PITTSBURGH _ Steelers coach Mike Tomlin issued a statement in support of quarterback Mason Rudolph Saturday morning two days after Browns defensive end Myles Garrett again accused Rudolph of using a racial slur during a November game in Cleveland.
Garrett, who was reinstated by the NFL earlier this week after serving an indefinite suspension, told ESPN's "Outside the Lines" that Rudolph called him the N-word after Garrett tackled him in the final seconds of a Browns 21-7 victory at First Energy Stadium.
"He called me the N-word," Garrett said. "He called me a 'stupid N-word.'"
The allegations against Rudolph first leaked days after the incident occurred when Garrett told the NFL during his appeal of the suspension. Rudolph vehemently denied the allegations when they surfaced.
"I support Mason Rudolph not only because I know him, but also because I was on the field immediately following the altercation with Myles Garrett, and subsequently after the game," Tomlin said. "I interacted with a lot of people in the Cleveland Browns organization _ players and coaches. If Mason said what Myles claimed, it would have come out during the many interactions I had with those in the Browns organization. In my conversations I had a lot of expressions of sorrow for what transpired. I received no indication of anything racial or anything of that nature in those interactions."
Garrett also insinuated during his interview with ESPN that the NFL could shed more light on the matter if it wished. The NFL has said there was no evidence that Rudolph uttered a slur when it investigated the matter last year.
"I know something was said," Garrett said. "Now whether the NFL wants to acknowledge it, that's up to them. But I don't want to make it a racial thing, honestly. It's over with for me. And I'm pretty sure it's over with for Mason. So we just wanna move past and keep on playing football."
Brian McCarthy from the NFL office issued a statement Saturday reiterating the league does not have audio from the game.
"As we said at the time the allegation was made, we looked into the matter and found no such evidence.
We checked with the officiating crew, including the ref who was on top of the play and the ensuing aftermath. No player on either team came forward to say they heard him say it on the field. There was also no indication of any players saying they heard him say it in their postgame comments.
There was no sound recorded from the field during that game. As with every game, there were microphones on the center or interior linemen that help amplify the ambient sound as the quarterbacks were calling signals at the line of scrimmage. But they do not record sound. Microphones are opened from the break of the huddle (or when the center places his hand on the ball in a no-huddle offense) through the snap of the ball. They are turned off at that point."
The Steelers released the statement as ESPN aired its episode of Outside the Lines Saturday morning.
Rudolph's agent, Timothy Younger, issued a statement shortly after the Steelers.
"We waited to hear the entire interview. Garrett, after originally apologizing to Mason Rudolph, has made the ill-advised choice of publishing the belated and false allegation that Mr. Rudolph uttered a racial slur on the night in question. Note that Mr. Garrett claims that Mr. Rudolph uttered the slur simultaneously with being taken down, and before Mr. Garrett committed a battery by striking Mr. Rudolph on the head with a six-pound helmet. His claim is ludicrous. This obviously was not the first time Mr. Rudolph had been sacked by an African-American player. Mr. Garrett maliciously uses this false allegation to coax sympathy, hoping to be excused for what is clearly inexcusable behavior. Despite other players and the referee being in the immediate vicinity, there are zero corroborating witnesses _ as confirmed by the NFL. Although Mr. Rudolph had hoped to move forward, it is Mr. Garrett who has decided to utter this defamatory statement _ in California. He is now exposed to legal liability."
