Cleveland Browns pass rusher Myles Garrett , fresh off being reinstated from suspension by the NFL, reiterated his defense that Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph used a racial slur towards him that sparked the November brawl.
“He called me the N-word,” Garrett told Mina Kimes of ESPN . “He called me a ‘stupid N-word.'”
Garrett used the same defense in his appeal of an indefinite suspension that cost him the final six games of the season.
The NFL said it found no evidence to support the allegations. Rudolph said at the time it was “totally untrue” and he “couldn’t believe” Garrett would make that allegation.
In the interview, which aired Thursday, Garrett reiterated his stance that Rudolph, who wasn’t suspended but had his $ 350, 02 fine upheld, was the main culprit in the fight that led to the pass rusher nailing the QB with his own helmet in the head.
“When he said it, it kind of sparked something, but I still tried to let it go and still walk away,” Garrett said. “But once he came back, it kind of reignited the situation. And not only have you escalated things past what they needed to be with such little time in the game left, now you’re trying to reengage and start a fight again. definitely not entirely his fault; it’s definitely both parties doing something that we shouldn’t have been doing.
“I don’t say the N-word, whether it’s with ‘a’ [or] ‘er.’ To me personally, just shouldn’t be said, and whether it’s by family, friends, anyone. I don’t want to use it because I don’t want [people to] find that appropriate around me for anyone to use. ”
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