Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph was recently involved in one of the wildest fights in NFL history as he was hit in the head with his own helmet by Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett last week. Garrett has been suspended indefinitely for his actions, but he’s appealing the punishment. As for Rudolph, he did not get suspended, but when he spoke to reporters about the incident on Wednesday, he believes he should have handled things a lot better.
“I should’ve done a better job handling that situation,” Rudolph said per ESPN. “I have no ill will towards Myles Garrett. Great respect for his ability as a player. And I know that if Myles could go back, he would handle the situation differently.
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“As for my involvement last week, there’s no acceptable excuse. The bottom line is I should’ve done a better job keeping my composure in that situation and [not] fall short of what I believe it means to be a Pittsburgh Steeler and a member of the NFL.”
This is a lot different from what Garrett said after the game as he called the actions of Garrett “bush league” and cowardly. But Rudolph did explain why he was made about getting taken down by Garrett which happened before the helmet incident.
“We had already lost two of our players to targeting penalties from the game,” Rudolph said. “As I released the ball, I took a late shot. Did not agree with the way he then took me to the ground and my natural reaction was just to get him off from on top of me.”
Once Garrett learned his suspension, he released a statement that stated, “Last night, I made a terrible mistake. I lost my cool and what I did was selfish and unacceptable. I know that we are all responsible for our actions and I can only prove my true character through my actions moving forward. I want to apologize to Mason Rudolph, my teammates and our entire organization, our fans and to the NFL. I know I have to be accountable for what happened, learn from my mistake and I fully intend to do so.”
Before Rudolph was hit in the head, the video showed him trying to take off Garrett’s helmet. Rudolph said he was trying to get Garrett off of him and he also said he said nothing to provoke Garrett to attack him.
