The great thing about following the Steelers is you don't just get a football team.
You get a soap opera, too.
Where's
Le'Veon Bell? Has anyone checked his social media feeds in the last
hour? When will he get here? It's an ongoing cliffhanger.
Speaking of
social media, what's the latest on Antonio Brown? At last glance, he
was threatening an ESPN writer with physical violence.
Writer Jesse
Washington wrote a story that delved into some aspects of Brown's
personal life. Some of the information came from social media posts.
Brown
thought the story crossed a line, and that's his right. But in
response, he Tweeted this comment to Washington: "wait to I see u bro we
gone see what your jaw like."
Assuming Washington didn't have any dental work scheduled, that was perceived to be a threat.
Washington said he received an apology from Brown via a Steelers' spokesman, which he felt was adequate.
Later,
Brown backed off his "jaw" comment. In a statement to the Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette, Brown said: "I made a mistake in judgment with my tweet
last week, and I apologized to that. It is not OK to threaten anyone and
I need to be better spiritually and professionally. Though I do not
agree with the negative parts of the story about my personal life, I
need to have better control over my actions to use social media as a way
to engage with my fans, rather than use it improperly."
Hmm, did those words come from the same individual who wrote, "wait to I see you" and "we gone see?"
Far
more likely is the possibility the clean-up duty was done either by
Brown's agent or the Steelers. Or some combination of those two parties.
Mike Tomlin abdicated any responsibility when the subject was raised at his weekly news briefing.
He
cut off the question and said, "Guys, don't ask me about social media
things. I just choose to stay away from it because it's a waste of my
time. There's very little accountability. Guys say things they don't
mean."
OK, but this wasn't a piece of gossip. This was one of his players, apparently threatening someone.
If
Tomlin doesn't want to police this, then team president Art Rooney II
should. He's a lawyer, and should know the ramifications of threatening
violence against another person.
Direct a comment like that toward an elected official, and the FBI will soon be knocking on the door.
Coaches today face a lot of challenges their predecessors didn't have to confront.
Social media is a big one.
---
Just to get it on the record, because there's abundant confusion on the subject:
The
Steelers can't trade Le'Veon Bell until he signs the contract tender.
Until he signs that document, he's not the Steelers player.
So the idea of "just trade him to Detroit, get something for him and get rid of the headache" won't work.
---
Four former Steelers are on the preliminary list for the Hall of Fame.
Alan Faneca, Hines Ward, Bill Cowher and Thomas Everett are up for consideration.
Let's
start with the easy one. Everett has no chance. Faneca will get in,
it's just a matter of when. Ward will have a tougher time because voters
don't seem to care much about Ward's blocking ability and toughness.
Those qualities were integral to his value to the Steelers, but maybe
you had to watch Ward on a regular basis to fully appreciate him.
Cowher
is a borderline case because he was 8-9 in playoff games aside from the
4-0 run to his only Super Bowl championship in 2005.
---
Only Gregory Polanco could do serious damage to his shoulder and knee on what should have been a routine slide into second base.
(John Mehno can be reached at: johnmehnocolumn@gmail.com)
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