We’ve all seen Mike Tomlin’s questionable version of the stanky leg. And after initially saying anyone who thought it was done on purpose was “crazy,” he’s now slightly changing his tune calling the incident an inexcusable blunder in today’s press conference.
“Embarrassing, inexcusable, illegal, a blunder. I take full responsibility for my actions. I understand there are repercussions that come with a blunder of that nature. With my position comes the charge of preserving and protecting the integrity of football.”
“That play jeopardized the integrity of the NFL from a competition standpoint,” he continued. “That’s a mistake on my part. I was focused on the blunder itself and the embarrassment it produced. As a head coach in this league we are held to a higher standard of conduct. Based on that, my actions were below the line.”
Tomlin also said he doesn’t know what a fair punishment would be, but he’s not worried about it.
“I don’t know what a just punishment is,” he said, via the Baltimore Sun’s Aaron Wilson. “I’m not nervous about it. My money and wallet is what it is because of football.”
After new video shows Tomlin’s actions weren’t as unintentional as he originally claimed, it will be interesting to see what punishment the league hands down. But there’s on thing I’m sure of…it will be stiff enough to send a message