Garrett's suspension for the above incident was lifted after he met with Roger Goodell last weekGETTY IMAGES
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin appeared on ESPN's "First Take" yesterday to "slam the network's recent coverage" of Browns DE Myles Garrett, who reiterated his claim that Steelers QB Mason Rudolph "called him a racial slur during the November incident that earned Garrett his suspension," according to Brian Batko of the PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE. Tomlin, referring to a recent sitdown interview Garrett did with ESPN's Mina Kimes, said, "They found no evidence of Myles' allegations, and I think that should be stated." He added, "Nobody on that field, as a member of the Cleveland Browns or the Pittsburgh Steelers, corroborated what was said by Myles Garrett. ... At no point during that piece this weekend (on ESPN) was that stated." More Tomlin: "We as an organization fully support Mason Rudolph and to be quite honest with you, we were hacked off with what we saw this weekend." Batko notes once the segment was over, at the top of the screen, ESPN "ran a graphic zoomed in on Tomlin's eyes with the words 'STEEL RESOLVE' in bold." It is being "played as entertainment, to a degree, a sizzling story line during a quiet period of the NFL offseason" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 2/18). In Pittsburgh, Chris Adamski noted Tomlin "previously released a statement Saturday in the immediate aftermath of the ESPN interview with Garrett airing" (TRIBLIVE.com, 2/17).
SHOWING LEADERSHIP: In Pittsburgh, Ron Cook writes he thought Tomlin was "at his best in the ESPN interview." He took a "strong stance against the sports network for giving Garrett a platform without giving Rudolph a chance to respond and for not pointing out that the NFL and the Steelers did a thorough investigation and found no corroboration of Garrett's allegation." It was a "powerful appearance, targeting not just football fans across America, but players in the Steelers' locker room" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 2/18). PFT’s Mike Florio noted Tomlin does not “do a lot of national TV interviews,” so to appear on ESPN “tells you how bothered he is by this” (“PFT,” NBCSN, 2/18).
BIGGER ISSUE AT HAND: In Pittsburgh, Tim Benz wrote the "much greater sin from ESPN" than the Garrett interview was the "Outside The Lines" panel discussion that followed. Host Jeremy Schapp and contributors Michele Steele, Ryan Smith and Ariel Helwani spoke "as if they either know, believe or somehow want to think Garrett's claims are actually true." But the "outright absence of evidence didn't seem to sway the opinion-makers for ESPN at all." The show "should feel obligated to do a follow-up next Saturday now that Tomlin, Rudolph and the league have spoken" (TRIBLIVE.com, 2/17). FS1’s Skip Bayless noted the panel discussion on Garrett “degenerated into ‘he said, he said, he said, he said,’ and Mike Tomlin’s point was, ‘Wait a second, you have to put it in the perspective of, ‘the NFL did a thorough investigation and found no evidence of the n word being uttered.’” Tomlin “was saying, ‘give us a break here,’ because that’s what the NFL found” (“Undisputed,” FS1, 2/18). An ESPN spokesperson said that its “OTL” report on Garrett "did, in fact, mention the NFL investigation and its findings, and that those findings -- as well as Rudolph’s statement of denial -- were mentioned in the Garrett interview" (PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, 2/18).
