Getty Diontae Johnson stands on the sideline.
Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson addressed a reported altercation between himself and Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mitch Trubisky in October. But the story hasn’t gone to bed.
In light of a new allegation from CBS Sports radio host Greg Giannoti, Johnson offered a denial through a quote tweet to a rumor that he punched Trubisky in the face ahead of the Steelers’ matchup with the New York Jets in Week 4.
As the tweet Johnson quote tweeted indicates, Giannoti started an allegation that Johnson punched Trubisky in the face ahead of the Jets matchup. Giannoti, who is formerly of 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh, dropped the story while appearing as a guest on the Boomer and Gio Show on February 10.
Johnson Allegedly Punched Trubisky Before Week 4
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac first reported the halftime altercation between Johnson and Trubisky on October 17, which was about two weeks after the Jets matchup.
Dulac reported that the altercation included Johnson yelling at Trubisky to throw him the ball more often. However, after halftime, rookie Kenny Pickett replaced Trubisky behind center.
Following Dulac’s report, Johnson acknowledged the altercation to ESPN’s Brooke Pryor but stated that there was no lingering “hard feelings towards each other” or “bad blood.”
Diontae Johnson seemingly confirms that an argument between him and Mitch Trubisky did take place at halftime of the Jets game, but he declined to get into specifics/ if it contributed to Trubisky’s benching.
“We’re both passionate about the game. Stuff happens during football.”
However, according to Giannoti, the bad blood between Johnson and Trubisky started before the matchup with the Jets.
“Cameron Heyward was sitting here from the Pittsburgh Steelers, and I asked him, ‘How the hell did you lose to Zach Wilson and the Jets?'” Giannoti said. “And he said, ‘Well, I was under the weather that week. I think we had a bug going on in the locker room. T.J. Watt didn’t play; he had the injury.’
“So then I asked my buddy from Pittsburgh. ‘Did you hear about that going into that game, that the team was sick?’ And he goes, ‘No, that’s not what he was talking about. What he was talking about with the bug in the locker room was that Diontae Johnson punched Mitch Trubisky in the face that week. That was the bug that was going through the locker room.'”
Boomer Esiason, who is a regular host of the Boomer and Gio Show, first questioned how Trubisky could be punched and benched without any ramifications to Johnson. But Giannoti insisted it was “a fact” from his buddy.
Is this really true? If so how come it wasn’t a big story? WR #Steelers punched Mitch Trubisky in the face before the game vs the #Jets? #BoomerandGio
Johnson, Trubisky, Steelers Deny Allegations of Punch
In addition to Johnson’s denial, Trubisky also responded to the new allegations on Twitter.
“Zero truth to this,” Trubisky wrote on Twitter.
Steelers guard Kevin Dotson also responded to the allegations, writing that Giannoti was “blatantly lying.”
Other members of Steelers media also found the allegations hard to believe.
On Twitter, NFL writer Tyler Wise of Steelersdepot.com posted pictures of Trubisky’s face from his postgame interview after playing the Jets. In the tweet, Wise noted that Trubisky didn’t appear to have any bruises to indicate he was punched in the face.
Also from Steelersdepot.com, NFL writer Josh Carney called Giannoti’s comments “completely unsubstantiated” because of his inability to present “any facts even coming close to backing up the comments” coming from his “buddy.”
“If there would have been a punch in practice or in the locker room leading up to Trubisky’s benching, it would have been national news, much like Geno Smith being punched by a teammate or Golden State Warriors’ forward Draymond Green in the NBA punching guard Jordan Poole in training camp this season,” wrote Carney.
But thanks to Giannoti, whether it happened or not, Johnson allegedly punching Trubisky in the face is national news.