Last season was ugly for the Pittsburgh Steelers. But at no point was it uglier than in the team’s 21-7 loss to the Cleveland Browns on November 14. Putting aside the Steelers lost, the end of the game was one of the most bizarre sights I’ve ever witnessed.
In the final moments went the outcome of the game was secured, Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett got into a fight with Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph. At one point in the fight, Garrett ripped the helmet off Rudolph and struck him in the head with it.
The whole even earned Garrett an indefinite suspension and prompted Garrett to claim days later Rudolph used a racial slur against him. The NFL conducted an investigation and found no evidence of this.
Now, Garrett says he’d like to have a face-to-face with Rudolph and clear the air.
“I just don’t want any grudges,” Garrett said. “I don’t have any grudge against him. I don’t have any ill intent against him. It’s not like I’d have anything against him if I saw him in public or if I saw him in a game and we were suited up. I’d just play him like I play anybody else. if I saw him in public, I’d just fist-bump and walk away just like if I saw anybody else on the street that I didn’t know personally. I don’t have a problem with that. Other than that night, before that play and after that play, I don’t think we spoke two words to each other.
“And now our fates are intertwined forever, and so I don’t think we should leave it off like that, is my opinion. I feel like we should clear the air so there’s no problems and there’s no bad blood. Between our teams and our fans, the rivalry I feel like will live off of it, but between the players, I feel like it should always be competitive but never go over the line.”
In the interview, Garrett even says the incident caused him to consider quitting football. Really? Quit football because you made a horrible decision on the field, cost your team dearly and then you followed it up with the most egregious of false allegations? And now you want to act like nothing happened? I seriously hope Rudolph doesn’t even consider this. What Garrett did was grossly unprofessional and both guys should just move forward with their careers.
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