Ben Roethlisberger regrets Steelers anthem protest

The Steelers quarterback released a statement saying he wishes they’d gone about things differently.

While many NFL players have supported and participated in the anthem protests this weekend, there have been a few who have been less than comfortable with the idea of sitting out the national anthem. First, it was the Denver Broncos’ Derek Wolfe. Then it was the New Orleans Saints’ Drew Brees. Now, two Pittsburgh Steelers have split from the team on the issue: Alejandro Villanueva, a former Army Ranger, and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

On his personal webpage, he released a post titled “From Ben,” where he begins by saying “I was unable to sleep last night” and continues on about the thought process the team went through in deciding to stay in the locker room. He says, ” I wish we approached it differently.”

The other notable line from this message was “I personally don’t believe the Anthem is ever the time to make any type of protest.” He ends the letter by saluting the men and women of the military.

One might ask if he felt so strongly about this why he didn’t go out with Alejandro Villanueva, who was the only member of the team on the field during the anthem. Longtime Steelers defensive mainstay James Harrison mentioned being surprised that Villanueva went out, so it’s possible Ben didn’t know about it in time to join him. He may have simply felt it was his duty as the face of the franchise to be with his team.

Villanueva has also come out and suggested that his standing alone on the field during the anthem was unplanned and unintentional.

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Whatever the case, the Steelers’ goal of showing unity appears to be crumbling. It’ll be interesting to see what they do next week. We could see some stay in the locker room while others kneel on the sideline or interlock arms and those who agree with Roethlisberger and Villanueva standing.