Based on everything we know about Myles Garrett, it’s not a reach to say that he acted out of character during the brawl between the Browns and Steelers last Thursday night. Garrett has presented himself as a jovial dude who is into poetry and dinosaurs, so it was truly shocking to see him tear the helmet off of Mason Rudolph and use it as a weapon.
Garrett did not offer much of an explanation following the game, so we had no other choice but to assume that he simply lost control for a moment. But now Garrett is offering up an explanation for why he lost his cool. The Browns star is claiming Rudolph used a racial slur toward him before the brawl took place, according to a report from ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Josina Anderson.
Rudolph’s lawyer didn’t waste any time denying that claim, almost immediately releasing a statement on behalf of the Steelers quarterback…
The matter is now in the league’s hands. Unless the NFL can find audio substantiating Garrett’s claim or there are witnesses who are willing to come forward, this will be Garrett’s word against Rudolph’s.
It’s unclear when Garrett is alleging Rudolph used the slur, but Schefter’s tweet indicates that it happened before the physical altercation, which resulted in the suspension of Garrett, teammate Larry Ogunjobi and Steelers C Maurkice Pouncey.
Garrett has been suspended for the remainder of the season and the NFL left open the possibility of the suspension going into the 2020 season. Ogunjobi and Pouncey are appealing their suspensions. Rudolph, meanwhile, avoided a major punishment. That will obviously change if Garrett can provide proof that a racial slur was used. It’s unclear how that will affect his own suspensions, if at all, but it could help in the court of public opinion.
