PENNSYLVANIA — According to Daily News, Pennsylvania Volunteer Fire Chief Paul Smith of the Muse Fire Department in Cecil Township, used a racial slur in a Facebook post in reaction to the Pittsburgh Steelers not coming out for the national anthem.
“I am embarrassed at this. I want to apologize. I was frustrated and angry at the Steelers not standing for the anthem,” Smith said. “My FD had absolutely nothing to do with this. I am deeply regretful at what I posted.”
On Sunday, Pittsburgh Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin revealed in a pre-game interview with CBS Sports that his team will not participate in the National Anthem before the game.
Tomlin said the gesture of unity that eliminates the individual players’ decisions of whether to sit, kneel, or stand during the anthem.
On Friday, President Donald Trump told a crowd in Alabama that the league’s owners should respond to the players by saying, “Get that son of a b***h off the field right now, he’s fired. He’s fired!”
The Cecil Township Board of Supervisors says on its website Tuesday that Smith “is no longer the volunteer fire chief.”
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports Smith resigned. He tells the newspaper he’s “not the racist the media portrays me as.”
He adds he “posted in anger.”
**The Associated Press contributed to this story**
