While the Steelers prepare for a critical AFC North game against the Bengals in Week 7, the off-the-field controversy sparked by Alameda Ta'amu's alleged DUI is creating plenty of consternation in the Pittsburgh area. Ta'amu was suspended two games by Mike Tomlin and the Steelers organization, a punishment that many feel was insufficient for his wild and dangerous actions.
Mike Bires of the Beaver County Times penned a column blasting the two-game suspension, referring to it as "justice Steelers' style" and calling it an "embarrassment." Ta'amu injured a female bystander when his car rammed into hers, and also forced police to draw their weapons at one point before they struggled to detain the massive defensive tackle. For Bires, after all that, having Ta'amu rejoin the team in two weeks doesn't seem appropriate:
After two weeks, Ta'amu will return to the team almost as if nothing happened. That's a shame.
I won't go as far as saying that the Steelers should have cut him. I have no problem with Ta'amu getting a second chance when the time is right. But he should have been suspended indefinitely, perhaps for the whole season.
Tomlin refused to get into the reasoning for why Ta'amu's actions prompted only a two-game suspension, likely hoping that the discussion would die down. But for Bires, no explanation of the punishment only adds to the insufficiency of the Steelers' response.