The Steelers dumped receiver Cedrick Wilson the morning after he was arrested for allegedly punching his ex-girlfriend in a Mexican restaurant.   Steelers chairman Dan Rooney has explained the move.

“We’re extremely disappointed with this incident,” Rooney said, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  “The Steelers do not condone violence of any kind, especially against women.”

Except when the guy committing the violence against women is, you know, a starter.

To his credit, Rooney attempted to distinguish the cases of Wilson and Pro Bowl linebacker James Harrison, who was voted team MVP in 2007 despite the presence on the roster of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. 

Unfortunately, the explanation doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.

“I know many are asking the question of [why] we released Wilson and Harrison we kept,” Rooney said.  “The circumstances — I know of the incidents, they are completely different.  In fact, when I say we don’t condone these things, we don’t, but we do have to look at the circumstances that are involved with other players and things like that, so they’re not all the same.

“What Jimmy Harrison was doing and how the incident occurred, what he was trying to do was really well worth it.  He was doing something that was good, wanted to take his son to get baptized where he lived and things like that.  She said she didn’t want to do it.”

But why not just say that Harrison got a pass because he’s such a good player?  Justifying the differences in treatment by describing as honorable the root of the fracas that led to the fisticuffs doesn’t fly. 

Also, to the extent that some are attempting to justify the disparity by explaining that this is Wilson’s second incident, that’s incorrect.  Sure, Wilson had a prior issue with his ex.  But he wasn’t arrested or charged with any crime; she was.

And though we agree with the team’s decision to dump Wilson, it’ll be interesting to see what happens the next time a Steelers player (allegedly) cold cocks a female acquaintance.  If the punishment depends on the player’s placement on the depth chart, then we’ll conclude that the Steelers refuse to condone violence only when they can live without the guy who perpetrated it.