“This We’ll Defend.” That’s the U.S. Army motto that Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle Alejandro Villanueva honored when he stood for the national anthem before an NFL game.
And by “this,” the Army motto refers to the United States of America — not the National Football League.
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ head coach Mike Tomlin, who’s black, apparently thinks Army veterans should place their transient football teams above their country. B*tch, please.
Tomlin was upset that Villanueva — who did three tours of duty in Afghanistan — broke ranks by standing to respect the Star-Spangled Banner while his teammates hid like hood rats in the locker room.
Colin Kaepernick is done! Donated $25,000 to celebrate notorious convicted cop killer
At a post-game press conference, Tomlin expressed disappointment that Villanueva respected the American flag that he risked his life fighting for.
“I was looking for 100% participation,” Tomlin said (see video at 3:00). “We were gonna be respectful of our football team. Many of them were not going to accept the words of the President, so we decided to not take the field.”
Coach Tomlin was upset that the former Army Ranger put his country before his football team. Keep in mind that football players are traded all the time, so it’s not like the allegiance is reciprocal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lv7wbzOgub0
Meanwhile, Alejandro Villanueva’s patriotic gesture earned praise from millions of Americans.
Sales of his jersey skyrocketed, catapulting him to the No. 3 all-time bestseller among Pittsburgh Steelers, according to 247 Sports. Villanueva’s jersey is also now the top seller in the entire National Football League.
JUST IN: Steelers lineman Alejandro Villanueva is the best selling NFL jersey & T-shirt over the last 24 hours, according to @Fanatics pic.twitter.com/VpN1bG39Hn
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) September 25, 2017
Mike Tomlin claimed his team decided together to hide like cowards during the anthem, but it’s obvious he had a preference. And we all know that players defer to their coaches, many of whom rule the locker room with an iron fist.
Tomlin was reacting to Trump’s suggestion that NFL team owners fire players who refuse to stand for the national anthem.
“Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners — when somebody disrespects our flag — to say, ‘Get that son of a b-tch off the field right now! He’s fired,’ ” Trump said.
Tomlin said football players should not be dragged into politics, but ignored the fact that unemployed quarterback Colin Kaepernick is the one who dragged the entire NFL into politics. President Trump merely responded to his anti-American gesture.
“We’re not politicians, we’re coaches and professional athletes,” Tomlin said. “We come out of locker rooms to play football games … We will not be divided by this.”
And then he launched into a self-righteous monologue suggesting Villanueva should have toed the line with his Pittsburgh Steelers teammates. This just underscores that clown Tomlin has no idea how deep the patriotism of our military goes.
Villaneuva played college football at West Point, where the motto is “Duty, Honor, Country.” Notice there’s no mention of a football team anywhere in that code.
After graduating, Villaneuva became an Army Ranger and served three tours in Afghanistan, where he was awarded the Bronze Star for Valor. He joined the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2015 after briefly playing for the Philadelphia Eagles.
No one knows what Villaneuva’s future will be with the Steelers, but for grateful Americans, he has a place forever. Right here in our hearts.
Military vets, fans dump Nike for hiring Colin Kaepernick: ‘I’m never buying another Nike product’
DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW
Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!
- DOJ attorney in charge of election-crimes unit quits after AG Barr opens investigation - November 10, 2020
- ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa’: Neil Cavuto slammed after he cuts off Kayleigh McEnany presser - November 10, 2020
- Same media that cheered Stacey Abrams, Al Gore for refusing to concede attack Trump for same move - November 8, 2020
Comment
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.
BPR INSIDER COMMENTS
Scroll down for non-member comments or join our insider conversations by becoming a member. We'd love to have you!