With most of his players staying in the locker room as part of the protest sweeping the NFL, Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin stood alone on the field as the national anthem played before the team’s game Sunday against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field.
But he wasn’t actually alone, offensive tackle Alejandro Villanueva, a former Army Ranger who served three tours in Afghanistan before getting his taste of the NFL, stood outside the tunnel for the anthem.
Villanueva, who played college football at Army, failed to crack the Eagles’ regular-season roster in 2014, but eventually caught on with the Steelers in 2015, making 10 starts at left tackle and appearing in all 16 games.
He started all 16 games for the Steelers last season.
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