Steelers K Chris Boswell's Twitter Deleted as Fans Surface Old Homophobic Tweets

Pittsburgh Steelers kicker Chris Boswell deleted his Twitter account following Sunday's 17-10 win over the New England Patriots after previous tweets using homophobic and racist slurs were discovered.

Adam Weinrib of 12up.com shared screenshots of the tweets, noting they were from 2012 and 2013.

Curt Popejoy of Steelers Wire reported the kicker deleted his Twitter account and also disabled comments on his Instagram page. 

Boswell, 27, was a 2017 Pro Bowler but has struggled for much of this season, highlighted by a slip on a potential game-tying, 40-yard field goal on the final play of a Week 14 loss to the Oakland Raiders. He has received plenty of harassment on social media over his play.

Head coach Mike Tomlin offered a vote of confidence after Boswell made a 48-yarder against the Patriots following a previous miss from just 32 yards.

"He's our kicker from start to finish, and I liked the way he came back and banged that next opportunity, and that is what this thing [football] is about," Tomlin said, per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com. "You are going to be tested—we are going to be tested—sometimes you are going to fail, but you better pass enough of them."

According to Fowler, the team previously tried out free agents Kai Forbath and Matt McCrane earlier in the week before Boswell "performed well in Thursday's practice."

Pittsburgh could become the first team since the 2000 Cincinnati Bengals to make under 60 percent of its field goals, with Boswell at just 61.1 percent with five missed extra points as well. In his four-year career, his kicking percentage sits at 85.0, and he was at 92.1 in 2017.