Did Alejandro Villanueva go rogue on his teammates?
The Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman surprised teammates Sunday with his decision to stand in front of the tunnel during the playing of the “Star Spangled Banner” prior to their Week 3 game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported Monday citing a source.
The Steelers on Saturday during a players-only meeting collectively decided to remain in the tunnel during the national anthem as a show of solidarity with those protesting police brutality and racial injustice, but Villanueva, a U.S. Army veteran, left the tunnel and stood at attention.
“We thought we were all in attention with the same agreement, obviously,” James Harrison told PennLive.com, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. “But I guess we weren’t.”
Villanueva wasn’t available to speak to reporters in the locker room after the game.
Cam Heyward refused to speculate why Villanueva decided to go it alone but did acknowledge his teammate’s military service.
“I don’t want to go into that, but we support our guy Al,” Heyward said. “He feels he had to do it. This guy served our country, and we thank him for it.”
David DeCastro echoed Heyward’s suggestion.
“Al is a unique circumstance, what he’s been through, some of the things he’s talked about before.”
Protests against police brutality and racial inequality swelled this weekend following Donald Trump’s controversial comments about players who participate in them. As one of many teams which staged protests during the anthem, the Steelers probably will have further discussions over how they’ll do so and who’ll be involved, and Villanueva undoubtedly will have more to say on the matter, just as he did prior to Sunday.
Thumbnail photo via Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports Images
