The Pittsburgh Steelers announced Friday morning that team president Art Rooney II has reinstated linebackers coach Joey Porter to the team.
“At this time, we have decided that Joey Porter will return to our coaching staff for the game in Kansas City this weekend,” Rooney said in a Friday statement. “We have reviewed the available information regarding the incident that took place on Sunday night. We have also reviewed the communication from the Allegheny County District Attorney’s office indicating the intention of that office to withdraw all but the summary offense charges.
“As an organization, we have great respect for the job the City of Pittsburgh Police perform for our community.
“We also respect the fact that there are ongoing legal proceedings stemming from the incident. We will await the outcome of the legal process and communicate further with the NFL regarding the Personal Conduct Policy before making any further decisions on potential discipline.”
Porter, who was placed on leave earlier in the week after he was arrested for an incident that took place late Sunday night at a South Side bar, will coach the Steelers outside linebackers Sunday when the team plays the Kansas City Chiefs in a Divisional Playoff game.
Porter’s reinstatement comes one day after Allegheny County District Attorney’s office announced via statement that a few of the original charges that Porter was facing had been dropped.
“Our office will proceed on those charges and barring any additional evidence that is brought forward, we will withdraw the other charges at the appropriate time,” the statement read.
Porter also released his own statement on Friday.
“I am grateful to be allowed to return to our coaching staff this weekend,” Porter said. “I regret that I was involved in an incident that could have been a distraction to our team. Most importantly, I regret that I touched the police officer and I sincerely apologize for that action. Thankfully, no one was injured.”
Earlier in the week, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin indicated that he wasn’t ready to rule out Porter coaching the outside linebackers Sunday in Kansas City.
