Pittsburgh Steelers

Tomlin goes off on ESPN … on ESPN

FILE PHOTO: Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph called Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett a racial slur moments before their brawl at the end of a “Thursday Night Football” game, Garrett said during an appeal hearing Wednesday.

PITTSBURGH — Mike Tomlin generally stays away from the media in the offseason. Most years, from the time he holds his season-ending press conference when the Steelers' season ends until the NFL meetings in the spring, Tomlin goes on a media blackout.

But Browns defensive end Myles Garrett’s decision to rehash his accusations of the use of a racial slur by Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph got Tomlin’s dander up.

RELATED: Steelers’ Coach Tomlin again defends Rudolph; agent hints a possible legal action against Myles Garrett

Tomlin appeared on ESPN’s “First Take” on Monday morning with Stephen A. Smith said he felt the need to defend Rudolph after Garrett was a guest on the network’s show, “Outside the Lines” and reiterated his claims that the Steelers quarterback used a racial slur during the melee that took place at the end of their game in Cleveland Nov. 14.

"I took offense to it to be quite honest with you," Tomlin said. "We were hacked off with what we saw this weekend.

"When it first transpired during the season, we don’t have a lot of time to pause and fight battles of that nature. We said our piece, we were completely cooperative with all parties involved, the Cleveland Browns and the National Football League office. Then, we had to move on, we had another game awaiting us. But when these allegations returned this past weekend, I thought it was appropriate that Mason is properly defended.”

CLICK HERE to read more from DKPittsburghSports.com