Time might have flown by, but the memories of the past still remain with Mike Tomlin. Even years later, he seems to find it difficult to make peace with the incident that not only cost him money but also affected his reputation during the Ravens vs. Steelers game in 2013.

“The truth didn’t save me from a fine,” Mike Tomlin said on the Not Just Football podcast. “I got fined a hundred thousand dollars after the ball was kicked. … I looked up at the jumbotron to watch what was happening. I see myself come into the jumbotron. That’s when I discovered that he was coming up our sideline.”

Tomlin revealed that the Jumbotron view was reversed, and he also saw one Pittsburgh player going down on the play.

“Spatially, I get disoriented where I am and I’m watching something that I don’t want to happen. … I saw myself on the jumbotron. And when I saw myself and I saw where I was, I just immediately moved to my left. It was scary, you know what I mean? ‘Cause I thought I was going to get run over.”

During the game, after Pittsburgh scored a touchdown in the third quarter, Jacoby Jones caught the ball on the ensuing kickoff. He made a big gain while making the return, streaking down the sideline. That’s when he nearly came close to colliding with Tomlin, who was also on the sideline. Some assumed he may have tried to trip Jones, but that was not the case.

A smiling Tomlin on the jumbotron later didn’t help his case, too. Jones’ kickoff return was 73 yards long.

The NFL punished Mike Tomlin with a $100,000 fine for standing too close to the field and interfering with Jacoby Jones’ kickoff return. The league also warned the Steelers that they could lose 2014 draft picks, but fortunately, the team did not lose any.

The league believed Tomlin stepped onto the field, and the act should have warranted an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

On top of that, Jacoby Jones himself pointed out after the game how Tomlin’s presence affected his rhythm.

“It broke my stride a little bit,” Jones said. “(But) I still shouldn’t have got caught.”

However, Tomlin claimed on the podcast that he was not the white border with the intention to trip him. It’s something he usually did during returns.

“They did the investigation. They studied my behavior prior to the incident. I had a routine, not only in that stadium, but in all stadiums. I’d talk to the kickoff team before they went on to the field. They’re going to the field. I’d always stand at the yard line where the ball is being kicked off from, just making sure guys were on sides or whatnot. And then after the ball is kicked, I generally follow it from the jumbotron because it gives you an aerial view on how these two units are coming together.”

“Well, in Baltimore at that time, they only had a jumbotron on one end.”

Despite the controversy, Ben Roethlisberger supported Mike Tomlin.

“I don’t think it was intentional,” Roethlisberger said on 93.7 The Fan in 2013. “I know exactly what he’s talking about when he says he gets caught up watching that because I watch the Jumbotron too. It does give you better views.”

Now, years have passed, but the incident still seems to stay with Mike Tomlin. However, interestingly enough, Tomlin did bring Jones to Pittsburgh after claiming him off waivers in November 2015.

The post "Truth Didn't Save Me": Mike Tomlin Recalls Being Investigated & Fined by NFL Over Controversial Incident Against Ravens appeared first on EssentiallySports. Add EssentiallySports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.