One of the most stable National Football League (NFL) franchises, the Pittsburgh Steelers, quickly quashed any controversy when several of its high-profile athletes bucked Black Lives Matter rhetoric.

The team’s players had initially voted to write the name of a black male, Antwon Rose II, on the inside of their helmets or shoes for a game to protest against police brutality. The man was shot and killed after running away from police officers near the scene of a drive-by shooting. He was stopped at a traffic stop before the fatal officer-involved shooting.

Former U.S. Army Green Beret Alejandro Villanueva, who plays offensive line for the Steelers, said that he reconsidered his pledge to write Rose’s name on the inside of his helmet. Instead, Villanueva wrote the name of Alwyn Cashe, a black American military servicemember killed in action in 2005 during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star, but Villanueva said that he wanted to help create public momentum behind Cashe receiving the Medal of Honor.

Villanueva’s offensive line teammate, Maurkice Pouncey, also said he changed his mind. An outspoken community and police relations activist, Pouncey said that he “was given limited information” about the decision to write Rose’s name on the helmet and that he “inadvertently supported a cause of which I did not fully comprehend the entire background of the case.”

Rose’s mother railed against Villanueva and Pouncey’s decision on Facebook. Michelle Kenney wrote the following:

“Let me very very very clear. The Pittsburgh Steelers took a team vote. Obviously one person didn’t like the results so they chose to do something different. I have nothing against vets and absolutely appreciate everything that they have done and continue to do for us. But this one person showed us exactly who he is and obviously he didn’t approve of how the vote turned out.”

She has since deleted her Facebook post after it became public.

The Steelers head coach, Mike Tomlin, told the media that he supported his players’ individual decisions, as did several other teammates of Villaneuva and Pouncey.

The truth of the matter was that NFL players chose to research the information for themselves and found that they did not agree with the popular narrative about the officer-involved shooting of Rose. As expected, their informed decision did not go over well with Rose’s mother and the media.