It's hard to feel sorry for the Pittsburgh Steelers. For one, the team has an entire history of winning that is not at all the norm among teams in the NFL. For another, they're currently working on a perfect season. So, the pumps were primed for an explosion of vitriol when the team's players openly complained about their Thanksgiving Day game against the Baltimore Ravens being rescheduled due to coronavirus concerns.
On the one hand, the Steelers' schedule has already been messed with once this season after the Tennessee Titans had a COVID-19 outbreak. On the other, both that game and this most recent one were postponed due to the raging pandemic that has killed over 200,000 Americans. Chase Claypool and JuJu Smith-Schuster were among the more prominent Steelers calling the NFL's decision to postpone their nationally televised game to Sunday ridiculous, and bore the brunt of incredulous fan reaction.
To be fair to Steelers players, playing in the NFL is a brutal job and players are unionized workers who should bristle against any sudden moves from management. The team had a false bye week earlier this year when their game against the Titans was cancelled, getting the week off after they'd already been preparing to play. The decision to play on Thanksgiving was meant to give the players an extended period to rest and heal between Thursday and the following Sunday. Still, that illicited little sympathy from fans looking at the bigger picture of a global pandemic.
