With a Pennsylvania district attorney dropping all but two charges against Joey Porter stemming from his arrest this week, the Steelers assistant coach will coach in Sunday's playoff game, the team announced Friday.
"At this time, we have decided that Joey Porter will return to our coaching staff for the game in Kansas City this weekend," Steelers President Art Rooney II said in a statement. "We have reviewed the available information regarding the incident that took place on Sunday night. We have also reviewed the communication from the Allegheny County District Attorney's office indicating the intention of that office to withdraw all but the summary offense charges.
"As an organization, we have great respect for the job the City of Pittsburgh Police perform for our community.
"We also respect the fact that there are ongoing legal proceedings stemming from the incident. We will await the outcome of the legal process and communicate further with the NFL regarding the Personal Conduct Policy before making any further decisions on potential discipline."
Porter also released his own statement on Friday.
"I am grateful to be allowed to return to our coaching staff this weekend," Porter said. "I regret that I was involved in an incident that could have been a distraction to our team. Most importantly, I regret that I touched the police officer and I sincerely apologize for that action. Thankfully, no one was injured."
The development comes a day after the Allegheny County District Attorney announced it will drop charges of aggravated assault and simple assault against Porter stemming from his arrest in Pittsburgh on Sunday night. It said surveillance video taken from scene only supported misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and public drunkenness.
"Our office will proceed on those charges and barring any additional evidence that is brought forward, we will withdraw the other charges at the appropriate time," the statement read.
