Arthur Maulet doesn’t regret speaking his mind in the visiting locker room after the Steelers’ 38-3 loss to the Buffalo Bills last Sunday.
Maulet spoke out about players laughing and smiling on the bench while the Steelers were in the midst of the most lopsided defeat in coach Mike Tomlin’s 16 seasons and the franchise’s worst loss in 33 years.
“I was heated,” Maulet said Thursday, breaking his silence for the first time since his outburst. “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.”
Asked if he saw many players laughing on the bench, Maulet said, “Look, I’m not here to point fingers. We keep that in house. It’s something I had to acknowledge.”
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Maulet’s burst came shortly after the locker room was opened to the media. He said he was trying to address several of the defensive backs when his words were overheard.
“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.”
Maulet said nobody took offense when he spoke his mind after the game or in the days that have ensued.
“The guys understand,” he 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.”
Maulet said he doesn’t take his life as an NFL player for granted and reminds himself of his good fortune every time he puts on a helmet.
“It was a little motivation,” he said. “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.”
