In a press availability session, Myles Garrett, the Browns’ star defensive end, stated that his focus lies on the sack record. Nothing or no one else is relevant. He was, of course, answering a question about the Steelers’ Mason Rudolf.

“I don’t think there’s a lot of history between the two of us,” Garrett said about Mason. 

In 2019, everyone in the FirstEnergy Stadium witnessed a violent and unforeseen physical altercation between Garrett and Rudolf.  After the Browns’ defensive end sacked the Steelers quarterback with just seconds remaining, the two players fell to the ground fighting each other. 

Things escalated quickly when Garrett ripped out Rudolf’s helmet and hit him on the head while Maurkice Pouncey ran to double down. The Browns won 21-7, but the scuffle became one of the NFL’s biggest controversies. Garrett was ejected from the game and later suspended for the season, and Rudolf was fined. 

The league also fined both teams $250,000 each.

The Depth of the Controversy

In an interview on Outside the Lines Mina Kimes, Garrett alleged that Rudolf used a racial slur against him. Rudolph denied the allegation and called it “a disgusting and reckless attempt to assassinate my character.”

The NFL said that it found no evidence that supports Garrett’s claims.
“As we said at the time the allegation was made, we looked into the matter and found no such evidence,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said.

Similarly, Mike Tomlin, the Steelers’ head coach, said that he did not find any supporting claims from the Browns to back their defensive end. 

“In my conversations (with the Browns), I had a lot of sorrow for what transpired,” Tomlin said in a statement.”

Baker Mayfield stated that witnessing that violent scuffle was difficult. 

“It’s tough to see,’’ he said. “I am not sure if there were words exchanged before that or anything like that. It’s tough to watch.”

Garrett, still adamant about the comment passed at him, later said he wants to move past the fight.
“It's over with for me. And I'm pretty sure it's over with for Mason. So we just wanna move past and keep on playing football.”

Garrett and the Browns prepare for their second faceoff against the Steelers. Garrett can say that their “history” does not cast any shadow over them, but he cannot deny the tension or caution that the incident transpired.

Written by

Akanksha Biradar

Edited by

Joyita Das