Alejandro Villanueva only Steelers player to appear for national anthem

Alejandro Villanueva was the only player on the Pittsburgh Steelers to come out of the locker room Sunday when the national anthem played ahead of the game.

Villanueva, who served three tours in Afghanistan as an Army ranger, stood outside the locker room tunnel and put his hand over his heart during the national anthem.

Most of the players on the Steelers stayed in their locker room as the national anthem played before their game Sunday in Chicago. 

Photos showed an empty Steelers’s sideline as the anthem played.

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said ahead of the game the team would not be participating in the anthem.

“Not to be disrespectful to the anthem, to remove ourselves from the circumstance. People shouldn’t have to choose. If a guy wants to go about his normal business and participate in the anthem, he shouldn’t be forced to choose sides,” Tomlin told CBS before the game.

“If a guy feels the need to do something, he shouldn’t be separated from his teammate who chooses not to. So we’re not participating today. That’s our decision. We’re gonna be 100 percent.”

The decision came after President Trump last week attacked NFL players who refuse to stand during the national anthem.

“Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. He is fired,’ ” Trump said at a rally in Alabama on Friday.

Trump doubled down on his attacks on Sunday, tweeting that kneeling is “not acceptable.”

“Courageous Patriots have fought and died for our great American Flag — we MUST honor and respect it! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Trump tweeted.

Several teams and players have since come out against Trump’s comments, calling them divisive and disappointing.