Myles Garrett again claims Mason Rudolph used racial slur ahead of terrifying brawl
Myles Garrett again accused Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph of calling him a racial slur at the end of their game in November on Thursday, which he said sparked the massive brawl at FirstEnergy Stadium and eventually led to his indefinite suspension.
The Cleveland Browns defensive end, who was reinstated by the league on Wednesday, told Outside The Lines’ Mina Kimes on Thursday that Rudolph used the slur.
“He called me the N-word,” Garrett said, via ESPN. “He called me a ‘stupid N-word.”
Garrett was suspended indefinitely with six games left in the season after he grabbed Rudolph’s helmet, yanked it clean off and swung it at his head in the final seconds of Cleveland’s 21-7 win against the Steelers. Thankfully, Garrett’s swing was off the mark and missed hitting Rudolph cleanly — something that could have seriously injured him.
Browns DE Myles Garrett uses Mason Rudolph's helmet as a weapon to strike him over the head #PITvsCLE pic.twitter.com/dayFzHrt0l
— Kevin Boilard (@247KevinBoilard) November 15, 2019
It was undoubtedly one of the craziest on-field acts in recent NFL memory. His six-game suspension was the longest for a single on-field act in league history, too. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell reinstated Garrett this week after meeting with him.
In total, 33 players received discipline stemming from the brawl, and a total of $732,422 worth of fines were handed out.
Garrett appealed his indefinite suspension soon after it was handed out, and told NFL officials that Rudolph called him the racial slur during that appeals process. Rudolph quickly denied it.
“It’s totally untrue,” Rudolph said in November. “I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe that he would go that route after the fact. It is what it is. I think I’ve moved on.”
The NFL has said that there is “no such evidence” showing that Rudolph called Garrett a racial slur on the field.
Garrett, however, retold his version of the events to ESPN on Thursday.
“When he said it, it kind of sparked something, but I still tried to let it go and still walk away,” Garrett said, via ESPN. “But once he came back, it kind of reignited the situation. And not only have you escalated things past what they needed to be with such little time in the game left, now you're trying to re-engage and start a fight again. It's definitely not entirely his fault, it's definitely both parties doing something that we shouldn't have been doing.
“I don't say the N-word, whether it's with ‘a’ [or] ‘er.’ To me personally, just shouldn't be said, and whether it's by family, friends, anyone. I don't want to use it because I don't want [people to] find that appropriate around me for anyone to use.”
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