Mike Tomlin generally stays away from the media in the offseason. Most years, from the time he holds his season-ending press conference when the Steelers' season ends until the NFL meetings in the spring, Tomlin goes on a media blackout.
But Browns defensive end Myles Garrett's decision to rehash his accusation of the use of a racial slur by Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph got Tomlin's dander up.
Tomlin appeared on ESPN's "First Take" on Monday morning with Stephen A. Smith said he felt the need to defend Rudolph after Garrett was a guest on the network's show, "Outside the Lines" and reiterated his claims that the Steelers quarterback used a racial slur during the melee that took place at the end of their game in Cleveland Nov. 14.
"I took offense to it to be quite honest with you," Tomlin said. "We were hacked off with what we saw this weekend.
"When it first transpired during the season, we don’t have a lot of time to pause and fight battles of that nature. We said our piece, we were completely cooperative with all parties involved, the Cleveland Browns and the National Football League office. Then, we had to move on, we had another game awaiting us. But when these allegations returned this past weekend, I thought it was appropriate that Mason is properly defended.”
Garrett sat down with "Outside the Lines" the day after the NFL lifted an indefinite suspension against him for hitting Rudolph over the head with his helmet after ripping it from the head of the quarterback.
Garrett, who apologized to Rudolph in the aftermath of the incident, told NFL officials at his appeals hearing a week later that the quarterback had called him "a stupid N-word."
"These accusations are serious," Tomlin said. "Not only in terms of Mason Rudolph’s character, but his professional pursuits. Nobody on that field corroborated what Myles Garrett said.”
The OTL panel then went into a discussion about the events as if what Garrett had alleged was completely true.
"I thought the way it was presented wasn’t fair to Mason Rudolph," Tomlin said.
Tomlin, Rudolph and Rudolph's attorney all released statements Saturday in defense of the quarterback.
Tomlin reiterated his support Monday.
“It’s been a lot of negativity around Mason Rudolph. He got fined $50,000 for essentially getting beat up. His reputation was tarnished for the allegations. He was an active participant in the altercation, a lot of the things that have gone on beyond that, I struggle with. I think his reputation needs to be defended and defended aggressively."
As he said over the weekend in the statement he released through the team, Tomlin said in the days that followed the incident, nobody within the Browns organization brought forth any of these charges against Rudolph.
The Steelers were not made aware of them until news leaked out of Garrett's appeals hearing a week later that he had alleged Rudolph had used the slur.
“I was on the field immediately after that altercation,” Tomlin said. “I got a lot of personal relationships within that organization over there in Cleveland. At no point did anyone within that organization come forward and say ‘Mike, heads up we got a situation here’ or something of that nature that you would expect that comes with those types of allegations.”
The NFL investigated the incident and found no evidence a slur had been used. And players on the field who were near the play or involved said they heard no such utterance.
"We've had a desire to move on from the moment it happened. That's what we attempted to do. When this interview came back up this weekend, we thought Mason needed to be defended," Tomlin said. "I fully support Mason Rudolph. We, as an organization, fully support Mason Rudolph.”
Here's the full video:
LOLLEY'S VIEW
Not sure that Tomlin could have been a better advocate here.
The Steelers believe Mason Rudolph. Period. They back Mason Rudolph. Period.
And the fact the "OTL" panel discussed Garrett's interview following his sit down as if everything Garrett had said was the absolute truth ticked off a lot of people.
Nobody's minds are going to be changed on this issue because there is no evidence one way or another. If you believe Garrett, your stance isn't going to change. If you believe Rudolph, you're going to continue to do so.
But the fact that an African-American head coach is coming out so vehemently in backing Rudolph should be telling to those who are on the fence -- if those people exist.
