Kevin Zeitler is the Ravens nominee for the 2023 Art Rooney Sportsmanship award
The NFL released its 32 nominees for the ninth annual Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award on Wednesday morning. Since its inception in 2014, each NFL team has nominated one of its players for the award that recognizes players around the league who exemplify outstanding sportsmanship on the field. The award honors the late founding owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Pro Football Hall of Famer, Art Rooney Sr.
“Sportsmanship is the core of the game, the vanguard of public confidence, the keeper of game integrity,” said Troy Vincent, NFL executive vice president of football operations. “These Rooney Sportsmanship Award nominees exemplify the spirit of fair play and the values of respect, integrity, commitment to team, and resiliency at the highest level of competition.”
Baltimore Ravens offensive guard Kevin Zeitler was nominated for this prestigious award. His extraordinary leadership and sportsmanship could be seen throughout this season with his work on and off the field.
Current NFL player’s votes determine the Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award winner. The winner will be announced during NFL Honors and receive a $25,000 donation from the NFL Foundation to a charity of his choice.
Philadelphia Eagles veteran defensive tackle Fletcher Cox was nominated for this prestigious award.
The NFL released its 32 nominees for the ninth annual Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award on Wednesday morning. Since its inception in 2014, each NFL team has nominated one of its players for the award that recognizes players around the league who exemplify outstanding sportsmanship on the field. The award honors the late founding owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Pro Football Hall of Famer, Art Rooney Sr.
“Sportsmanship is the core of the game, the vanguard of public confidence, the keeper of game integrity,” said Troy Vincent, NFL executive vice president of football operations. “These Rooney Sportsmanship Award nominees exemplify the spirit of fair play and the values of respect, integrity, commitment to team, and resiliency at the highest level of competition.”
Philadelphia Eagles veteran defensive tackle Fletcher Cox was nominated for this prestigious award. His extraordinary leadership and sportsmanship could be seen throughout this season as he helps out the younger guys on defense while still putting up great numbers on the field.
Current NFL player’s votes determine the Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award winner. The winner will be announced during NFL Honors and receive a $25,000 donation from the NFL Foundation to a charity of his choice.
Since 2014, no Philadelphia Eagles and one defensive tackle, Calais Campbell of the Baltimore Ravens, has won the award.
Terry McLaurin is Washington’s nominee for the sportsmanship award named after the legendary founding owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
It’s been a terrific year for Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin. The fourth-year wideout from Ohio State received a lucrative three-year contract extension over the summer before training camp and is off to another terrific start.
Through 11 games, McLaurin has 50 receptions for 792 yards and two touchdowns. He is a team captain and one of the primary reasons Washington has won five of its last six games and 6-5 on the season.
Now, McLaurin is Washington’s nominee for the 2022 Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award given annually in recognition of outstanding sportsmanship on the playing field.
The award is named after legendary founding Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney, who is also a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
A panel of former players will choose eight finalists, who will then be listed on the Pro Bowl ballot. The winner is determined by a vote of the current players and receives a $25K donation to the charity of their choice. The winner will be announced at the NFL Honors event before the Super Bowl in February.
The honors are starting to roll in, and Lane Johnson is the Eagles 2022 nominee for the Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award.
Every year, each NFL team nominates one of its players for the award, recognizing players around the league who exemplify outstanding sportsmanship on the field.
The award is presented each year to an NFL player who best demonstrates the qualities of on-field sportsmanship, including fair play, respect for the game and opponents, and integrity in competition.
The award was created in 2014 in honor of the late founding owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Pro Football Hall of Famer Art Rooney Sr.
A panel of former players including Warrick Dunn, Larry Fitzgerald, Pro Football Hall of Famer Curtis Martin, and Leonard Wheeler – will select eight finalists (four in the AFC and four in the NFC) from the 32 nominees.
All eight finalists will be listed on the Pro Bowl ballot under the NFL Sportsmanship Award category when players vote later this month.
The winner will be announced as part of NFL Honors, and he’ll receive a $25,000 donation from the NFL Foundation to a charity of his choice.
Although the team originally known as the Pirates wouldn’t join the league until July, it was on this day the first step was taken.
