Pittsburgh Sports Columnist Turned Off By NFL's Social Justice Messaging Watches Entire Game
John Steigerwald is a 71-year-old columnist and sports talk radio host in Pittsburgh. If you've been online for a bit, you may remember Steigerwald as the guy who wrote something really dumb almost a decade ago. If you're from Pittsburgh, you probably have some other memories. Unsurprisingly, Steigerwald has some dated opinions on the NFL's new social justice messaging.
Just turned on NBC for NFL Kickoff 2020. The first thing I saw was a full screen picture of George Floyd. Bye
— John Steigerwald (@Steigerworld) September 10, 2020
You know what would have done wonders for the cause? An announcement at 7:00 that promised nothing but football for four hours. It’s overkill times 10 and people are either numbed by it and tuned out or fed up and resentful. It’s counterproductive. The point has been made. Enough
— John Steigerwald (@Steigerworld) September 10, 2020
It is very, very unclear how continuing to ignore the societal ills in America would do "wonders for the cause." It also seems really dismissive to refer to it as "the cause." You can just tell he rolled his eyes when he thought of it. And judging by the reaction in Kansas City, Steigerwald is not alone.
Much like the fans in attendance, Steigerwald ultimately stuck around (he must have been quite offended to find another image of George Floyd during the National Anthem). He even watched closely enough to know exactly why fans booed during the moment of unity. Because they just wanted football and were sick of waiting the extra minute it took to see it.
The people who booed in KC weren’t booing unity and everybody knows it. They were booing the relentless message sending and virtue signaling. They just want football. Or maybe they were saying Uuuuuuuuuuunity.
— John Steigerwald (@Steigerworld) September 11, 2020
Then there's this nugget. "Patrick Mahomes is pretty good."
Patrick Mahomes is pretty good
— John Steigerwald (@Steigerworld) September 11, 2020
This is the most nothing tweet possible and it really drives home the fact that people like Steigerwald do not care about football players when they take off their helmets. This isn't Colin Kaepernick on a shitty team, a couple years removed from an NFC Championship win. This is an MVP and Super Bowl champion asking you to listen and quietly sit through 30 seconds dedicated to unity. If Patrick Mahomes hasn't earned your attention for that long, what does that say about you? A lot.