The Steelers unwittingly wound up being at the center of the debate last season by declining to take the field when the national anthem was played prior to their Sept. 24 game at Chicago when only Army veteran Alejandro Villanueva could be seen on the edge of the tunnel, hand over his heart.
That the rest of the team was stationed 15 feet behind him also standing for the anthem or the fact the coaching staff went to midfield to do so didn't matter. The visual was enough to pull the Steelers into the fray.
The debate arose when President Donald Trump made some statements regarding how NFL owners should deal with players who kneel, using a derogatory word to describe them. The Steelers, who had not and still haven't had a player kneel, decided to try to remove themselves from the debate by not leaving the tunnel as a team.
Wednesday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell issued guidelines for teams and players to follow in regard to the national anthem. They included:
1. All team and league personnel on the field shall stand and show respect for the flag and the Anthem.
2. The Game Operations Manual will be revised to remove the requirement that all players be on the field for the Anthem.
3. Personnel who choose not to stand for the Anthem may stay in the locker room or in a similar location off the field until after the Anthem has been performed.
4. A club will be fined by the League if its personnel are on the field and do not stand and show respect for the flag and the Anthem.
5. Each club may develop its own work rules, consistent with the above principles, regarding its personnel who do not stand and show respect for the flag and the Anthem.
6. The Commissioner will impose appropriate discipline on league personnel who do not stand and show respect for the flag and the Anthem.
Those rules have caused some consternation among both players and owners.
But Ramon Foster, the Steelers' NFLPA rep, said he doesn't feel the new rules will affect the Steelers.
“Us personally, I feel like we’ll handle it like pros,” said Foster. “It won’t be a situation for us. It’ll be work as usual for us. Other teams, we’ll see what happens. I’m sure when the summer break is on, everybody will voice their opinions and I’m sure it’ll be a highlight to opening day."