In what could perhaps be known as the Immaculate Conception of the NFL, Art Rooney Sr. applied for an NFL franchise on this day in Steelers history.
Although the team — known as the Pittsburgh Pirates for their first seven seasons — wouldn’t officially join the league until July, “The Chief” got the ball rolling by paying a $2,500 franchise fee on May 19, 1933. That $2,500 is the equivalent of someone paying $50,000 for a franchise in 2021.
It was common practice for NFL teams to be named after major league baseball teams back then since baseball was one of the dominant sports in America and pro football was in its infancy.
To distinguish between the two teams, Pittsburgh media referred to the football Pirates as the Rooneymen, a moniker that stuck for decades after the team adopted “Steelers” as the nickname in 1940.
From Steelers.com, an excerpt from an NFL newsletter informing the Arizona Cardinals, Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, New York Giants and Detroit Lions that there was a new kid in town:
“The application of the Pittsburgh Professional Football Club Inc., accompanied by a check for Twenty-Five Hundred ($2,500.00) Dollars is on file in the office of the President. I have already received the unanimous approval of the Executive Committee for this application that will come before the July meeting for ratification by the entire membership.
“The Pittsburgh group is headed by Mr. Arthur Rooney, Pittsburgh, Pa., who has had much experience in the promotion of sporting and athletic events. The club appears to be well financed. The sporting editors of all the Pittsburgh papers are very enthusiastic about this group as well as the outlook for a National League Franchise in that city. They propose to play some early games at night and after it is permissible, under the new Pennsylvania law, to play on Sunday. Games will be played at Forbes Field, home of the Pittsburgh National League Baseball Club.”
It would take decades until the Pittsburgh football club would find success, and even moments when it seemed the team would relocate.
Rooney’s patience and fortitude eventually paid off in the form of Lombardi Trophies — the Steelers won the first of their six Super Bowls in the 1974 season.
The ownership of the Steelers has remained with the Rooney family since the organization’s founding. Art Rooney II is the owner and president of the franchise, handed down to him by his late father, Dan.
Contract talks that were expected to start between Steelers, Ben Roethlisberger earlier this month haven’t begun.
Ben Roethlisberger has said everything he needs to say — that he wants to return to the Steelers and that he’s willing to do it for less money.
Roethlisberger and the Steelers were expected to meet during the second week in February for contract negotiations. Two weeks have come and gone, and according to NFL Network’s Aditi Kinkhabwala, the two sides have yet to meet.
“Nothing has changed since Kevin Colbert was so lukewarm a week ago,” said Kinkhabwala on NFL Network Monday. “This is essentially turning into a really big game of chicken in Pittsburgh where the Steelers are almost daring Ben Roethlisberger to say something back.”
“The Steelers are not in consensus on what to do; from what I’ve been told, there’s a very, very strong feeling in that building that it is time to move forward.”
Steelers president Art Rooney has made it clear that the club simply cannot bring him back at the league-high cap hit of $41 million.
Roethlisberger’s release carries a dead money hit of $22.25 million — $3.25 million more than what remains on his contract before negotiations.
Last week, GM Kevin Colbert told us Ben Roethlisberger is the #Steelers QB "as we sit here today." Well, as we sit here today, the Steelers have still not scheduled a call w/ Ben to do the "work" of figuring out their future together, I'm told by someone apprised of such calls.
Pittsburgh ranks in the top 25 of most profitable in all of sports.
When Art Rooney Sr. paid a $2,500 franchise fee in 1933 ($49,576.35 today) to found a Pittsburgh football club, it was a considerable amount of money. Now, the Steelers are valued at $2.8 billion. That’s a hefty $2,799,997,500 billion return on investment.
The value of the Steelers ranks them No. 28 among most profitable sports teams (14th in the NFL). By comparison, the Green Bay Packers were purchased for $100 and are now worth $2.85 billion.
28. Pittsburgh Steelers (NFL)
Value: $2.8 billion
Owner: Daniel Rooney Trust, Arthur Rooney II
Year Purchased: 1933
Price Paid: $2,500
A year ago, Forbes listed the Steelers’ overall value at $2.58 billion — good for 30th in the world and 10th in the NFL.
