When I first saw it, I moved on. Largely because I didn’t know what to make of it. But once I started hearing about it from executives with other teams, I decided to give it a closer look.
Steelers safety DeShon Elliott posted a modified image of coach Mike Tomlin on Instagram earlier this week. The caption on the post referred to the coach as, “Osama bin Tomlin.”
Many have tried to figure out the point of the post. Some believe it’s a clunky 9/11 reference, given that the Steelers host the two New York teams in consecutive prime-time games. The first executive from another team who mentioned the post had something to do with the decision to bench Justin Fields for Russell Wilson.
The Steelers declined comment on the situation.
Elliott, for his part, said that he simply thought the picture was funny. Not many agreed, proving yet again the axiom that comedy is hard.