Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump attended the NFL game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New York Jets on Sunday night at Acrisure Stadium as a guest of an unknown suite owner.

Trump arrived about halfway through the first quarter and was greeted by a small group of supporters wearing Steelers jerseys and carrying a banner that read “Trump Nation.” He later waved from the suite as some fans chanted “USA.”

The former president’s visit crowned a dizzying weekend in central Pennsylvania for Trump’s campaign, with the election just over two weeks away.

And at its final stop, it brought up some conflicting loyalties.

Trump is a New Yorker and a personal friend of New York Jets owner Woody Johnson, who briefly served as U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom during the Trump administration.

The Steelers have been owned by the Rooney family for more than 90 years and the late President/Chairman Dan Rooney served as U.S. Ambassador to Ireland from July 2009 to December 2012 during Barack Obama’s presidency.

On Sunday, the Steelers distanced themselves from taking sides regarding Trump’s presence, with club spokesman Burt Lauten noting that Trump was the guest of a suite owner and not the team.

Trump received support from some former Steelers. Wide receiver Antonio Brown and running back Le’Veon Bell — both of whom have a complicated relationship with their former team and were viewed as villains upon their respective departures in spring 2019 — have endorsed Trump.

The former teammates met with Trump campaign aides at an event near the stadium on Sunday afternoon and greeted Trump as his plane landed at Pittsburgh International Airport shortly before kickoff.

Franchise icons and Hall of Famers Joe Greene and Jerome Bettis as well as the family of the late Hall of Fame running back Franco Harris, however, supported Vice President and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.

The decision to join Brown and Bell was strange for Trump.

Brown, a star during his nine seasons in Pittsburgh from 2010 to 2018, forced a move to Las Vegas in the spring of 2019 after making a series of public missteps, including the well-known decision not to show up for the team’s 2018 season finale.

Bell had to sit out the entire 2018 season due to a contract dispute before signing with the Jets in 2019. He failed to repeat the performance that made him a Pro Bowler in Pittsburgh and has been out of the league for three years, instead devoting his time to celebrity boxing.

The choice of Brown seemed somewhat incongruous for the region given the former star’s ugly exit. Brown went from a sixth-round draft pick to a perennial All-Pro during his nine seasons in Pittsburgh from 2010 to 2018 before his increasingly volatile behavior off the field derailed his career.

The Steelers traded Brown to the Oakland Raiders in the spring of 2019. But Oakland cut Brown before he ever tasted defeat after a series of problems with the club, including a verbal altercation with the team’s general manager. He immediately signed a contract with the New England Patriots but was released just a few weeks later Allegations of sexual misconduct with people close to him, including a former coach who claimed Brown raped her. The two sides later settled out of court.

Brown resurfaced in Tampa Bay and won a Super Bowl with the Buccaneers. He was fired a season later after a series of events that included a three-game suspension Violation of the league’s COVID-19 protocols and a bizarre incident in which Brown quit midway through the gamewho famously removed his jersey and pads before leaving the stadium shirtless.

Brown’s issues made him toxic to NFL teams, although he has remained on the sidelines. In 2023, he briefly served as majority owner of a National Arena League team in Albany, New York, before the franchise was suspended after Brown failed to meet his financial obligations.

Earlier Sunday, Trump was asked if he wanted to appear with Brown, given the running back’s controversial history.

“I don’t know anything about the allegations,” Trump said in response to a reporter’s question.

When told that these were allegations of sexual assault, Trump said: “I don’t know anything about it. I know he’s a great football player.”

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AP writers Michelle Price and Will Weissert contributed to this report.