The messy breakup of the Steelers somehow is getting worse.

Former Pittsburgh running back Rashard Mendenhall defended traded wide receiver Antonio Brown in his ongoing feud with the franchise Thursday by calling Ben Roethlisberger “a racist quarterback” on Twitter.

“Alright, I’ll end the mystery… B’s racist and @AB84’s black,” Mendenhall tweeted. “He had to catch balls from a racist quarterback. Every honest player knows it, it’s not a big deal. He was just supposed to take his lickings and move on, like a slave for real.”

Three hours later, Mendenhall attempted to backpedal from those charges, tweeting, “Clearly it’s no fun, when EVERYONE’s the accused… Please allow the dialogue in sports to be equal. Why’s it so easy to shoot at one player, but not the other? B’s not racist. Just like AB’s not a dirtbag. #letsbefair”

Mendenhall played for the Steelers from 2008 to 2012 and retired after playing one more NFL season with Arizona. Brown was traded to Oakland in February for a third- and fifth-round pick in the 2019 draft.

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“I know he seems outta pocket right now, but I seriously feel for [Brown],” Mendenhall wrote in a series of tweets posted ahead of his “racist quarterback” tweet. “As a black athlete in this country, you can literally lay your body out and give your entire being for a higher cause, the greater good of a TEAM. And when you face the firing-squad, for something not entirely your own doing, depending on your position and skin-tone, the ‘team’ may very-well leave your a– out to dry. Think about what it would take to render [Brown], the GREATEST COMPETITOR of our generation, incapable of showing up to play in his last game.

“To boil that down to [Brown] being a diva, selfish, quitter couldn’t possibly explain the MAN who for nearly a decade provided professional excellence to the city of Pittsburgh. By no stretch am I saying {Brown’s] been without guilt this off-season. I just hope to see more compassion and examination, for a guy who gave everything he had until he couldn’t bring himself to do it, for even one more game.”

Brown famously bolted from the Steelers after a practice feud with Roethlisberger before Week 17. Since Brown was shipped to Oakland, teammates past and present have shared their opinions about Roethlisberger. Another former running back, Josh Harris, accused Roethlisberger of fumbling on purpose in a 2014 game.

Without mentioning Mendenhall, Steelers offensive lineman Ruben Foster tweeted Thursday that “anyone who has an issue with anyone still in the locker room” should contact him or center Maurkice Pouncey.

“Whoever you have an issue with, we will get you their number so you can address it. PROMISE,” Foster wrote. “These media takes might give y’all good traffic on your social media outlets but the guys still in the locker room, who y’all still know personally have to answer for those comments. Call them what you want, but them personally and tell THEM.”

Mendenhall may have seen that request a little too late.