Smiling throughout his 10-minute video conference call with media Wednesday, Stephon Tuitt reiterated his stance he is “a proud American” who will stand for the national anthem before games this fall. The Pittsburgh Steelers veteran defensive end also said he is “very confident” the controversy behind the issue will not be a source of division for his teammates.

“That’s just pertaining to me, and that’s just how I feel morally on the subject at hand,” Tuitt said, referring to a pair of posts to his verified social media accounts last month that said, in part, “I’m not kneeling for the flag and screw anybody who have a problem with that.”

“That’s just my beliefs of what I want to do,” Tuitt said Wednesday. “We haven’t come together as a team yet to talk about it, but for me specifically that’s just how I feel about the subject.”

Also I’m not kneeling for the flag and screw anybody who have a problem with that. My grandmother was a immigrant from the Carribean and age worked her ass off to bring 20 people over the right way. She had no money and educated herself to be a nurse. She living good now.

— stephon tuitt (@DOCnation_7) July 27, 2020

Tuitt’s initial Twitter post July 27 read that he was not kneeling and expanded upon that with his reasoning: “My grandmother was (an) immigrant from the Caribbean and … worked her (butt) off to bring 20 people over the right way. She had no money and educated herself to be a nurse. She living good now.”

A post three days later on Tuitt’s Instagram page read, in part: “I stand for the flag because I am a proud American. Like previously stated, this country has provided and rewarded my family in so many ways through our perseverance and hard work. I will continue to honor my country and be an example to my children to stand for what they believe in.”

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I stand for the flag because I am a proud American. Like previously stated, this country has provided and rewarded my family in so many ways through our perseverance and hard work. I will continue to honor my country and be an example to my children to stand for what they believe in. In regards to police brutality and the black lives matter movement I will support these causes through other means. It’s unfortunate that a couple unprofessional individuals have caused such havoc on our country and damaged the trust of its citizens. I will not let those individuals steer me from the fact on the opportunity this country gives for everyone. God Bless.

A post shared by Stephon Tuitt (@stuitt) on Jul 30, 2020 at 1:17pm PDT

Several NFL players have said they will kneel during The Star Spangled Banner this season as a form of protest against police brutality and perceived racial injustice. Protests have taken place in dozens of cities across the county since the death of George Floyd while in custody of Minneapolis police in May.

Wednesday was Tuitt’s first interaction with media since undergoing season-ending pectoral surgery last October. He was brief in his answers about the flag/anthem issue.

Asked to expand on his confidence the subject will not be divisive in the Steelers’ locker room, Tuitt said, “I have nothing to expand on that. I am just very confident that it will work out for our team.”

Tuitt is entering his seventh NFL season after being a second-round pick from Notre Dame.

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