Steelers coach Mike Tomlin further explained his team's decision to not come out for the national anthem in Chicago on Sunday, saying his players "are not interested in making statements" and that he and they will not be "goaded into a demonstration."
Tomlin said the perception among fans and the public that his team disrespected the anthem or that his players are "anything less than patriotic, is not only incorrect, it's wrong."
Speaking at his weekly news conference Tuesday, Tomlin said his team has always had 100 percent participation to stand for the national anthem. But, at a team meeting Saturday night before the game, several players indicated they wanted to kneel during the anthem as a reaction to comments made by President Donald Trump.
"Regardless how guys felt in the past, whether they had a desire to do it in the past, the respect they have for the anthem, for Al (Villanueva) as a brother, they have made those demonstrations zero."
Then he added, "We decided we were going to sit it out, we weren't going to play politics. They decided to stay in the tunnel and not have a demonstration of any kind."
That decision backfired, however, and some of the players, including Ben Roethlisberger, said they regretted the decision.
Even though his players stood in the tunnel, Tomlin and three offensive coaches _ Todd Haley, James Saxon and Mike Munchak _ came out on the field for the national anthem.
"When I step into a stadium, I don't play politics," Tomlin said. "I'm there to coach football. I won't be goaded into anything or won't be pressured into anything. I was going to be unmoved by that."
Tomlin said he gave all his assistant coaches the opportunity to stand with their players, if they chose to do so.
"There's no cookie-cutter answer," Tomlin said. "We're trying to deal with it as fluidly as we could and go play a football game. My intentions were irrelevant."
When Tomlin was asked if the pregame situation was a distraction for the players and could have impacted their performance against the Bears, he said, "I'm sure it was in a lot of ways. That's just the nature of football."
"There's no cookie-cutter answer," Tomlin said. "We're trying to deal with it as fluidly as we could and go play a football game. My intentions were irrelevant."
Meantime, Tomlin said Villanueva, a former Army Ranger who served three tours of duty in Afghanistan, has no reason to apologize for coming out toward the field for the anthem while his teammates stood back in the tunnel. Villanueva said he felt as though he threw his teammates "under the bus" by not standing with them.
"Al's got a unique story," Tomlin said. "It's a shame to put him in that position because he is a team guy and has always been a team guy. We work very hard to be united as a team when things are aimed at us."
When Tomlin was asked if the pregame situation was a distraction for the players and could have impacted their performance against the Bears, he said, "I'm sure it was in a lot of ways. That's just the nature of football."
