Myles Garrett's high school coach calls actions of Browns star 'very out of character'

Jori Epstein | USA TODAY

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DALLAS — Myles Garrett’s high school coach was audibly shaken Friday morning.

Arlington Martin’s Bob Wager paused. He sighed. And then he explained to USA TODAY Sports by phone what he told his team on Friday, as they prepared for a playoff game while trying to reconcile with the violent scene that unfolded with one of their star alumni in Cleveland the night before.

“Let me start by saying this: There is no justification for that act,” Wager said. “I will also say that this is a very emotional game. And again, that’s not justification. But until you’ve been at the bottom of a pile, until you’ve had some of those experiences, I would suggest that you refrain from judgment.

“If he could take it back right now, he would in a heartbeat. That is not a representation of the Myles Garrett that I’ve grown to love.”

Wager spoke in reference to the Browns defensive end removing Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph’s helmet in the final seconds of the Browns’ 21-7 win. As the two tangled on the ground, Rudolph grabbed at Garrett’s helmet. Garrett then ripped off Rudolph’s helmet. When Rudolph chased him, Garrett swung the quarterback’s helmet at his head. Wager couldn’t believe what a player he’d always known to be respectful and caring was doing.

“Very, very out of character in my experience,” Wager said. “Never seen that in practice. Never seen that in a game. Never seen that in his demeanor.”

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Wager called both Garrett and his mother, Audrey, on Friday morning.

“My message was, ‘Hey, we love you,’” Wager said. "'We support you. You made a mistake. And this too shall pass.' And it will. He’s not perfect. None of us are. He made a big mistake.”

The NFL levied suspensions and fines against three players with more potentially to come, according to a Friday morning release. Garrett was suspended without pay for the final six games of the Browns’ season and any postseason contests. His suspension is currently indefinite, the league said in a statement.

Wager also addressed the violent incident with his players at Arlington Martin, where Garrett starred before a 31-sack career at Texas A&M. Wager gave his players two messages.

“Part of the greatness of the game is you’ve got a game that is constantly on the verge of out of control,” Wager said he told his players. “To be great as this game, it’s a violent game. It’s a physical game by nature. The greatness of the game is the ability to control that. To have a level of discipline that there’s a set of rules, they’re there to be followed.”

Wager also didn’t waver from his support of Garrett, even as he resolutely condemned Garrett’s actions.

“The other teaching point is that they’re ours,” Wager said. “They’re ours when he’s the No. 1 pick on draft day, they’re ours when they become doctors and lawyers, they’re ours when four of them are currently in the league, and they’re ours when they make a mistake and we don’t turn our back on them when it goes bad.

“We were standing beside them when it well and we’ll stand beside them when it goes poorly.”

Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Jori Epstein on Twitter @JoriEpstein