Steelers Coach Disagreed With His Army Vet Offensive Lineman Standing For Anthem [VIDEO]

Steelers Coach Disagreed With His Army Vet Offensive Lineman Standing For Anthem [VIDEO]

With today’s good news story being all about the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive tackle Alejandro Villanueva, we have two contradicting reactions: A negative reaction from the Steelers coach and a very positive one from the fans.

First, Coach Mike Tomlin. When Villanueva was the only player on the team to come out to the field and stand for the National Anthem, while the rest of his team skulked inside, we found out after the game that it was not a faint decision. Villanueva served three tours in Afghanistan and was not ready to bend to the will of Coach Tomlin, who said in a conference after that game that he had been looking for “one hundred percent participation” in the team, no matter what the team decided to do. So, if the team (who totally on their own, right?) decided to sit out the anthem, their Coach wanted them all to stay in the locker room.

This is a team sport. What Villanueva did was brave because he’s risking his teammates intentionally making things difficult for him, or even throwing the game in an attempt to make him look like a bad player as punishment for being respectful. When pressed, Tomlin wouldn’t explain further on his 100% remark, saying that he was going to be respectful of his team’s decision. Sounds like he’s more upset that Villanueva “disrespected” the team’s position to sit in the crying room, than he is upset that almost all of his team decided to make themselves look like entitled crybabies in front of the country and their fans in the stadium.

As for the fans?

When Villanueva, the former Army Ranger, made his stand for the anthem, his jersey almost immediately became the best selling jersey for the entire team and soon after it was officially one of the best selling jerseys in the entire league.

Villanueva played football when he was at West Point Military Academy before becoming an Army Ranger. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for Valor and before he played for the Steelers he was with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2014.

You can watch the first minute post-game press conference here where Coach Tomlin skirts around the issue of whether he thinks his offensive tackle should’ve stayed in the locker room with the rest of the team.

The comment section is predictable:

F**k you Mike Tomlin!

Take that cross off you dumb b***h.

F**k the NFL glad you lost b***h.

Get rid of this guy! He’s going to lose everything for his team!

This is only going to get harder for the NFL as the fans keep vocalizing their support for the flag, the anthem and ultimately for Trump.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEPFgpHtNWc

Margaret M.

Internet Specialist at Warfare Media.

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