Pittsburgh Steelers: Did Mike Tomlin make right call for national anthem?

After a controversial spew of words from Donald Trump, did Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin handle the situation how he should have?

One of the greatest aspects of our country is the ability to exercise/voice our opinion. No matter what race, religion or background we originate from, we have the luxury of being able to showcase our viewpoints in a world where many countries deny that right. The Pittsburgh Steelers have long been an organization that has done things the right way. Over the past weekend, the President of the United States had some choice words to offer in a rally in Alabama and on Twitter for those players choosing to protest during the national anthem.

"“If a player wants the privilege of making millions of dollars in the NFL, or other leagues, he or she should not be allowed to disrespect our Great American Flag (or Country) and should stand for the National Anthem. If not, YOU’RE FIRED. Find something else to do!”"

This caused quite the stir around the league, prompting many players to react negatively to the criticism of their protest. Commissioner Roger Goodell reacted swiftly and responded back with a memo that backed his players and their efforts.

The overall feeling was that protests and displays of unity around the league would continue and even intensify in light of the President’s remarks. Many were prepared for kneeling, arms being locked together, fists raised in the air, etc. However, no fan was truly prepared for what the Steelers agreed to do before their Week 3 game in Chicago.

Pittsburgh, as a team, decided to stay in the locker room while the national anthem was performed. There were mixed reactions by fans across the nation, especially those in Pittsburgh. This was the Steelers’ first show of any kind in regards to the oh-so-controversial national anthem protests, and many people weren’t exactly sure how to take it. Historically as an organization, the Steelers have remained quiet and passive in regards to political statements.

However, a trip to Chicago may have changed that mindset.

Football is a retreat from political happenings for a majority of followers that tune in every Sunday. When you turn the channel to a professional game, you turn to see your favorite team play, not a segment on politics. Simply put, Sundays are for football. Tomlin wanted to keep it that way by attempting to remove any possible political distraction from his football team, but did he create more of it in that same process?

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The number of distractions around a football team are extremely high. Newspaper headlines, social media, journalists and everything else imaginable are constantly at the throats of players, waiting for someone to slip and make the wrong statement. Their world is a fish bowl, and the thinking is by Tomlin and the rest of the team deciding not to put themselves in a position to pick one “side” of the issue, that further eliminates the chance for anybody to spin them in a negative light.

Although the team agreed to not be on the sideline for the national anthem, Tomlin did say if a player wanted to participate, he shouldn’t be forced to choose sides. Left tackle Alejandro Villanueva was seen standing in the walkway of the tunnel, facing the flag and standing for the national anthem. Villanueva, who served multiple tours for the U.S. Army, stood alone in the walkway with the rest of the team in the tunnel behind him.

Cornerback Joe Haden had this to say about his teammate, per ProFootballWeekly:

"“He’s coming from a whole different place than any of us. We respect everything he does and he’s going through. We are a team, so we are behind him 100 percent.”"

It’s also important to note that coach Tomlin himself and a few other staff members were on the field while the national anthem played. Yet you can’t please everybody, and the frustration of a loss combined with added questions didn’t bode well for Tomlin. He got a little heated in his post-game press conference (via Steelers.com):

"“We will not be divided by this. We got a group of men in there that come from different socioeconomic backgrounds, races, creeds, ethnicities, religions and so forth. That’s football, that’s a lot of team sports. But because of opposition, we get drug into bulls–t, to be quite honest with you. Some have opinions, some don’t. We wanted to protect those that don’t, we wanted to protect those that do. We came here to play a football game today and that was our intentions.”"

So did Tomlin make the right move? His players would tend to think so, yet scour social media and you will see many who disagree with the call, so much to the point that they have dis-pledged their allegiances to the Steelers and in some cases the NFL all together. The protests will continue, the moral battles will rage on as athletes kneel for a bigger cause than themselves, even if it means backlash from the very people who fund their paychecks.

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Questions not only surround the team’s undesirable play, but now begin before the ball is even kicked off. Does Tomlin change his opinion moving forward? Will we see more players like Villanueva step out? Regardless of Tomlin’s intentions, Pittsburgh now has unwanted attention that Tomlin originally sought to eliminate. Despite the mixed reviews, one thing is for certain: All eyes will be on the team before they play an important game at Baltimore next Sunday.