The Steelers were trying not to make a statement, but accomplished the opposite.

The team decided not to come out for the national anthem before their game Sunday against the Bears. The Steelers intended the move to be viewed as a way to steer clear of the brewing feud between the NFL players and President Trump. Instead, they were seen by some — particularly from their own fan base — to be at the forefront of the widespread protests that have become a national controversy.

Steelers owner Art Rooney II attempted to set the record straight with the team’s rabid fanbase on Tuesday.

“The intentions of Steelers players were to stay out of the business of making political statements by not taking the field. Unfortunately, that was interpreted as a boycott of the anthem — which was never our players’ intentions,” he wrote in a statement.

Adding to the confusion was offensive lineman Alejandro Villanueva coming out of the tunnel with his hand on his chest during the anthem. Some Steelers teammates were confused by Villanueva’s actions after they had agreed upon a plan beforehand.

“This national-anthem ordeal has been out of control, and there’s a lot of blame on myself,” Villanueva said Monday. “Obviously, we butchered it. Unfortunately, I threw [my teammates] under the bus, unintentionally.”

Some fans were infuriated by the Steelers’ perceived defiance and burned jerseys of their favorite players. Ben Roethlisberger said he had a sleepless night on Sunday and said the team would stand for the anthem before their next game against the Ravens.

“Yesterday, I received an email from a Steelers fan who said tell the players to just play football,” Rooney continued. “That is exactly what they wanted to do. They wanted their sole focus to be on playing the game, while also coming together as a unified team.

“The main thing we can do is learn from this and strive to come together remaining unified as a football team. I believe we are capable of accomplishing this with the support of our fans.”

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