PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – A poll conducted by the NFL Players Association not only ripped the Pittsburgh Steelers, but named Art Rooney as the second worst owner in the league.
The only areas above average is head coach Mike Tomlin, who received an ‘A’ from players and a couple of ‘B’s’-one for the strength coaches, who have been replaced and the food and cafeteria.
As for the praise of Tomlin, 98% of them feel Tomlin is efficient with their time and willing to listen to the locker room.
In a release by the Players Association it says one of the core jobs as a union is to improve the overall working conditions for our players, which includes the daily experience of players at the team facilities away from the public or media. They said they had a total of 1,706 players participate in a survey. The union said it is done not only to share information about the player’s current club, but also make important career decisions and raise standards across the league.
The players said the Steelers are horrible at treating families, giving them an ‘F- grade’. Steelers are one of only 12 teams that don’t provide a family room during games. They are one of seven teams that do not provide daycare to support players’ children on game day. They are one of four teams that not have a family room or daycare of any kind
Owner Art Rooney II got an ‘F’ and only Washington, which had several issues and their owner had to sell, was worse. The players cited a failure of Rooney to invest in facilities as a major reason he was crushed in this survey.
Out of 32 teams in the NFL, the Steelers ranked 28th or worse in several other categories:
· Nutritionist/dietician—only 67% of players feel like they get an individualized plan
· Locker room facilities—too small, not enough room, in need of a renovation and expansion
· Training room facilities—need more full-time physical therapists, they need greater access to individual care. They are one of a few teams that don’t offer a sauna
· Training staff
· Team travel—this although the Steelers do not require players have roommates
This is not a one-year issue for the Steelers, they were graded as a D- in treatment of families last year, so that got even worse. Last year only 44% of players who responded felt like Art Rooney is willing to invest money in upgrading facilities.