The bad blood between the Steelers and Browns existed even before their Week 11 extracurricular activities. But after Freddie Kitchens publicly sported a “Pittsburgh Started It” T-shirt last week, there may be no going back on the bitterness of the rivalry.
“I know that our coach never would have done anything like that,” Steelers left guard Ramon Foster said, via Brooke Pryor of ESPN. “Why throw gas? When you do something like that, you throw your players in harm’s way. He’s not on the field. You throw your players in harm’s way when you do stuff like that with a vengeance. And I hate that for them.”
Foster added he’s “glad coach T doesn’t do anything like that,” referring to Steelers coach Mike Tomlin.
Kitchens downplayed wearing a “Pittsburgh Started It” shirt while out to see “It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” for his birthday Friday night.
The Steelers, though, saw it something as other than “just a T-shirt,” as Kitchens seemed to imply.
“I thought it was pretty stupid,” Steelers offensive lineman David DeCastro said. “That’s a lot of bulletin-board material. I don’t know why you do that as a coach. I just don’t get that. Of course it’s going to motivate us. What are you thinking? It’s just not smart.”
On Sunday night, after the Steelers’ 20-13 victory, Pittsburgh Clothing Co. printed a T-shirt that read “Pittsburgh finished it,” Daryl Ruiter of 92.3 The Fan reports.
