Dana Mathewson

Yesterday I posted, with lots of fanfare, about how Pittsburgh Steelers player Alejandro Villanueva defied a team effort to hide out in the tunnel (or the locker room) to avoid being on the field during the playing of the National Anthem, and came out and stood alone for the Anthem. Much was made of his U.S. Army service and his respect for our flag.

Now it appears somebody "got to" Villanueva -- that's the only thing I can think -- and he is apologizing for "making his team look bad."

 

The image of Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman Alejandro Villanueva standing alone for the national anthem became one of the most memorable of a Sunday full of NFL demonstrations.

 

It was also unintended.

 

Villanueva, a former Army Ranger whose jersey sales skyrocketed after fans saw images of him standing for the anthem at the front of the tunnel alone while his teammates were out of view, said he didn’t mean to be by himself during the anthem. He regretted it happened and said he didn’t mean to make his coach Mike Tomlin or his teammates, who agreed to not go on the field for the anthem as a sign of team unity, look bad.

 

 

[...]

players-only meeting on Saturday night, PennLive.com reported. It ended up with one player who has three tours of duty in Afghanistan standing by himself and unwittingly becoming a symbol for those who disagree with the protests.

 

 

[...]

 

 

"I made my teammateslookbad, and that is my fault only,” Villanueva said, according to KDKA. "We as a team tried to figure it out, but obviously butchered it.

 

"For anybody who thinks coach Tomlin is not as patriotic as you can get in America, I’m offended by that,” Villanueva said. "I made coach Tomlin look bad, and that is my fault, and my fault only.”

 

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