Dorsett: Big Ben “lucky” to still be a Steeler
Something that hasn’t gone unnoticed amidst all the Super Bowl hype is the fact that Ben Roethlisberger has come a long way since his offseason troubles. It seems like decades ago that Big Ben missed the first four games of the season after being suspended by commissioner Roger Goodell for his off-field behavior.
And as Hall of Famer Tony Dorsett pointed out to ESPN’s Matt Mosley, Roethlisberger is fortunate to be where he is right now.
When I asked Dorsett about Ben Roethlisberger’s issues, he was quick to respond:
“They will not allow a player to smear the organization,” he said. “They wanted to let that situation run its course. But I promise you he is very lucky to still be on that team.”
Dorsett wasn’t reaching with his comments. Roethlisberger is very lucky to still be a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers. There was talk of the team trading him around draft time in April and while they never did, this season still could have played out much differently.
Considering they played the Falcons, Titans, Bucs and Ravens to start the season, you can’t blame pundits who thought the Steelers would be fortunate to start the year 2-2. But they went 3-1 with Big Ben on the sidelines, which is a testament to the team that Kevin Colbert has built over the years. (“Team” being the operative word.)
What would have happened had the Steelers lost three of their first four games instead of winning three of four? While we can’t assume anything, it’s not a stretch to think that they would not have earned the No. 2 seed and therefore, may not have reached the Super Bowl. Worse yet, what if Big Ben’s suspension at the start of the year sent this team into a tailspin and they never recovered? What if he played poorly upon his return?
It’s interesting to look back at what has happened over the last six months or so.
Nobody’s perfect, plenty of people manage to not rape a girl.
I certainly am not excusing anything he allegedly did, snd. But how many times do we see an athlete screw up, get a second chance and then immediately screw up again. Pacman Jones played a role in shooting a stripper in the ear and paralyzing a bouncer, then managed to get into more trouble and still found a way back into the NFL. Maybe it’s not fair to compare every athlete’s situations, but my point (and not my main point) was that Big Ben got a wake up call and responded.
Even putting aside for the moment the fact that the Milledgeville incident was the second time he had been accused of sexual assault, I’m just not particularly inclined to rubber stamp him as having turned over a new leaf because he’s gone 10 months without someone else accusing him of sexual impropriety.
I have younger sisters that were about the girl’s age and in college at the time, so it hit a little close to home to me.
I understand and again, I’m not excusing anything he was accused of.
snd_dsgnr,
After giving it more thought, I’ve decided to delete that portion of this post. I’m not trying to shrug my shoulders at sexual assault, but it came off that way in the piece, so I think deleting it was best.
That part wasn’t my main point anyway. I was focusing on the football-side of what has happened, but if everyone is focusing on that part, then I didn’t do a good job getting my point across.
In speaking to many guys at work about the game I’m finding that while nobody is in love with the Packers…..nobody is backing the Steelers because of the QB.
Make no mistake, this guy is a looser in life.
All of Ben’s off-field problems happened during the off-season, so I’m going to wait to say he’s responded to any wake up call or that he’s “come a long way”, as I heard on ESPN radio this morning. And two of his off-field incidents happened after super bowl seasons, so this could be an eventful vacation for the big dope.
But had Roethlisberger not been a two-time super bowl winning QB and played any other position, he’d have been playing elsewhere, so Dorsett was right on the money with his comments.
He should just be a man and pay for his sex like Charlie Sheen!
[...] Dorsett: Big Ben “lucky” to still be a Steeler Something that hasn’t gone unnoticed amidst all the Super Bowl hype is the fact that Ben Roethlisberger has come a long way since his offseason troubles. It seems like decades ago that Big Ben missed the first four games of the season after being suspended by commissioner Roger Goodell for his off-field behavior. And as Hall of Famer Tony Dorsett pointed out to ESPN’s Matt Mosley, Roethlisberger is fortunate to be where he is right now. [...]