The Pittsburgh Steelers have a long history of championship success and is one of the most storied teams in the NFL.
They currently have six Super Bowl titles — and came close to having a 7th — but fell short to the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XLV.
Like any football game, a variety of factors go into winning and losing. But former Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall — who was selected by Pittsburgh in the first round of the NFL Draft with the 23rd overall pick in 2008 — believes a fourth quarter fumble in a critical moment of the game has changed the course of his entire life.
The Former Pittsburgh Steelers ball-carrier has been adamant that the play wasn’t actually a fumble, although by NFL rules and how stats are tracked, it’s classified as one.
Former Pittsburgh Steelers RB Rashard Mendenhall Opens Up About Emotional Struggles Over Fumble
After a recent series of controversial tweets aimed at white men, Mendenhall joined his former teammate Ryan Clark and former Jaguars running back Fred Taylor on the Pivot Podcast to explain the rationale behind his sudden outburst on social media.
Mendenhall believes he’s the most attacked NFL player in the modern era, all because of the lost fumble from 12 years ago.
“It’s like it don’t stop,” the former Pittsburgh Steelers standout said.
“I don’t know if there’s a more attacked player in the modern era than me,” Mendenhall continued.
“Because of a single play from a single game. We talk about race and everything, I feel like I’m reminded of my color every single day. I wake up, kiss my Lebanese wife, open my phone to check my business, and I’m reminded of a moment. That s*** feels like Chinese water torture a little pinging, over and over where it don’t make me want to crawl up in a ball and die. It wakes up something else.
When they say say football is what you do it’s not who you are, I don’t know if I believe that. I feel like who and what was made under that helmet, what was made, like what we created, that animal, that monster, it sticks with you. For me it was a Samurai, that’s the only thing that makes sense,
I think it’s like, as triggering as things in this country are anyway, it’s this element of— it’s not the play, I’ve had million plays in my life bump the play — it’s how I’ve been treated since and I don’t think it’s fair and I’ve finally had enough. “
Former Pittsburgh Steelers safety Ryan Clark then asked Mendenhall to clarify.
“So when you say you’re reminded of it, is it people tweeting you, is it people messaging you, who is reminding you of it?” Clark asked.
“It’s under my name, like in life now in Google, your name and brand is your business. And to my name, whatever hashtags, whatever is said when I check my business, I gotta see the same word, like ‘fumble.’ Or even people mentioning the same things. I know this ain’t no joke, I know this ain’t about football, when somebody is saying fumble to me, I feel like they are intentionally trying to hurt me, they are intentionally trying to pick at me.
And I’m already ready to fight. I’m like what the f** are you talking about? What are we talking about this for? We left that game and it’s supposed to be over, but if it’s not, then 12 years later I’ve got to live in this and I might have a little attitude about it.”
Clark then tried to provide some clarity, reminding his former teammate former players face hate from trolls on the internet on a daily basis.
“The truth is, it’s only over when it’s over for us. You played in Pittsburgh with me, I know what it is, good and bad. Like every year, they’re going to say something about my tackles. Or if I say something about Baltimore, there will be Baltimore fans who are going to show the play where Joe Flacco beat me over the top to Torrey Smith to win the game. Those thing are part of our resume and people are never going to let them go. Because people are immature, they don’t have their own moment, negative or positive, they get to share with the world.”
So for you, have you been able to let the play go?
“The first thing I thought is go where, because I’m seeing it in front of me. I don’t know man I put my heart into the game and that s*** means that much to me,” Mendenhall continued. “And in my mind, that’s the best game I ever played in my career. I didn’t take a single false step that day. That’s what I keep in my mind and in my psyche, but to talk about a single play, I can accept a play. But this idea, that I’m the cost, I’m the reason, I lost the ball of course, but did I lose the game for my team? I lost the 7th trophy for the Steelers? That’s what doesn’t sit right with me and there’s like a small group of people who will never let me live that down, who try to beat me over the head, like you lost the 7th f***ing trophy for the Steelers. And to me? A team loses, and a team wins a game.”
“For whatever reason there’s a ticker, there’s a play…If I can’t see my way out of then I’ll write my way through, that’s why I wrote that Tweet.” @R_Mendenhall
Opening up on the why & behind what led him to his controversial tweethttps://t.co/8LzK5ocaxh pic.twitter.com/8MRKmxd2FI
— Pivot Podcast (@thepivot) December 29, 2023
The former Steelers running back admitted his frustrations over constantly being attacked for the fumble led him to writing last week’s controversial tweet.
Mendenhall finished the Super Bowl loss with 14 carries for 63 yards and a touchdown. He closed out his career with 4,236 yards with 37 touchdowns in his 72 games played. He added another 795 yards and two touchdowns as as receiver out of the backfield.
On March 2014, at the age of 26, Mendenhall retired from the NFL, saying, “Football was pretty cool, but I don’t want to play anymore. I want to travel the world and write,”