Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman Trai Turner was ejected on Sunday after he appeared to spit at an opponent, but Mike Tomlin said Turner was retaliating after that was done to him.
Turner was irate about something prior to being ejected. He had some words for the official before angrily going over to Marqel Lee and seemingly spitting at the Las Vegas Raiders linebacker. You can see the act in the video below:
— sports (@ilikesportsvids) September 19, 2021
When asked about the incident after his team’s 26-17 loss, Tomlin described Turner as a “flat-liner.” He said it takes a lot to get an emotional response from the veteran guard and that the reaction was the result of a Raiders player spitting in Turner’s face.
Mike Tomlin says on the fracas that led to veteran G Trai Turner’s ejection, “somebody spit in his face.” Says Turner is not overly emotional, that he’s actually “a flat liner,” and that’s why Tomlin so vehemently argued w/ the officials over the tossing.
— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) September 19, 2021
That would explain why Turner was so furious and why he sprinted over to Lee and spit at him. That said, you can understand why he was ejected even if he was retaliating after the same had been done to him.
This isn’t the first time we have seen a player react angrily after claiming an opponent spit at them. The NFL will likely review footage to determine exactly what happened and hand down discipline accordingly.
