COLUMBUS, Ohio — Surrounded by mourners, Stephon Tuitt stood at the lectern and spoke in a commanding voice befitting a big brother.
The Steelers' defensive lineman, dressed in all black, spent six minutes eulogizing the memory of his younger sibling Richard Bartlett III, killed in a hit-and-run car accident last June in suburban Atlanta.
Tuitt took pride in acting as a “second father figure” to Richard, 23, and his other brothers Jared and Jaeden. While his obligations to the Steelers kept him in Pittsburgh most of the time, Tuitt spoke frequently to Richard, never going more than two weeks between phone calls.