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Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin talks with his predecessor, Bill Cowher, during a practice at the team's South Side facility in 2010.
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Bill Cowher: Antonio Brown's video was 'disrespectful;' Spygate had 'nothing to do' with Steelers losses

Peter Diana/Post-Gazette

Bill Cowher: Antonio Brown's video was 'disrespectful;' Spygate had 'nothing to do' with Steelers losses

Former Steelers coach Bill Cowher described Antonio Brown’s decision to broadcast a post-game locker room video after Sunday’s win in Kansas City as “selfish,” “self-serving,” “inappropriate” and “disrespectful, to say the least.”

In a conference call held by CBS Sports, Cowher pulled no punches in describing Brown’s actions.

“That locker room after the game is a special place,” Cowher said, while acknowledging that Brown has since recognized his actions were wrong.

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Cowher, now an analyst with CBS Sports’ “NFL Today,” was more complimentary of the way his successor Tomlin dealt with the situation.

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“I think Mike handled it very well,” Cowher said. 

Cowher did not expect the Steelers to spite their face by cutting their nose and assumed Brown’s punishment from the Steelers would not affect his playing time in Sunday’s AFC championship game against the New England Patriots in Foxborough, Mass. Cowher said the video has added to the “animosity between the two teams.” Tomlin, in his speech, referred to the Patriots as a*******.

Posting the video was a violation of both Steelers and NFL policy, and Brown may be fined.

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Cowher also commented on Spygate, the Patriots’ past videotaping controversy. Some players and many fans have wondered whether the Patriots spied on the Steelers and influenced the AFC championships after the 2001 and 2004 seasons. 

Cowher previously has stated that he felt spying “was something everybody does.” His views on the controversy have not changed.

“Everybody was trying to gain a competitive edge,” Cowher said, adding that it was up to individual teams to protect their signals. 

“Spygate had nothing to do with us losing those football games. ... there’s no doubt in my mind,” he said. 

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, right, and Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger meet again Sunday in Foxborough, Mass.
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Cowher also said the issue is not relevant anymore because teams use updated technology to communicate with players, negating the need for physical signals.

 

Elizabeth Bloom: ebloom@post-gazette.com, 412-263-1750 and Twitter: @BloomPG

First Published: January 18, 2017, 9:32 p.m.

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