Sep 27, 2017 4 min read

Before each game, a football team prepares a game plan detailing exactly how it will approach an opponent. Anyone who watched the Pittsburgh Steelers last Sunday knows they botched that game plan in Chicago, both on and off the field.

That shouldn’t be surprising considering the bizarre political circumstances surrounding this past weekend in the NFL.

Hundreds of players on every team in the league demonstrated in some form by kneeling, sitting or standing with locked arms during the national anthem after President Trump told a crowd at a campaign rally in Alabama any player who protests should be fired for insubordination. He especially upset many players by calling those protesters SOBs.

For more than a year, professional football players have been trying to raise awareness about social and racial injustices through these demonstrations, which they have said on many occasions are not protests against the flag or military. Unfortunately, in today’s polarized society, it has created a great rift between fans who thought it was an affront to the country and others who supported their right to express themselves.

During this time, the Steelers never had a player openly demonstrate during the anthem. Meanwhile, the protests had just about fizzled out in recent weeks – only six players across the 32-team league had demonstrated during the Sept. 17 games – until Trump’s comments last week.

After that, some Steelers felt they had no choice but to respond in some form. But instead of demonstrating as individuals, the team decided all players would remain in the tunnel during the pre-grame festivities so as not to put the spotlight on any one player. In essence, it was meant to remove them from politics and be a show of unity during a very fractured time.

In the end, it did quite the opposite and unintentionally put the spotlight on one player in particular.

Offensive lineman Alejandro Villanueva is a retired U.S. Army captain who served three combat tours in Afghanistan. The towering Villanueva stood at the edge of the tunnel with his right hand over his heart while the rest of his teammates stood about 20 feet behind him, literally in the shadows.

The television optics showing only one Steeler participating in the anthem while the rest of the team was huddled away in the tunnel weren’t good.

We later came to learn the team was supposed to stand just behind Villanueva as he was front and center next to the captains during the anthem. Unfortunately, he stepped just beyond them while the rest of the team lingered behind, according to quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

Villanueva said Monday the team “butchered” its pregame plan and that he was “embarrassed” seeing himself away from his teammates. Not because they had shunned him, but because it appeared he “threw my teammates under the bus, unintentionally.”

Villanueva, who led men into battle, some of whom died, took full responsibility for the situation, even if it was in no way his fault. That’s what a true leader does. It shows the type of man he is.

The backlash against the Steelers has led some fans to burn their jerseys and pledge never to watch again. But the situation also has raised awareness about Villanueva’s incredible story few outside of Pittsburgh and Steelers Nation knew about until now.

If it took the team standing in the tunnel during the national anthem so Villanueva and his remarkable story could be front and center, so be it. That should be the focus of this past weekend.

We can talk another time about why politics is creeping into every facet of our society, including now our sports arenas and stadiums.