Mike Tomlin regrets comments, suggests discipline for Antonio Brown

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin regrets his profane comments about the Patriots, but that doesn’t mean Antonio Brown is out of the woods.

The sanctity of the NFL locker room was clearly violated on Sunday night, when Pittsburgh Steelers streamed a video on Facebook after the team’s win over the Kansas City Chiefs. Head coach Mike Tomlin was heard with some pointed, at times profane, words about the New England Patriots having an extra day to prepare for next week’s AFC Championship Game.

During his press conference on Tuesday, Tomlin called his postgame locker room language (h/t ESPN) “regrettable”, while suggesting Brown will face internal punishment for streaming the aforementioned video.

Here’s some of what Tomlin said.

"“It was foolish of him to do that,” said Tomlin during his weekly press conference Tuesday. “It was selfish of him to do that. It was inconsiderate for him to do that.”"

And in terms of off-field distractions Brown occasionally comes out with.

"“I definitely don’t want that to be his story,” Tomlin said. “I’m sure he doesn’t want that to be his story. So he has to address these things that put him and us in positions from time to time in settings such as this that need to be addressed.”"

Brown is obviously not going to face any in-game punishment from Tomlin during the AFC title game. But Brown is sure to get a fine for a violation of the NFL’s pre and postgame social media policy, and his video broadcast apparently violated Steelers’ team policy as well. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is heard on the video suggesting he and his teammates keep a “low profile”, so it’s not shocking he conveyed disappointment in Brown during an appearance on local radio.

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The public broadcast of his postgame speech is the only reason Tomlin had to say he regrets the language he used. All things considered, they seem to be tame words compared to what could be heard behind closed doors in a locker room. Extra wind-sprints at practice or a fine is unlikely to change Brown’s mind the next time he wants attention on social media.