On Sunday, we saw yet another display of immaturity by Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson. In the midst of a blowout loss, late in the game, Johnson caught a garbage touchdown and chose to go for a choreographed touchdown celebration.
The incident was something the media asked head coach Mike Tomlin during his Monday press conference ahead of this Thursday’s game against the New England Patriots.
Tomlin played it off as if he didn’t even see the play, which we all know isn’t true. Then when asked if he had an opinion about Johnson celebrating when the team is down by 14 points, he said there was nothing he would share with the media.
What does that mean? It means Tomlin saw it, hates it but won’t do anything about it. Tomlin is more than willing to turn a blind eye to bad behavior by really great players, especially when he doesn’t have a replacement. But Chuks Okorafor is benched for the season for criticizing the offense on the sidelines. Would Tomlin have been so willing to make that move if he didn’t have Broderick Jones waiting in the wings?