After you’ve lost two straight games to teams eight games below .500, you want your team to come out and make a strong statement on the football field. You want your squad to play like the season depends on it — because it does. Only the players weren’t the ones to make a statement; their head coach did, and it couldn’t have come at a worse time.
It’s as if Mike Tomlin knew his Pittsburgh Steelers team would go down in flames — as it had so often this season — that he wanted to avert the attention of the media and fans.
Tomlin’s choice of sideline wear — a variation also worn by his staff — spoke volumes louder than his team’s performance. Instead of his usual toned-down single Steelers logo shirt and team jacket, Tomlin sported a Steelers-branded long-sleeve shirt that read: “Justice, opportunity, freedom, equality, NFL.”
And X went wild as everyone who saw Tomlin wearing the shirt on the sideline knew they would.
“Can they eject Steelers coach “Woke” Mike Tomlin for that ridiculous propaganda rag he calls a shirt,” one fan tweeted.
No, SMELLYWALMARTHILLBILLY@ChandlerJonesStiffarm, they won’t.
Mike Tomlin wearing a social justice shirt on the sidelines as he is coaching the worst he’s ever coached in his career is just poking the bear at this point. Steelers fans are so tired of this dude.
— 🎙️Dave Robicheaux 🛜 (@DaveyRobicheaux) December 16, 2023
Love Mike Tomlin’s shirt – justice, opportunity, freedom, equality …. Which has 💩 to do with coaching a winning football team! Idiot! @steelers #HereWeGo pic.twitter.com/LzoEPn3Vtb
— Phil Gleason (@Secondhole) December 17, 2023
What does the shirt Mike Tomlin is wearing say? Something about justice? How ridiculous. #herewego
— J.D. Haltigan, PhD 🏒👨💻 (@JDHaltigan) December 16, 2023
How ironic of Mike Tomlin to wear a shirt that said justice, opportunity,freedom and equity. The once mighty Steelers would have fired him 5 years ago should he have been white.
— Todd Monk (@MonkTodd39431) December 17, 2023
Can they eject @steelers coach "Woke" Mike Tomlin for that ridiculous propaganda rag he calls a shirt?
— SMELLYWALMARTHILLBILLY@ChandlerJonesStiffarm (@tdn451) December 16, 2023
I don't understand. Mike Tomlin had all the woke keywords on his shirt. How are the @steelers losing to Indianapolis?
— TRRBogie (@TRRBogie) December 17, 2023
Mike Tomlin put more thought into his social justice shirt than he did the gameplan!! ANOTHER year of Steelers missing the playoffs which btw is really a losing season! #Steelers #NFL
— T Lent (@TerryLent) December 17, 2023
What is wrong with Mike Tomlin? Instead of being grateful that black millionaire many times over is on the sidelines wearing a shirt
That has equality, justice, and other woke buzzwords.
He should be wearing a shirt that says I'm grateful to coach football— Will Harris (@Will34Harris) December 17, 2023
The only thing uglier than the Steelers offense is Mike Tomlin’s shirt
— Yinzer🛫 (@Steelers_9_8) December 17, 2023
I'd fire Mike Tomlin for wearing that stupid shirt.
— M Halls (@halls389812) December 17, 2023
What does Mike Tomlin’s shirt say, and is “legibility” one of the words?
— ID Crisis #AsphaltComic (@IDcrisisdesign) December 16, 2023
What does the shirt Mike Tomlin is wearing say? Something about justice? How ridiculous. #herewego
— J.D. Haltigan, PhD 🏒👨💻 (@JDHaltigan) December 16, 2023
Can they eject @steelers coach "Woke" Mike Tomlin for that ridiculous propaganda rag he calls a shirt?
— SMELLYWALMARTHILLBILLY@ChandlerJonesStiffarm (@tdn451) December 16, 2023
