Roethlisberger's actions will speak loudest of all
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Two thoughts immediately came to mind after reading Ben Roethlisberger's much-anticipated eight-sentence statement Monday:
1) Never have so many waited so long to get so little.
2) Maybe it's a good thing Roethlisberger didn't spend much time crafting his statement, which almost certainly was written by one of his high-priced public-relations specialists and was released to the media via e-mail. So what if he didn't bother to read it in front of the television cameras, as Tiger Woods did in February when he started his comeback from disgrace? Actions mean far more than mere words, for one thing. Roethlisberger has too much work ahead of him to worry about news releases, for another. He needs to spend every waking moment on resurrecting his image, his career, his life, actually.
Today is hardly too soon for Roethlisberger to get started.
Isn't it nice to think that this is the final time we'll be talking about Big Ben before Steelers training camp opens in July? By then, hopefully, he will have gone through all of the evaluations and counseling sessions required by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who gave him a conditional six-game suspension last week for his behavior March 5 at a Georgia college bar when he was accused -- but not charged -- of rape by a 20-year-old student.
"I will not appeal the suspension and will comply with what is asked of me -- and more," Roethlisberger's statement read.
Satisfying Goodell will be the easy part for Roethlisberger.
Winning back his teammates will be much more difficult.
Sunday, on ESPN's "Outside The Lines" show, Roethlisberger was portrayed as a bad guy in the Steelers' locker room. Other players talked of him being aloof and feeling a sense of entitlement. That's exactly how former Steelers offensive tackle Marvel Smith described him in an interview with the New York Times last month.
Things were so bad in the 2006 season, according to the ESPN program, that former Steelers captain Joey Porter called out Roethlisberger in front of the other players at a team meeting. " 'It's like the Pittsburgh Steelers and Ben,' " teammates quoted Porter as saying.
Since then, there have been signs that Roethlisberger has tried to be a better teammate, at least with his offensive linemen. Tackle Willie Colon was with him on that March 5 early morning in Georgia but wasn't accused of any wrongdoing. Last season, Roethlisberger took the linemen with him when he made an appearance on World Wrestling Entertainment's "Monday Night Raw" show in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. In the '08 season, he picked up all expenses for the big fellas to go to Chicago to celebrate center Justin Hartwig's 30th birthday.
First Published April 27, 2010 12:00 am
