Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett isn’t backing off his assertion that Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph used a racial slur prior to the incident that got Garrett suspended.
In an interview with ESPN’s Outside The Lines, Garrett took things further and insinuated that the NFL withheld evidence that might support his claim.
The NFL has since responded with a statement, shared by Jake Trotter of ESPN, defending its investigation.
Basically, the NFL is saying there’s just nothing to hear from the audio recordings that are available from the game, and that nobody the league interviewed heard Rudolph utter a racial slur.
For his part, Rudolph has come out with force against Garrett’s allegation.
Garrett certainly was heated during his incident last year with Rudolph. As you likely remember, he ripped Rudolph’s helmet right off his head and then slugged him over the head with it as a weapon. The league suspended him indefinitely, but this week he was reinstated after serving a six-game ban.