Anthony Chickillo was arrested over the weekend after a "domestic situation" involving his girlfriend, world-class pole vaulter Alysha Newman.
Monday, in the Steelers' return to practice at the Rooney Complex off their bye week, Chickillo was absent per the request of team officials. The Steelers have remained quiet on the situation as a whole, with team communications director Burt Lauten offering the following statement immediately after the initial report Sunday evening:
Statement from @Steelers Burt Lauten:
We are aware of an incident involving Anthony Chickillo last night and are still gathering information. Until we have further details we will not provide any further comments.#Steelers
— The Final Word (@WPXIFinalWord) October 21, 2019
Monday when asked, Steelers players remained similarly mum.
"I didn't get to really process it," Cam Heyward said. "I'm just letting everything unfold and looking at it from an outside perspective ... I don't need to say anything extra."
“No, I’m going to let coach [Mike Tomlin] handle that," Mason Rudolph added. "I know Anthony’s a great friend of mine, great dude. So we’re going to respect — obviously I want him back because he’s a great friend. But I’m going to let coach handle that logistically.”
Terrell Edmunds echoed the thoughts of both Heyward and Rudolph.
“No comment on it," Edmunds said. "Coach Tomlin can speak more about it. But just prayers for him.”
Asked if the situation would become a distraction for the team, Edmunds pushed the notion aside, instead offering the following:
“We’re just out here trying to get better," Edmunds said. "Keep on working. [We] had a good day of practice today, just trying to develop.”
Chickillo was released on $10,000 bail and has a preliminary hearing for charges of simple assault, criminal mischief and harassment on Oct. 30. Newman was also cited for harassment after the incident.
