PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Asked if he hears inappropriate comments from fans at games, Steelers captain Cam Heyward said only before, during and after.
It’s a constant in not just professional football, but all sports, political, media, all of it. The language is at a different level. The insults are more personal than team based. It’s more and more common that it’s not just about rooting against the opponent, but it’s become personal.
Not that it excuses what DK Metcalf did, there is no place for players to ever touch a fan.
“As professionals we got to keep moving beyond that,” Heyward said.
He also pointed out it’s tougher in a stadium setting. In basketball you a player might point out some fan over the line and an usher can eject him. Heyward said that’s not easy to do at a football game.
As the Steelers captain was asked about the Metcalf two-game suspension, Heyward also made the point that a fan getting after a player shouldn’t be part of the game.
“It shouldn’t be tolerated at all,” Heyward said. “I respect them as they come to watch us play. They should respect us as we try to put on a good show for them.”
Metcalf won’t be allowed at the team facility for the next two weeks, that’s part of the rules of NFL suspensions. Heyward has been a team representative for the players union and wonders why an owner can get fined and be around work, but a player has to stay away.
“The one thing I don’t understand in these situations,” Heyward said Wednesday. “When a guy gets suspended we keep him out of the locker room. We keep him from the facility. I know DK is in a better situation, but there’s plenty of guys who get lost in those situations.”
“This is a family. This is a team. You take somebody and rip somebody from that and say ‘hey, you are suspended without pay’. What are we really saying? We are kind of putting those guys at a disadvantage.”
Heyward says it’s on the team now to stay in contact with him, to a point act like he’s still here. They need to ask what he needs and keep his presence a part of the locker room while he misses the end of the regular season. It can be as simple as saying ‘Merry Christmas’.
With a two-game lead in the division the Steelers need to win one of its final two games or have Green Bay beat the Ravens on Saturday to not only get back in the playoffs, but win the division and host a playoff game.
Because of the situation in Detroit, Steelers will end the regular season without their number one receiver.