Steelers Excuse DL Stephon Tuitt from Minicamp as Family Makes Public Plea for Driver to Come Forward in Brother’s Death
PITTSBURGH — Steelers defensive end Stephon Tuitt was the only player from the Steelers’ 90-man roster not in attendance for the first day of the team’s mandatory minicamp on Tuesday at Hienz Field.
Tuitt, whose brother was killed in a hit-and-run accident in Georgia earlier this month, was excused from the practices in order to be with his family.
“Everyone knows the personal circumstance that Stephon Tuitt and his family is going through,” head coach Mike Tomlin said. “He has our full support. Our heart goes out to him and his loved one for his loss.”
Not all the rest of the Steelers players were full participants, but with star players around the league such as New England cornerback Stephon Gilmore, Miami cornerback Xavien Howard and Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers opting to skip minicamp, the Steelers’ near-full attendance was noteworthy.
“We get an opportunity to work in totality,” Tomlin said.
Police are still searching for the driver of the car that struck Richard Bartlett III in Johns Creek, Georgia on June 2.
Tuitt and Bartlett’s mother, Tamara Tuitt-Bartlett, made a public plea late last week for the driver to come forward.
“One minute my child is alive. The next minute, somebody’s speeding and not paying attention and killed my child,” she said to WSB-TV in Atlanta. “Come forward. I am devastated.”
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