The Steelers Player Who Stood Alone For The National Anthem On Sunday Apologized


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Alejandro Villanueva is the starting left tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He has been with the team in one form or another since 2014, when he joined the Steelers’ practice squad. While Villanueva has never really been at the center of attention, all eyes were on him prior to Pittsburgh’s game against Chicago on Sunday.

Villanueva, a graduate of the United States Military Academy who served in the Army after graduating from West Point in 2010, stood in the tunnel prior to the game and put his hand on his heart for the national anthem. This was a big deal, as the Steelers made the decision to stay off the field while the anthem played because, in the words of head coach Mike Tomlin, they did not want to “play politics.”

But on Monday, Villanueva apologized for his decision to stand in front of everyone, saying he unintentionally threw his teammates under the bus.

Villanueva also discussed football players kneeling, at least from the perspective of the Steelers organization. Mentioning that he supports teammates who kneel, Villanueva pointed out that those who take a knee have thanked him for his military service.

As he explained, Villanueva found himself in this situation kind of by accident.

“When we came out of the locker room into that tunnel, it was a very small area,” Villanueva said, according to CBS Pittsburgh. “There was a flag or something coming off the field so there were a bunch of Bears fans, coming off the field holding that going in front of us, so it kind of held us up.”

Ben Roethlisberger also stepped in and gave insight into how the Steelers will handle the anthem going forward.

Villanueva didn’t have egg on his face or anything. He wasn’t acting maliciously, made a mistake, explained what happened, and based on Roethlisberger’s comment, the entire team is ready to move on.

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