In the first quarter of Thursday night’s game between the Steelers and the Browns, Pittsburgh quarterback Aaron Rodgers was upset.
Considering he’s often bored during games, that doesn’t cut it.
He was particularly concerned that the show was coming in too slowly. And a microphone picked up the words.
“What the hell?” Rodgers said angrily on the sideline. ‘Call him.’
Prime Video cameras then panned to coach Mike McCarthy, who appeared to say: “Dirty bat.”
After the game, McCarthy initially feigned confusion when asked about the communication issues. When the questioning got more specific, he said Steelers PR director Burt Lauten told McCarthy about the exchange that made its way to TV.
“Communication is sometimes not the best choice of words, but everyone is competing on the field,” McCarthy said. “I think, you know, what’s said on the field, the way I grew up in this game, you know, it usually stays on the field. That’s not the case today. I understand that. But, yeah, any negative communication from me, I’d like to not use those words.”
For Rodgers’ part, he was not asked about the specific exchange.
Either way, the Steelers fell to 2-2. They are currently in last place in the Northern AFL, as the only team with two losses. If the Bengals and Ravens win on Sunday, the Steelers will be all alone in the basement of the division.