Mason Rudolph has found his name in the news once again this week after Myles Garrett shed more light on the alleged racial slur the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback hurled at him, but Mike Tomlin still is not buying it.
Tomlin issued a strong statement of support for Rudolph on Saturday morning, reiterating that he has no reason to believe the quarterback called Garrett a racial slur when the two players got into a physical confrontation last season. The Steelers coach said he interacted with many people in the Browns organization immediately after the incident, and there was no indication that Rudolph said anything racist.
Steelers’ HC Mike Tomlin on his QB Mason Rudolph: pic.twitter.com/YW1oJ989Fp
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 15, 2020
Garrett was reinstated by the NFL this week, and he told ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” that that he heard Rudolph call him a “stupid N-word” when the two got tangled up in Week 11. Garrett also hinted that he believes the NFL helped cover up the incident.
Garrett did not say Rudolph used a racial slur until he appealed his suspension in front of the NFL, which was a week later. He claims he didn’t bring it up sooner because he didn’t want it to seem like he was trying to justify his actions, which included dangerously bashing Rudolph in the head with a helmet. The NFL reportedly interviewed referees and used camera angles to investigate the claim and found no evidence that Rudolph used a racial slur.
Rudolph also issued a statement on Saturday and once again vehemently denied Garrett’s allegation.
