Steelers tried to be 'solid and undivided,' avoid political statement, Mike Tomlin says

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin defended his decision to stand on the sideline for the national anthem Sunday in Chicago while most of his players remained inside a tunnel leading to Soldier Field.

“When I step into a stadium, I don't play politics,” Tomlin said Tuesday as he explained his role in the national anthem controversy that has engulfed the Steelers since Sunday.

“I'm there to play football. I won't be goaded into doing anything. I won't be pressured into doing anything.”

Tomlin told his team prior to a players-only meeting Saturday night they should show solidarity in their handling of the anthem in the wake of President Trump's criticism of NFL players who kneel for the anthem.

But when the anthem was played Sunday, and the entire team minus left tackle Alejandro Villanueva was sequestered inside the tunnel, Tomlin and offensive assistants Todd Haley, Mike Munchak and James Saxon were standing on the visiting sideline at midfield.

“There are a lot of things that go on with me prior to a ball being kicked off,” Tomlin said of his pregame routine. “I have to do communication checks. I've got to check my headsets. I've got to find 25-second clock and JumboTron information when I'm in unfamiliar environments.

“I was going to be unmoved by that.”

Tomlin said he gave his assistant coaches the option to stand with the players in the tunnel or to join him on the field.

“There's no cookie-cutter answer to these things,” Tomlin said. “We were simply trying to deal with the circumstances and deal with it as fluidly as we could and go play a football game.”

Tomlin said he did not inform his players he would be on the field during the anthem.

“My intentions were irrelevant,” Tomlin said. “I wanted to make sure those guys were solid and undivided in divisive times.”

Tomlin also revealed he knew Villanueva was going to join captains Ben Roethlisberger, Cam Heyward and Tyler Matakevich at the front of the tunnel for the anthem. Villanueva, a West Point graduate and former U.S. Army Ranger who served three tours in Afghanistan, said Monday that after getting Roethlisberger's approval he ventured ahead of his teammates so he could get a view of the American flag.

Villanueva took responsibility for being separated from the other players.

“I don't know why Villanueva was apologizing,” Tomlin said. “He had nothing to apologize for. I guess he feels he brought this upon us in some way, and that's a shame.”

Tomlin said Villanueva's military service is a reason Steelers players have not kneeled or sat during the anthem, a trend that began last season when former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick did so in protest of racial inequality and police brutality.

“The respect they have for Al as a brother has made those demonstrations zero,” Tomlin said. “It has never been an issue for us.”

At least not until last Friday when Trump said during a rally in Alabama that NFL players who kneel should be “fired” and owners should get that “son of a (expletive) off the field.”

Because of Trump's comments, Tomlin said some players “felt differently” than in the past, and not everyone wanted to stand Sunday. Tomlin told the players to come to an agreement as a team. When a unanimous decision couldn't be reached, the players opted to remain in the tunnel.

“They weren't going to be goaded into a demonstration of disrespect toward the anthem,” Tomlin said. “We decided we were going to sit it out. We weren't going to play politics. We were going to play the game.”

Steelers president Art Rooney II wrote a letter to fans Tuesday that was posted on the team website in which he addressed “misperceptions about our players' intentions.”

“The intentions of Steelers players were to stay out of the business of making a political statement by not taking the field,” Rooney wrote. “Unfortunately, that was interpreted as a boycott of the anthem, which was never our players' intention.”

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said Monday that players will be on the field during the anthem this Sunday in Baltimore.

Tomlin said he does not know if any players intend to kneel.

“I know it potentially could have happened last Sunday, and that's something we don't want,” he said. “Contrary to popular belief, we are a very patriotic and respectful group.”

Roethlisberger said he wished the players handled the situation differently Sunday and at least joined Villanueva outside the tunnel.

“I wanted to be out there locking arms showing we are one,” Roethlisberger said on his weekly 93.7 FM radio segment. “To me, it's about uniting this country and banding together arm in arm, brother to brother.”

He hopes that is the tack the Steelers take before playing the Ravens.

“Race, color, creed, ethnicity, background, religion, nothing should matter,” Roethlisberger said. “We all come together as brothers on the football field.

“We're all Steelers, so I anticipate and hope we are all standing arm in arm and showing support for each other and this country.”

Joe Rutter is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at jrutter@tribweb.com or via Twitter @tribjoerutter.