Alejandro Villanueva says standing alone for anthem was unintentional

Alejandro Villanueva now says his standing alone for anthem was unintentional

CHICAGO, IL - SEPTEMBER 24: Alejandro Villanueva #78 of the Pittsburgh Steelers stands by himself in the team's tunnel during the national anthem prior to a game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on September 24, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. Villanueva, a former Army Ranger who served terms in Afghanistan, was the lone Steeler to appear during the anthem. The Bears won 23-17 in overtime. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

The man at the center of much discussion before the Pittsburgh Steelers’ most recent game now says his actions were accidental, not planned.

It appears not everyone is 100 percent happy with how the Pittsburgh Steelers handled their pre-game routine on Sunday, which saw the entire team remain off the field for the playing of the national anthem while only Alejandro Villanueva stood at the end of the tunnel in sight of the crowd.

Apparently, that was not the plan — even as many people assumed, for Villanueva.

The Steelers offensive lineman told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he was not trying to make a statement of any kind by standing on the field for the anthem, but rather was simply caught out there by circumstance and not in a position to return to the tunnel before “The Star-Spangled Banner” started playing.

Furthermore, Villanueva apologized for actions that “threw my teammates under the bus, unintentionally.”

"“I made coach Tomlin look bad, and that is my fault and my fault only. I made my teammates look bad, and that is my fault … only”"

Villanueva also said that all every one of his Steelers teammates “is extremely supportive and extremely patriotic. I can honestly say that.” Though it would be hard to find anyone who thinks he needs to apologize for anything, he felt the need to do so anyway, adding that he had no issues with teammates who chose to kneel during the national anthem even though he would never do so himself.

"““We as a team tried to figure it out, obviously we butchered it, but I have learned that … I can’t tell you that I know what my teammates have gone through. I’m not gonna pretend like I have the righteous kind of voice that you should stand up for the national anthem.”"

The lineman’s comments come on the same day that his quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, was expressing his own regret at what happened before the Steelers’ game against the Chicago Bears. Big Ben posted a statement on his own website saying he had trouble sleeping and had second thoughts about his team’s actions, noting that in his opinion, “I personally don’t believe the Anthem is ever the time to make any type of protest. “

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