confinescollectibles.com
Alejandro Villanueva Signed Pittsburgh Steelers "USA Flag" Jersey (TSE COA) O.T.
Custom on-field style jersey. Everything is sewn on, size XL. Hand-signed in black felt-tip pen by Alejandro Villanueva. On 24 September 2017, prior to a game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field,
the Steelers did not take the field for the national anthem in order to
avoid getting caught up in the controversy related to players kneeling
or displaying other signs of racial protest around the NFL started by Colin Kaepernick.
Villanueva was the lone member of the Steelers to appear publicly for the national anthem,
standing in front of the entrance tunnel for the performance while the
rest of the team remained in the locker room. Head coach Mike Tomlin
stated a wish to simply play the game and not allow for any show of
support one way or the other on the issue. Likely as a result of this, Villanueva's jersey became the top selling
jersey on the NFL's official store in the 24 hour period after Sunday's
games started. The move caught some of his teammates and coach Tomlin by surprise. Later, Villanueva apologized for his appearance saying, "I see that
picture of me standing by myself and I'm embarrassed to a degree,
because unintentionally I left my teammates behind."At a press conference the day after, he said, "Unfortunately, I threw
my teammates under the bus, unintentionally... Every single time I see
that picture of me, standing by myself, I feel embarrassed. .................................................................................................................................................................................. The lot / autograph(s) includes an official Total Sports Enterprises (TSE) hologram and matching COA for authenticity purposes.
Authentication: Total Sports Enterprises COA
Authentication: Total Sports Enterprises COA
