Mike Tomlin didn’t start off his weekly news conference by immediately addressing “the elephant in the room” like he’s done before, but it didn’t take long for the Steelers’ head coach to get around to Martavis Bryant — three minutes to be exact.
And by the look on his face, Tomlin wasn’t a happy man, and his words backed that up.
Instead of brushing off Bryant’s social media posts following Sunday’s 29-14 win over the Bengals (Bryant claimed, in part, he was better than teammate JuJu Smith-Schuster) like he did the week when reports surfaced that Bryant was unhappy with his playing time and wanted traded, Tomlin wasn’t playing those games anymore on Tuesday with the twice suspended receiver.
“He was out of bounds with some of his actions in terms of the things he said on social media,” Tomlin said. “It will be dealt with appropriately so. That ball is in my court and I haven’t visited with him yet. He’s worked diligently and I liked his approach but he said some things when he’s not around us that are somewhat of a distraction. I say somewhat because we have to field questions about it, not because it’s high on my damn agenda.”
Bryant doubled down on his unhappiness with his role with the team on Monday to ESPN. Bryant said that he has a personal deadline of Oct. 31 (the trade deadline) for things to get better.
“Then so be it, I’m not going to re-sign,” Bryant said. “I have this year and next year. I’ll just play next year out. I’m not tripping.”
Tomlin said that Bryant isn’t on the trading block.
Bryant hasn’t met with Tomlin — or anybody else associated with the organization — since his outburst on Sunday mostly because Bryant called off sick on Monday. The two are expected to meet on Wednesday when the Steelers return to practice in preparation for Sunday night’s game in Detroit.
It sounded like Tomlin is strongly considering disciplining Bryant is some way.
“I’ll visit him at some point and when I do, I will rain down my judgment and we will move forward,” Tomlin said.
But what kind of punishment could be in order for Bryant, if any?
Actually, it’s a tricky situation that very well can limit Tomlin’s options.
Article 42 of the collective bargaining agreement allows teams to fine a player for up to one week’s salary or to suspend him up to four weeks, without pay, for detrimental conduct. The conduct detrimental to the team clause has a very broad definition in which it’s basically left up to the team.
The issue is that what Bryant did — make a social media post and say that he wanted traded or he won’t re-sign with the team — may not be considered conduct detrimental to the team when it comes to the Steelers, but it may be to others.
It’s unknown whether or not the Steelers have any rule in place concerning social media posts. However, there are at least two incidents that point toward not having a team rule on it.
Tomlin banned Mike Mitchell from social media in 2014 when he told a fan to “kill yourself,” but there was no other discipline.
In 2011, Rashard Mendenhall posted controversial comments about Osama Bin Laden’s death and the subsequent celebratory acts in the United States. In response to the tweets, owner Art Rooney II issued a statement regarding the Steelers’ support for the troops. Mendenhall wasn’t disciplined.
There’s been stark contrasts to the Steelers and other teams when it comes to disciplining players for social media remarks.
Chiefs running back Larry Johnson was suspended for a game in 2009 for criticizing then-Kansas City head coach and current Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley on Twitter as well as using a gay slur toward a fan.
A year before that, the Browns suspended Kellen Winslow after being outspoken and critical over contracting a staph infection in the team facility. As a result, Winslow was suspended for one game costing him $235,294 under the conduct detrimental to the team clause.
Eagles receiver Riley Cooper was not suspended, but was fined an undisclosed amount, which he referred to as “a good amount of money” for racial slurs during a Kenny Chesney contact that was caught on video.
So, basically it’s up to the individual team to come up with what it views as conduct detrimental to the team means.
Tomlin has disciplined players in the past for violation of team rules.
In 2008, Santonio Holmes was inactive for game after being pulled over and charged with a misdemeanor for marijuana possession. In 2012, Mendenhall was suspended for a game after he didn’t show up for a game that he was told he was going to be listed as inactive.
And then last year, Eli Rogers dressed but didn’t play against the Patriots for reportedly missing a Saturday walkthrough. Although Tomlin never acknowledged the discipline for Rogers, it was evident by his snap counts. Rogers played 32 snaps the game before and 46 the game after.
“We’ve invested a lot in Martavis since we drafted him … we’ve invested a lot, we’ve covered a lot of ground,” Tomlin said. “It’s obvious that we still have a lot of ground to cover with him because we are having a conversation about him that’s not football related.
Tomlin continued: “It’s okay to want more playing time and want to be a central reason why we are successful provided he relays that in an appropriate way. Social media isn’t the appropriate way.”
(Photo credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports)