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Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, after a night of dirty hits, is apparently less angry over a dirty hit and more angry with the taunt that followed.
While you likely now know the context, here it is anyway: Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster blind-sided Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict on Monday night. Following the hit, he the rookie stood above the linebacker while not knowing how hurt the defensive player was.
To Mike Tomlin, the taunting was far worse than the hit:
“His actions after the hit are more disturbing than the hit itself,” Tomlin said. “Often plays like that are teachable moments and when you look at it you talk about ways you can be safer and so forth. He’s a better sportsman than he displayed after the block. He’s got to work hard so that people understand what type of man he is from a sportsmanship standpoint.”
In context, it somewhat makes sense. At the same time, JuJu didn't know how badly hurt Burfict actually was. Either way, I doubt Tomlin is pro-hurting humans.
As for JuJu Smith-Schuster, he has immediately apologized for the hit.
“I didn’t know it was Burfict at first. All I saw was the first Bengal was going to tackle . . . and my instinct is I gotta block for my teammate,” Smith-Schuster said. “And me just playing ball, I hit him. After I seen the replay I think I should’ve held back a little bit more from blocking him. Also, I believe that that’s not me. I should’ve never stood over him. I apologize for that and with that being said, I hope he gets better.”
