Villanueva: Steelers botched their plan
The Steelers’ side of the field is nearly empty during the playing of the national anthem before their game against the Bears Sunday in Chicago.
Steelers players stand in the tunnel during the playing of the national anthem before the start of Sunday’s game against the Bears in Chicago.
PITTSBURGH – Alejandro Villanueva is sorry.
Sorry his actions before Pittsburgh’s 23-17 overtime loss to the Chicago Bears were misconstrued. Sorry that he has been singled out. Sorry that he put head coach Mike Tomlin in a difficult situation.
“Every single time I see that picture of me standing by myself, I feel embarrassed,” Villanueva said Monday after the team held an hour-long meeting. “We butchered our plan to have a response for the national anthem and respect everyone’s opinions.”
The Steelers decided as a team Saturday night in their hotel in Chicago to stay in the stadium tunnel during the national anthem. This was after President Donald Trump called on NFL owners to fire players who refused to stand for “The Star Spangled Banner.”
The president’s statement was made in reference to currently unemployed quarterback Colin Kaepernick and others around the league who kneeled during the anthem in protest of racial discrimination.
The Steelers did not have players participate in protests but believed they had been challenged by the president in an unfair way. Some players wanted to kneel or sit because of the president’s words. Others felt that would be disrespectful to the flag and veterans who had served in the military, Villanueva, a former Army Ranger who served three tours in Afghanistan, among them.
Choosing to show a unified face at the behest of head coach Mike Tomlin, the Steelers decided to stay in the tunnel while the anthem was performed. When it started, Villanueva was at the edge of the tunnel, standing alone with his hand over his heart. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, defensive end Cam Heyward and linebacker Tyler Matakevich, the team’s offensive, defensive and special teams captains, were supposed to be with him in front of their teammates. Villanueva asked the captains for permission to stand with them, unbeknownst to the rest of his teammates.
“When we came out of the tunnel it was a very small area. There was a flag or something coming off the field so there were a bunch of Bears fans holding that and going in front of us,” said Roethlisberger.
“Al was down at the end of the tunnel. We had told him we’re going to come to the end of the tunnel. We’re going to go to the tunnel to stand together. By the time all of chaos happened in front of us, as we started taking our steps the anthem started. So, we stopped to show respect for the anthem. I regret not going down to Al, but Al didn’t know that we weren’t there.”
Villanueva said he never meant it to look like he didn’t agree with the stance of his teammates or was looking to single himself out.
“I made Coach Tomlin look bad,” Villanueva said. “That is my fault and my fault only. I made my teammates look bad. That is my fault and my fault only.
“When everybody sees the image of me standing by myself, everybody thinks that the team and the Steelers are not behind me, and that is absolutely wrong. It’s quite the opposite. Actually, the entire team would’ve been out there with me, even the ones who wanted to take a knee.”
Several Steelers said after the game that no matter what the team decided to do, Villanueva would receive special treatment because of his status as a veteran. He is one of the most respected players in the locker room and was awarded the Bronze Star for his service.
“Our whole team cares about Al. We care about our coaches, our staff, and we never want to single one person out,” Heyward said. “We never want to leave one man behind. I know it looked like that in that picture, and we wanted to make sure we reached out to Al personally. We never wanted to look like we didn’t have his back.”
The NFL had leaguewide protests Sunday, with more than 200 players either kneeling or sitting during the playing of the anthem. Two other teams – Tennessee and Seattle – also chose to stay in the tunnel.
Ironically, Tomlin said the Steelers chose to stay off the field because they didn’t want to become part of the story.
“They were not going to be disrespectful during the anthem, so they chose to not participate during the anthem,” Tomlin said. “At the same time, many of them were not going to accept the words of the president. So we decided to sit it out and not take the field, to remove ourselves from it, so we could focus on playing football. Those were our intentions.”
Roethlisberger said the Steelers will not be taking part in any type of protest when they play Sunday at Baltimore.
The NFL began playing the national anthem before every game after World War II. But it wasn’t until 2009 that the league mandated that teams take the field before it was played. Prior to that, all teams stayed in the tunnel, emerging after the anthem was completed.
“The nature of this debate is causing a lot of heated reactions from players, from fans,” said Villanueva. “It’s not deserved for all the players and coaches in this organization.”
He also thinks those taking offense at the league itself for some of the players protesting is wrong.
“There have been players from other organizations who have gone out of their way to thank me for my service” Villanueva said. “Terrell Suggs, Michael Johnson, John Harbaugh. They have gone out of their way after a game to thank me for my service.
“Of all these players in the NFL who have taken a knee, as a veteran, I don’t take offense.
I don’t think veterans take offense. They actually signed up and fought so that somebody could take a knee and protest peacefully.”