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Exactly one week ago one of the most shocking moments in football occurred when Myles Garrett hit Mason Rudolph with his own helmet.
Now that a few days have passed and people’s emotional overreactions have calmed, Garrett revealed what may have set off the entire fight.
According to NFL insiders Adam Schefter and Josina Anderson, the defensive end told the NFL –during an appeal hearing to reduce his current six-game suspension– that Rudolph called him a racial slur before the brawl.
The Steelers have come out on behalf of Rudolph saying that the reports that a slur was used are false.
“Mason vehemently denies the report of being accused of using a racial slur during the incident Thursday night in Cleveland. He will not discuss this accusation any further and his focus remains on preparation for Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals,” Steelers spokesman Burt Lauten said in a statement.
The QB’s lawyer Timothy M. Younger echoed the statement that Rudolph made Wednesday, revealing that he didn’t say anything to escalate the situation.
“The malicious use of this wild and unfounded allegation is an assault on Mason’s integrity which is far worse than the physical assault witnessed on Thursday. This is reckless and shameful. We will have no further comment,” his representation said.
According to ESPN, Garrett made the allegations during the appeal and said that if a similar situation occurred on the fed again he wouldn’t react the same way.
It all started when Myles Garrett sacked Pittsburgh Steelers’ QB Mason Rudolph. The hit was a bit late and Rudolph reacted by grabbing at Rudolph’s helmet. Garrett responded by nearly lifting Rudolph off the ground by his helmet and ripping it off. As Steelers lineman began to separate the two, Rudolph began to mouth off at Garrett, who responded by hitting the quarterback in the head with his own helmet.
