Garrett accuses Rudolph of using racial slur

Myles Garrett has again accused Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph of using a racial slur.

Myles Garrett has again accused Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph of using a racial slur on the night the Browns defensive end ripped off Rudolph’s helmet and hit him in the head with it.

Garrett was suspended indefinitely for the Nov. 14 incident. He missed the final six games of the 2019 season but was reinstated by the NFL on Feb. 12.

Garrett during a Feb. 13 interview on ESPN’s Outside the Lines opened up about what he alleges Rudolph said.

“He called me the Nword,” Garrett told Outside the Lines’ Mina Kimes during an interview that aired on Sports Center. “He called me a ‘stupid N-word.’”

Garrett first made the accusation while appealing the suspension in November. He said he never wanted the accusation to be made public. Rudolph denied the claim in a Nov. 24 interview in Pittsburgh.

“I couldn’t believe it,” the quarterback said Nov. 24. “I couldn’t believe he would go that route after the fact. It’s totally untrue.”

“I know what I heard,” Garrett said after Rudolph’s denial.

Garrett said the alleged insult did not excuse what he did. In the Feb. 13 interview, he said it sparked his reaction.

With eight seconds left in a nationally televised Thursday night game between the Browns and Steelers, Garrett sacked Rudolph after Rudolph completed a short pass. Garrett was slow to get off Rudolph. Rudolph tried unsuccessfully to push off Garrett’s helmet.

As Garrett stood, he ripped off Rudolph’s helmet and backed away. Rudolph walked toward Garrett and that s when Garrett used the helmet as a weapon.

“When he said it, it kind of sparked something, but I still tried to let it go and still walk away,” Garrett said in the Feb. 13 interview. “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 re-engage and start a fight again. It’s definitely not entirely his fault. It’s definitely both parties doing something that we shouldn’t have been doing.”

Larry Ogunjobi of the Browns was suspended one game and Maurkice Pouncey of the Steelers was suspended two games for their part in the brawl.