A post on social media Friday night shows Cleveland Browns coach Freddie Kitchens wearing a "Pittsburgh started it" T-shirt -- a reference to the Browns-Steelers brawl that led to an indefinite suspension for Cleveland defensive end Myles Garrett and more than $730,000 in fines.
A Browns spokesman told ESPN's Adam Schefter that Kitchens' daughters gave him the shirt "as a joke" and that he wore it to see the film "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood" with his family. The Browns said Kitchens did not intend for anyone to see it and "understands it's not a good look."
GV Art & Design, which sells the shirt, was among those posting the image of Kitchens wearing the shirt while posing for a photo with another man.
Garrett was suspended indefinitely and fined $45,623 for ripping off and swinging Mason Rudolph's helmet, hitting the Steelers quarterback in the head with it during Cleveland's 21-7 victory Nov. 14. Two other players -- Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey and Browns defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi -- also received suspensions, and a total of $732,422 in fines to 33 players and both teams were handed out.
The movie features Tom Hanks playing famed television personality Fred Rogers. One Steelers official told Schefter that Kitchens' decision to wear the T-shirt could be viewed as more disrespectful, given that Mr. Rogers was from Pittsburgh.
The Browns and Steelers meet for the second time this season on Sunday.
On Monday, Kitchens had said he wanted his players to focus on the game and avoid any "fluff" surrounding it.
"I want them to go in with one thing and one thing only on their minds, and that is to do their job, and anything that overshadows that in any way is not acceptable and it is not the best for the team," Kitchens said in a conference call. "I want guys to show up ready to do their job. All of that other stuff is just fluff. It is just fluff to give people things to talk about leading up to Sunday."
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