Ex-Steelers player says he 'did not intend to lessen my white football brothers'

Mendenhall suggested a racial bowl game last week

Former Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall suggested he may have regretted one of his recent controversial posts on social media on Saturday.

Mendenhall went viral in the NFL world when he took a shot at White people talking football and suggested a racial bowl game to replace the Pro Bowl.

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Rashard Mendenhall stiff arm

December 24, 2011; Pittsburgh,PA, USA: Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall (34) carries the ball against St. Louis Rams cornerback Rod Hood (26) on a 52 yard run during the second quarter at Heinz Field.  (Charles LeClaire-USPRESSWIRE)

"Did not intend to lessen my white football brothers. But honestly, they know that.." Mendenhall wrote.

Mendenhall was on the Steelers during the 2008 season, when the team eventually went on to win the Super Bowl. His season was cut short due to injury. He was on the team when they went to the Super Bowl in 2010 against the Green Bay Packers, but he had a crucial fumble in the fourth quarter that set up a Packers touchdown.

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However, he took exception to some of the analysis he was seeing online – specifically from White people.

"I’m sick of average white guys commenting on football," he wrote. "Y’all not even good at football. Can we please replace the Pro Bowl with an All-Black vs. All-White bowl so these cats can stop trying to teach me who’s good at football. I’m better than ur (sic) goat."

Rashard Mendenhall vs Titans

Dec 15, 2013; Nashville, TN, USA; Arizona Cardinals running back Rashard Mendenhall (28) carries the ball against the Tennessee Titans during the first half at LP Field.  (Don McPeak-USA TODAY Sports)

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Mendenhall followed up with another post later.

"Simply tired of being berated by people who arent experts in de game," he wrote. "We jus pretend like I’m the only athlete tired of fans talking trash? You dis upset over a single tweet. What about us? Like me or not, I’m a GREAT in football. This proves my point, u can’t speak on ball alone."

Mendenhall was a standout running back at Illinois before turning pro. He played for the Steelers from 2008 to 2012 before spending his final year in Arizona.

Rashard Mendenhall looks on

Apr 12, 2014; Champaign, IL, USA; Former Illinois Fighting Illini player Rashard Mendenhall looks on during the third quarter of the spring game at Memorial Stadium. (Bradley Leeb-USA TODAY Sports)

He was on the Steelers when they defeated the Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII. It was Mike Tomlin’s first Super Bowl championship.

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Ryan Gaydos is a senior editor for Fox News Digital.

Authored by Ryan Gaydos via FoxNews December 24th 2023