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Garrett’s accusation of racial slur falls flat

5 min read

Did he or didn’t he? And, does it matter?

Myles Garrett’s accusation of Mason Rudolph uttering a racial slur at him as they jostled last week became part of his defense for bludgeoning the Steelers’ quarterback over the head with his own helmet after ripping it off his head.

But Garrett never uttered such an accusation in his postgame interview when he apologized for losing his temper. Garrett also didn’t mention it Friday when he issued an apology to Rudolph for his actions.

No, Garrett waited until a week later, when he was appearing at his appeals hearing in New York to drop this very valuable piece of information.

Excuse the rest of us if we’re at little skeptical.

In the days following Garrett’s assault of Rudolph at FirstEnergy Stadium, the video of the event was shown over and again. The subject was the talk of the nation. Most had ever seen such an act take place on a football field.

Garrett was suspended indefinitely.

And yet, with his name being drug through the mud, Garrett kept the accusation that Rudolph had uttered a racial slur to himself?

Nobody outside of Cleveland is buying that excuse, including the NFL, which looked into the charges and decided Garrett’s indefinite suspension would stand.

Even if Rudolph did say something, does that give Garrett the OK to attempt to assault him?

Try using that excuse in a court of law.

  • Rudolph declined to press chargers for aggravated assault – which is what occurred in Cleveland – and is likely to just let this whole thing go away. He wants to put the whole thing behind him as quickly as possible.

But given the gravity of the charges in a league where 75 percent of his co-workers – and his head coach – are minorities, the fact his teammates stood behind him is critical.

He could certainly have a case for defamation of character against Garrett. But, again, Rudolph just wants to put this behind him.

  • A win over the Bengals today would be the 131st in the regular season for coach Mike Tomlin. That would move him into a tie with Marvin Lewis and Hank Stram for 24th on the NFL’s all-time list.

Yes, Lewis has the same number of coaching wins as Stram, a Pro Football Hall of Famer.

Lewis doesn’t have the playoff resume or Super Bowl win of Stram, but if the McDonald native were still coaching the Bengals, then they wouldn’t be 0-10.

  • The Steelers are 17-3 against the Bengals in this decade. They’re 15-3-1 against the Browns.

That record against the Bengals is even more impressive when you consider the Bengals posted five winning records under Lewis from 2010 through 2018.

The Browns? Well, they haven’t had any.

This week’s picks

Steelers (minus 6) at Cincinnati: The Bengals scored three points in a 27-3 loss at Pittsburgh. And that was with Andy Dalton at quarterback. Ryan Finley is completing less than 50 percent of his passes. The Steelers’ defense should be way more than the rookie can handle. Yes, the Steelers are undermanned, but JuJu Smith-Schuster had just three catches for 15 yards in that earlier meeting. As long as they take care of the football, they should win this one. Take the Steelers, 17-6

Miami (plus 10 ½) over Cleveland: The Browns have had extra time to get ready for this one, but have spent that time trying to defend Garrett. Playing without their best defensive player – and maybe best player overall – could make the Browns susceptible against Ryan Fitzpatrick. The Browns should win this, but the Dolphins will keep it close. Take the Dolphins to cover in a 31-24 loss

Los Angeles Rams (plus 3) over Baltimore: As freaky an athlete as Lamar Jackson is, Aaron Donald is equally freaky. And he’s the key here. It takes some time to run the read option and if Donald blows some of those up, it could add up to a fumble or two. This should be an interesting chess match. Take the Rams, 24-23

Dallas (plus 6½) at New England: The Patriots’ offense is getting way too much respect here. They’re averaging 3.3 yards per rushing attempt and Tom Brady is starting to show his age, with only Julian Edelman his lone reliable receiver. The Cowboys have the league’s top-rated offense and offer enough weapons to challenge Bill Belichick’s defense. Take the Cowboys, 23-20

New York Jets (plus 3) over Oakland: The Raiders want to run the football. The Jets have been very good against the run. And the Jets should be able to move the ball against the Raiders, who are 1-3 on the road and struggle on the East Coast in the 1 p.m. time slot. An upset special. Take the Jets, 24-20

Last Week: 2-3. Overall: 29-25

Dale Lolley covers the Steelers of DKPittsburghSports.com and writes a Sunday column for the Observer-Reporter.

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