Despite the team’s value, current owner Art Rooney II and family are one of the NFL’s least wealthy owners with a net worth of $1.2 billion. Imagine that.
Steelers’ pres. Art Rooney II and his brother Jim talk with former Steeler Tunch Ilkin about their father Dan’s influence on their lives.
#Steelers President Art Rooney II & @ADiffWay2Win speak with Tunch Ilkin about their father, Dan Rooney. They speak about growing up with a father who worked in the football business, his humility, what lessons he taught them and more. https://t.co/euI2lG4kVi
In an interview with Steelers analyst, Tunch Ilkin, Steelers president Art Rooney II and his brother Jim, speak candidly about their father, Dan Rooney.
Art said the only minus about his father was that he wasn’t around much due to his responsibilities with the Steelers. “[Dan] traveled a good bit, and he worked long hours,” said Art. “The other side of it was, having a dad in the football business, and being able to be around the team a lot. He brought me around a lot. I used to go to work with him every Saturday morning.”
“It was great how he tried to include me in different conversations,” Art said when asked what it was like growing up with the football influence. “I got to hear a lot about what was going on. Particularly in the early days, sort of the back-and-forth between he and my grandfather was fun to hear what they were talking about.”
“[Dan] was very busy, and he made sure we were both very busy on and off the field,” added Jim.
Jim said that his father and The Chief, Art Rooney, were always all about getting things done. “Don’t be a big shot,” Jim said his father and grandfather would always say. “Whenever you went anywhere with them, they were always involved in something that had purpose and meaning, and they expected you to be involved with them or respect what was going on.”
Faith, family, and football were the cornerstones of the Rooney family. Both Jim and Art have carried those through and incorporated them into their own lives in every way.
Among NFL franchises, the Steelers have been at the forefront in terms of diversity and employing Black players and coaches.
The Steelers are among several NFL teams that closed team headquarters on Friday in observance of Juneteeth as a company holiday. The holiday commemorates the day that slavery was abolished in the United States in 1865. The state of Pennsylvania began recognizing Juneteenth in 2001.
While the Steelers and the NFL are working toward a commitment to employ minorities of all racial backgrounds, this post will focus specifically on the Steelers’ history of hiring individuals from the Black community.
Art Rooney
Art Rooney founded the Steelers (then known as the Pirates) in 1933. He was known for his progressive disposition, especially toward Black athletes. While operating the Pirates, he offered financial support for the Homestead Grays, the famed Negro League baseball team located near Pittsburgh.
(AP Photo/Harry Cabluck, File)
Rooney also brought in Duquesne tackle Ray Kemp, who was an original member of the Pirates when they entered the NFL in 1933. He was the sole Black player on the team and one of only two Black players in the league.
According to this Pro Football Hall of Fame profile on Ray Kemp, he was released after a 21-6 loss to the Boston Redskins on Oct. 4. “I received a letter saying I had been dropped from the roster,” Kemp recalled, according to the Hall of Fame article. “I talked with Art Rooney, and I can recall his exact words. He said, ‘Ray, I feel you are as good a ballplayer as we have on the club, but I am not going over the head of the coach [Jap Douds]. You know how I feel about you personally.’ I didn’t talk to [head coach] Douds personally, but he was a player-coach at my position — tackle — and he had a lot of cronies on the team. I just think it was a combination of things.”
The Pirates won just two of their remaining eight games that season, and at one point, Kemp received a call from the team asking him to return. “I guess I could have felt humiliated about being cut earlier and said no. I didn’t need the money — I only got $60 a game. But I felt someone had to keep the door open. You have to pay a price for being a pioneer,” Kemp said.
Kemp returned for the Pirates’ last game of the 1933 season, then was hired as the head football coach at Bluefield State College in West Virginia; thus, his tenure in the NFL was short-lived. “The Pirates didn’t ask me to come back,” Kemp recalled, “but I wouldn’t have anyway because I really wanted a coaching job.”
No other African American would play in the league again until 1946. In January 1952, fullback Jack Spinks (11th round) and halfback Bill Robinson (25th round) became the first Black players to be drafted by the Steelers. Spinks appeared in three games, and Robinson didn’t play in any.
