurfaced stronger than ever, thanks in part to his 2011 No. 1 album, ‘Chief.’ But while the 36-year-old might be back in good graces with the country music community, he admits he still proudly wears his bad boy label, and proved he earned it when he recently got physical with a security guard who was interfering with a fan.

“It was more of a kick,” he explains. “Somewhat of a punch. It was a punch kick. It was however I could get to him. Because we came from bars and clubs, I don’t want anyone to ever assume I can’t handle the environment we’re in. When you play the places we’ve played, and now you’re where we are, let the spirit move.”

Church’s latest album, ‘The Outsiders,’ will be released Tuesday (Feb. 11). Order a copy here.

(the boot)