PHOENIX -- The Steelers received poor marks on a survey taken by the NFL Players' Association at the beginning of March, and the team's owner has broken his silence on the matter.
Art Rooney II addressed a handful of local reporters Tuesday evening, primarily to discuss the rule changes that have been approved at the annual meeting this week at the Arizona Biltmore. Rooney was presented with an opportunity to respond to his franchise being ranked 22nd of the 32 teams in the NFL.
"I haven't seen the survey. And so, I really have some questions about how many players actually participated in that survey," Rooney said. "Irrespective of that, we're always looking to try and improve our facilities. We expanded the facility a few years ago. We're always open to ideas on what we need to improve. We think we have a great facility, but you can always improve."
The Steelers received a D- grade for treatment of families, which ultimately came down to the fact that the Steelers are one of 11 teams that do not offer daycare on game day, and are one of 14 teams that do not offer a family room at the stadium. They also received a D- for their training room and D+ for the locker room.
Regarding the training room, the Steelers ranked fifth-worst in the league in player feedback on whether the staff had enough certified athletic trainers and personal trainers. The negative feedback regarding the locker room ultimately came down to a lack of space and the need for renovation.
Overall, the players' feedback focused on "a lack of resources and investment into the facility." The other alarming note regarding the players' feedback was only 44% of players who responded feel Rooney is willing to invest money into upgrading their facilities, which ranked him tied for 29th in this category.
Rooney was calm in his response, and also confident that the relationship between the players and management can produce a better environment for the players and their families.
"I think we have an open door policy with our players, and things that they see that they think we can improve on," Rooney said.
