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Steelers linebacker TJ Watt’s wife, Dani, can’t make sense of the NFL’s decision to go through with its first international game in Paris between Pittsburgh and the New Orleans Saints on Sunday amid violent protests in France over the cost of living and poor conditions in schools and universities.
Dani, who is a retired NWSL player, reposted a news headline from CBS Pittsburgh to her Instagram Story on Monday, which read, “The NFL says it is continuing forward with plans for the upcoming Steelers-Saints game amid unrest in Paris.”
She added, “Tell me how this makes sense???”
More than 500,000 people marched the streets of France over the weekend and some protests turned violent — as some looted and vandalized businesses, attacked police officers and set fires.
The unrest in France began last month when high school and university students protested poor school facilities, teacher shortages and lack of funding.
The Steelers and the Saints are scheduled to play at the Stade de France, which served as the venue for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics and Paralympics.
The NFL said in a statement that preparations were underway for safety and security at the international game.
“We continue to work closely with local authorities and partners on all operational and security matter,” the league said, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. “We are also providing the two clubs with regular updates. There’s been no disruption or impact at league sites.”
Saints exec Greg Bensel said in a statement, “We concur with the NFL’s statement and are planning to play the game. In addition to working closely with the NFL, we have also maintained daily security updates with our security partners in France.
“Members of our football operations staff and internal security team have been on the ground in France for the past few days and there has been no disruption or impact at any of our team sites.”
In another Instagram Story post, Dani called out the referees in Pittsburgh’s 26-19 win against the Buccaneers in overtime on Sunday.
“The amount of times a literal chokehold happened in front to the ref…” Dani wrote, including a video of a Buccaneers player holding Watt in the neck area.