The Hall of Shame

Courtesy of UPI.com

Pittsburgh is buzzing with Ben Roethlisberger trade rumors.  I don't know if I can blame them.  The details of the Georgia Bureau of Investigations' case have come out.  They are embarrassing for the City of Pittsburgh, the Steelers' organization, and, even more so, for
Roethlisberger.


The problem with a trade is this:  what team would want TMZ at their training camp?  The Steelers don't want it, and any trade partner would understand and exploit that fact.  Roethlisberger is a Superbowl winning quarterback, but the Steelers would have to pay dearly to move this ugliness to another team.

Keeping Roethlisberger is the logical move.  It will be distracting and painful.  From a football operations stand point, it is the only thing that makes sense.


Art Rooney II left open the possibility of a trade in his press conference today.  Instead of a resounding, "We are not trading Ben Roethlisberger," Rooney stated, "At this point, we have not discussed a trade with any club."  The Rooneys are intelligent and are sending a direct message to Big Ben.  They are also intelligent enough to understand that openly disagreeing with your fan-base's current sentiment could make this an even bigger P.R. disaster. Roethlisberger is going nowhere.

Roethlisberger was not charged with a crime, but he will never escape this incident. Many people have accused the young woman in this case of being a "gold digger", but the fact remains that Roethlisberger did this to himself.  Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Tom Brady, and Philip Rivers have all signed huge contracts similar to Roethlisberger.  They have somehow avoided "being targets" and have avoided getting involved in similar legal entanglements. 

The biggest question remains:  where are the friends and supporters of Ben Roethlisberger?  They are ominously silent.


 


Every Morning Quarterback by Aharon Williams is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at www.everymorningqb.com.
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The Hangover (Steelers Superbowl Edition)

February 1, 2009 wasn't that long ago. Ben Roethlisberger throwing the game winning touchdown pass to MVP Santonio Holmes in the back of the end zone. The Steelers won their NFL record sixth Superbowl and all was perfect in the "Steel City". 


That day seems like ages ago for the organization now. 

In July 2009, Roethlisberger was sued for sexual assault and battery for an alleged incident that took place in 2008.

After a promising 6-2 start to the 2009 regular season, Pittsburgh enduring a tough 5 game losing streak that included losses to Kansas City, Oakland, and Cleveland. The Steelers couldn't seem to be able to put together 60 straight minutes of solid football. They finished the season on a high note by winning their final three games to finish 9-7 but had been left out of the playoffs.


The uninspiring play and disappointing season were bad enough, but things have gotten worse.

In the last month, Roethlisberger was again accused of sexual assault and now recently Santonio Holmes has been in the news for assault and battery. Holmes added to the controversy by telling a heckling fan to commit suicide, via his Twitter account.

Steelers' Head Coach, Mike Tomlin, said he was "concerned" about Big Ben's situation, and Steelers' President, Art Rooney II, said that the organization was "disappointed" with Holmes' lawsuit.

The Steelers are a team in trouble regardless of the outcome of these court cases. These incidents have called into question the character and integrity of their entire organization. It is hard to sell tickets when you don't make the playoffs. It's harder to sell tickets and jerseys when people look at the faces that represent your team and think: "rapist" or "thug".

The Steelers are one of the best franchises in sports. They just need their players to focus on football and not trying to live out a real life version of "The Hangover".







 


Every Morning Quarterback by Aharon Williams is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at www.everymorningqb.com.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at www.everymorningqb.com.