Emotions were high after the Pittsburgh Steelers 38-3 loss to the Buffalo Bills in Week 5, and after the game, things got tense in the locker room.
Veteran cornerback Arthur Maulet gave an impassioned speech to the team following the blowout, telling players "you need to love this [explicit]". He then made it known players were laughing on the sideline during the loss, which led to linebacker Marcus Allen saying something back - in an unhostile way.
Maulet and Allen exchanged a few words before the situation dissolved. Maulet chose not to speak to the media about the matter earlier in the week, but has now come out to address what happened.
"I was heated," Maulet said in his first interview since the incident. "We lost by 30. You’re not supposed to be happy about that. I reminded guys to find your why, find why you love this game and use that for your motivation."
Maulet said he wouldn't "point fingers" at who was laughing on the sideline, but made it known the situation was much smaller than it appeared once it hit the fanbase.
"The locker room wasn’t even filled," he said. "It was taken out of proportion. I was just telling my guys that you have to find your love for the game again. Sometimes people forget because we’ve got a lot going on."
It also assured no one took it personally and that the locker room was still together. As the team moves forward, looking for their second win of the season, he's hoping it gives players a spark.
"The guys understand," Maulet said. "There were no arguments or anything like that. It was just a simple fact that you have to have that want-to. You have to have something that drives you and you have to remind yourself.
"It was a little motivation. We all were down. I was just reminding guys we gotta love what we do. Obviously, days like this (stink) when we lose by 30, but we can always bounce back and be better."
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