The rest of the team remained in the tunnel. "I made my teammates look bad, and that is my fault, and my fault only," Villanueva said. "We as a team tried to figure it out, but obviously butchered it."
The former Army Ranger says he is absolutely okay if teammates kneel or sit during the national anthem.
"People that are taking a knee are not saying anything negative about the military, they're not saying anything negative about the flag, they're just trying to protest that there are some injustices in America," Villanueva said.
He says some players who have been kneeling during anthems have even approached him before or after games and thanked him for his service including other players in the NFC North.
Sales of Villanueva's jerseys have skyrocketed since video of him standing outside the tunnel during the national anthem.
"I unintentionally left my teammates behind. I wasn't planning to boycott the plan the Steelers came up with," Villanueva said.
"For anybody who thinks Coach Tomlin is not as patriotic as you can get in America, or any one of my teammates, or the owner, I take offense to that," Villanueva said. "I made coach Tomlin look bad, and that is my fault and my fault only," he said.