The Pittsburgh Steelers players were seeing red on Friday at Heinz Field. No, they were not seeing red in anger. Instead, they were seeing red because that’s color of the shirt that head coach Mike Tomlin was wearing, and he did so in an effort to send a message to more than just his players.
Tomlin was asked about his Friday practice attire during his media session and his response was a perfect one with a lot of meaning wrapped around a good chunk of gratitude.
“In regards to the shirt, we just have some really quality service people around here that are working their tails off to keep us safe, Tomlin said. “And I just wanted to show my appreciation for the work that they do by wearing their uniform and encouraging guys to pause and to be thankful for the services provided and hopefully brighten their day if given an opportunity.”
The back of Tomlin’s red shirt had the words “CLEANING AMBASSADOR” on it and it was quite the change for the Steele head coach as he usually wears all black during training camp practices no matter the weather.
Tomlin has a long history of knowing how to send messages and the one he sent on Friday at Heinz Field has now been received loud and clear. The ongoing coronavirus pandemic continues to alter so many things that we had previously taken for granted with simple training camp practices being one them. Tomlin did a great job of driving that point home on Friday.
“We just need to be conscious of the contributions of everyone,” Tomlin said. “It takes everyone within our organization to put together a successful day and thus a successful season and so we just wanted that on the front of our consciousness today and wearing the shirt is a means of doing that.”
