The mother of Antwon Rose Jr. expressed her disappointment towards Pittsburgh Steelers left tackle Alejandro Villanueva for not displaying her son’s name on his helmet during the team’s season opener.
In a Facebook post, Michelle Kenney expressed her dismay at Villanueva’s decision not to follow the team’s choice to honor Rose universally during the Steelers’ game against the New York Giants. Kenney wrote, “The Pittsburgh Steelers took a team vote. Obviously, one person didn’t like the results, so they chose to do something different.” She added, “I have nothing against vets and absolutely appreciate everything that they have done and continue to do for us. But this one person showed us exactly who he is and obviously he didn’t approve of how the vote turned out.”
While the rest of the Steelers players agreed to support Rose who tragically died after being shot by an East Pittsburgh police officer in 2018, Villanueva opted to cover it up and honor Alwyn Cashe, a former Army sergeant killed in action in Iraq. Villanueva, a former Army Ranger who served tours in Afghanistan, chose to honor Cashe, who was posthumously awarded the Silver Star for valor in combat after his death in 2005 at age 35 due to an explosive device near his vehicle.
In response to the backlash, Villanueva stated, “In my opinion; that’s for his coach, team and organization to address NOT ME! While he was so busy being negative what it actually did now forced more people to engage in this conversation.” He added, “I’m going to use this negative press and negativity to motivate me to hold the Pittsburgh Steelers even more accountable. Yes I believe in second chances but as we all know I believe in putting in the work and that’s how I base my collaborations. They came to me as a team/organization and I don’t care how good of an individual you are; if you are not a TEAM player then maybe you are playing for the wrong team. You can’t stop nothing god put in motion and I’m here for the long haul. Touchdown baby!”
