PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday released a statement from team President Art Rooney II addressing allegations that a Steelers assistant coach assaulted a New England Patriots fan during Thursday night's game.
According to an ESPN report, Steelers tight ends coach James Daniel allegedly assaulted and verbally accosted the fan on the way to the locker room before halftime.
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On Friday, a Steelers spokesman confirmed to Channel 11 News that the team is investigating.
Rooney's statement released Sunday said the following:
"We have conducted an internal inquiry into the alleged incident involving Assistant Coach James Daniel at the Patriots stadium Thursday night. After interviews with Coach Daniel, as well as other personnel who witnessed the alleged encounter, we find no corroboration that Coach Daniel was involved in any physical altercation with a fan.<br/><br/>"Coach Daniel has worked as an assistant coach for the Steelers for the past 12 seasons. We have a high level of confidence in his character and are confident that any further investigation of this incident will reveal he was not part of any assault or misconduct involving a Patriots fan."
Several players who spoke with Channel 11 Monday said they weren’t surprised that an internal investigation revealed no wrongdoing.
"I wasn't going to believe it until someone told me totally different, and obviously, (I’m) not surprised by what they found,” Steelers tight end Heath Miller said. “He's a great man. He's been a great man to me for the 10 years that I've been here, and, like I said it was, the accusations were surprising, but I didn't really buy into it.”