That spring, Pittsburgh went out an signed 6-foot-5 Black tackle, Ted Benson, out of Morris Brown University. Kemp had recommended Benson to new Steelers head coach Joe Bach.
Also on the training camp roster were four other Black players: tackle Charlie Thomas, offensive guard/tackle Ray Newman, and halfbacks Willie Smith and Clyde Atkins. Newman made it through camp but was released before the Steelers’ first preseason game. Benson and Smith were two of 12 players cut on July 30, 1952. It’s unclear how long Atkins’ and Thomas’ tenure lasted.
Photo courtesy of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
In 1953, Rooney selected wide receiver Lowell Perry in the eighth round of the draft. Perry was committed to the Air Force ROTC for three years and would not play for the Steelers until 1956. In his sixth game, he sustained a broken hip and dislocated pelvis, which ended his playing career.
Upon Perry’s release from the hospital, Rooney offered him a position as a wide receivers coach. In 1957, he became the first Black coach in modern NFL history. The next year, Perry worked in the Steelers’ scouting department until leaving to obtain his law degree at Duquesne.
Recognizing the importance of integrating Black players on his team, Rooney hired Bill Nunn, the NFL’s second Black scout.
Nunn, a sports editor at The Pittsburgh Courier, an African-American newspaper, had his finger on the pulse of football programs at historically Black colleges. Rooney found exceptional value in the knowledge Nunn could bring to the Steelers and hired him as a part-time scout in 1967. He became a full-time employee in 1969. By 1970, he was promoted to assistant director of player personnel.
Over the next decade, Nunn discovered a bevy of players from Black colleges and universities who went on to help the Steelers win four Super Bowls. Among them were cornerback Mel Blount (Southern), defensive end L.C. Greenwood (Arkansas-Pine Bluff), defensive tackle Ernie Holmes (Texas Southern), defensive back Donnie Shell (South Carolina State), wide receiver John Stallworth (Alabama A&M), and defensive end Dwight White (East Texas State).
Nunn also was responsible for the Steelers drafting their first Black quarterback. Joe Gilliam was drafted in the 11th round of the 1972 draft. In 1974, Gilliam battled with Terry Bradshaw and Terry Hanratty to earn the starting QB spot. Gilliam became the first Black quarterback to serve as an opening-day starter in the NFL, although his 45.3% completion rate led him to lose the spot after six games.
Steelers quarterback Joe Gilliam consults with head coach Chuck Noll. (Tony Tomsic-USA TODAY NETWORK)
Nunn retired from his full-time position with the Steelers in 1987 but continued as a talent consultant and advised in draft preparation until he died in 2014. He was one of the longest-tenured employees of the organization and one of the few with six Super Bowl rings to his name.
“The one doggone thing I’m proud of is the way I might have been a part of opening some doors to pro football for Black men, not just as players, but as coaches and front-office personnel. I’ve been able to see progress,” said Nunn in a 2007 interview with the Pittsburgh-Post Gazette.
The Rooney Rule
Dan Rooney, the son of Art, was often by the family patriarch’s side in team operations throughout the years. His first role with the team was director of personnel. Though Art remained the face of the franchise until he died in 1988, Rooney was given full operational control in 1975.
Rooney shared his father’s progressive nature. He served as chairman of the NFL’s diversity committee and authored the Rooney Rule.
First adopted in 2003, the Rooney Rule was created to help ensure that minority candidates would receive equal opportunities when applying for head coach vacancies and various senior football positions. The rule requires teams to interview at least one minority candidate. It was conceived as a way to hire more minority coaches in a profession where almost 70% of players are black, but just 6% were minority head coaches at the time.
In the early days of the Rooney Rule, teams that violated it faced hefty fines from the NFL. In 2003, the Detroit Lions hired Steve Mariucci without interviewing a minority candidate and were slapped with a $200,000 fine. Since then, teams arguably have figured out ways to sidestep being penalized, as no penalties have been handed down even though there are only three current black head coaches in the league.
(Photo by Aude Guerrucci-Pool/Getty Images)
While there have been a few points when the number of Black head coaches was much higher (six in 2006, seven in 2008, seven in 2018), the number has since reverted to the same level as when the rule was first created.
