Return to Roethlisberger

Allow me to state unequivocally that I am a Steelers fan. I bleed Black and Gold. I was born into a Steeler loving family with roots buried deep in the Appalachian earth of southwestern Pennsylvania. I've swung my Terrible Towel in good years and in bad. I am not a fair weather fan. I say all this because I am about to suggest something to the Steeler Nation that may seem a bit radical, but bear with me, and I hope you'll hear me out.

I have always been proud to cheer for the Steelers. I call them my boys. I've called them that even when they were all older than myself. And I call them that now, when most of the players are younger than my baby sister. You might hear about the wild escapades of players from other teams. You might shake your head as other players are sent to prison. Other athletes would get caught in compromising situations. But not my boys.

To don a Steelers uniform is an honour and a privilege. You aren't just playing football - you represent one of the oldest and most respected franchises in the history of the game. You represent the Rooney family, one of the great American families that has fought for the integrity of the sport (look up the Rooney Rule.) Most of all, you represent the people of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. My people.

Steeler players are legendary, best known for their actions on the field. To a true Steeler fan their names are sacred; Franco, Swann, Mean Joe, Bradshaw, Bettis, Ward, Polamalu… We wear their jerseys, not just on game day, on ANY day. And not just during football season - we wear that thing year 'round!

I wonder if Roethlisberger's off season idiocy will be better remembered than his time spent on the field.

Ben came on the scene when Tommy Maddox was injured during the third quarter of game 2 in the 2004 season. We lost that game, that was the first and last loss that Ben would experience for the rest of the season. Roethlisberger broke every record a rookie quarterback could break that season. If he'd never played another year, that first year alone was enough to secure him a spot in the hearts of every Steeler fan in the Steeler Nation for duration of all time. He came back in 2005 and delivered on a promise to bring home that fifth elusive Super Bowl Ring. And Ben didn't stop there. He gave his playoff paychecks to charities. He fought and scrambled and won us another Super Bowl.

Life outside the stadium has been iffy at best for Roethlisberger. Ok, so, he liked to ride motorcycles, without a helmet, or a license. He dodged more than one bullet in 2006 with a serious motorcycle crash and later an unrelated emergency appendectomy. But Big Ben weathered those storms, and when he was accused of sexual assault in the summer of 2009 it was easy to give him the benefit of the doubt. After all, he was our hero. He was already a legend. He was a Steeler. There was no way he'd do something that foolish…

So the Steeler Nation stood by him. Sure, he was reckless, but isn't that what we loved about him? Roethlisberger simply lived his life the same way he played football, he took risks, but he wasn't stupid…

Then, on March 5, 2010, a second accusation was voiced. Another sexual assault. A kid this time. 20 years old. And this time, there were witnesses, security cameras and blatant immoral behaviour. A star struck 20 year old girl and her friends bar hop, following Ben and his entourage. He can't control that, but he should be able to control himself. Ben's no longer a kid, he is a 28 year old man who has no business hanging around college town bars, let alone providing alcohol to minors. (Lucky for him this second alleged assault took place in Georgia, because if he'd been home in PA it's fairly likely that the charges would not have been dropped. The illegality of providing alcohol to minors is not good. But that's not the deal breaker here. In Pennsylvania if a man has sex with a woman, and she is drunk, or even slightly inebriated he can be brought up on charges of rape whether the sex is "consensual" or not. The law stating that a drunk woman can't properly give her consent.)

Even if one were willing to forgive the 'alcohol to minors,' and supposed consensual sex, it's the sordid details that really make the Steeler Nation sick to our stomache. I'm not going to repeat it here, you can watch the district attorney go into great detail from his press conference if you need that information.

Additionally, the Steeler Nation is enraged by this "Ben situation" because he has disrespected something that we hold dear. He's embarrassed the Rooney Family, our royal family. He's brought shame to a franchise that has stood for integrity and decency throughout the history of the NFL. And what is truly infuriating is that he's metaphorically spit in the faces of all the kids who have worn his jersey.

As a mother I cannot allow my 3 year old little boy to wear his beloved #7 Steeler jersey. I will not encourage him, even subconsciously, to look upon Ben Roethlisberger as a role model. Ben might be free and clear in the eyes of the law, but the Steeler Nation has had about enough his injudicious conduct.

Personally, I'd love to see him traded. He's a disgrace to the city of Pittsburgh and does not deserve the privilege of being a Steeler. Give him to Oakland. They can have him. Anyone can have him. No one player is greater than the team. I'd rather go back into the dark ages of the 90's than have Ben as our 'leader.' At least then I could hold my head up high when I walk by a poor fool wearing Cowboys attire.

I don't have the authority to deal with the "Ben Roethlisberger Situation," but I can still make a powerful statement against his asinine behaviour and so can you.

We have 3 of Ben's Steeler Jerseys. My husband and my children will never again wear his name and number. I don't ever want to look at those jerseys again, but I think I can stomach the sight of them one last time, when I package them up and deliver them to the US Postal Service so that they might return to Roethlisberger.

Imagine the statement such an action would impart.

I hope you'll mail your Roethlisberger jerseys back too.
Here is the address:

PITTSBURGH STEELERS
ATTN: BEN ROETHLISBERGER
3400 SOUTH WATER STREET
PITTSBURGH, PA 15203

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go shopping for some new Steelers jerseys...