Because of this, many observers feel the Rooney Rule is ineffective, and concerns remain about implementation and enforcement. Critics say it allows teams to merely check a box saying they’ve addressed diversity without any further action.
Since its implementation, the Rooney Rule has assisted in the hiring of 14 coaches with minority backgrounds. But Steelers president Art Rooney II knows those numbers should be significantly higher.
“I think where we are right now is not where we want to be, not where we need to be,” Rooney told NFL Network’s Steve Wyche in a January interview.
“We have about one-third of the coaches in the National Football League are from the minority communities. That’s really not a bad pipeline,” said Rooney. “And so, the question is, why aren’t more of those people getting interviews? Why aren’t more of those people advancing through the process? Like I said, there are a lot of pieces to it that we have to look at. We have a lot of work to do that.”
Rooney, as chairman of the NFL’s Workplace Diversity Committee, outlined the expansion of the rule, following a recent owners meeting.
“There are three things in particular that we got done today that are very important,” said Rooney. “No. 1, we are going to ask all clubs to develop a diversity and inclusion plan over the next year that really impact all levels of hiring at the league and club levels; No. 2, we approved a series of enhancements to the Rooney Rule that will require two minority candidates to be interviewed for a head coaching position, one minority candidate to be interviewed for any coordinator position, and one minority candidate to be interviewed for any senior football or GM position, and for other senior-level positions around the league and the clubs, there must be an interview for a minority or a female candidate; and finally No. 3, we passed a resolution that is aimed at increasing mobility throughout the league.”
Coaches
Four years after the Rooney Rule was enacted, Rooney interviewed and hired a minority candidate as Pittsburgh’s head coach. Mike Tomlin became the 10th Black head coach in NFL history and the first for the Steelers franchise. On Feb. 1, 2009, he became the second Black head coach to win a Super Bowl. He is the longest-tenured Black head coach in the NFL.
Currently, there are five Black coaches on the Steelers staff: defensive line coach Karl Dunbar; tight ends coach Adrian Klemm; running backs coach Eddie Faulkner; wide receivers coach Ike Hilliard; senior defensive assistant Teryl Austin; and coaching assistant Denzel Martin.
Former Pittsburgh Steelers linebackers coach and defensive coordinator died Sunday in Colorado.
Robert “Woody” Widenhofer, 77, Butler, Pa. native and four-time Super Bowl-winning coach with the Steelers, died Sunday in Colorado Springs, Colo. from stroke complications.
“Woody played an important role coaching our famed Steel Curtain defense when he helped us win four Super Bowls in the 1970s,” said Steelers president, Art Rooney II. “He coached some of the best linebackers in NFL history during his time in Pittsburgh and was later elevated to defensive coordinator, where he guided the defense in our Super Bowl XIV victory over the Los Angeles Rams.”
Widenhofer served as linebackers coach from 1973 to 1978 and defensive coordinator from 1979 to 1983.
After being promoted to DC, the Steelers took home their fourth Super Bowl title in six years. His defense was second in yards allowed and fourth against the run.
The Steelers made the playoffs again in 1982 and 1983 before Widenhofer left to become head coach of the USFL Oklahoma Outlaws in 1984.
The Outlaws went 6-12, and Widehofer went to Missouri. He was head coach of the Tigers from 1985-88 and the Vanderbilt Commodores from 1997-2001. In between colleges, Widenhofer was DC with the Detroit Lions and LB coach of the Cleveland Browns.
It’s hard to believe, but the Super Bowl teams of the ’70s had three different defensive coordinators. Bud Carson was the coordinator for Super Bowl IX and X, George Perles for Super Bowl XIII, and Widenhofer for Super Bowl XIV.
A team with that much turnover doesn’t usually have that kind of success, but it is the Steel Curtain we’re talking about.
Before taking over as Steelers DC, Widenhofer coached Hall of Famer linebackers Jack Lambert and Jack Ham, and Andy Russell, Henry Davis, and Loren Toews — all critical parts of the Steel Curtain.
In 2007, Widenhofer finished his coaching career as DC at Mexico State.
