Earlier this week, Joey Porter Sr. appeared on Cameron Heyward's podcast with an ax to grind. Porter Sr., who was inducted into the Steelers Hall of Honor earlier this season with Ben Roethlisberger, didn't take kindly to what his quarterback had to say about Mike Tomlin on his way out the door. Roethlisberger has spent most of his career sullying the Steelers brand, albeit while winning Super Bowls, but his criticism of Tomlin was the final straw for Porter Sr. and many of Ben's former teammates.
"[Harrison] broke the brotherhood," Porter said. "Then 7 [Roethlisberger] definitely broke the brotherhood. Out of anybody that should talk, he should never grab a microphone and really talk Steeler business. Because if we talk Steelers business, his ass is foul of all foul. The s--- that he did is foul of all foul. He's not a good teammate."
Ben Roethlisberger has always been a bad teammate
While some Steelers fans were shocked by Porter Sr.'s stance on Roethlisberger, they really shouldn't have been. Anyone who's spent real time around this team or even heard stories about Roethlisberger from service workers, fans and former players in the city of Pittsburgh ought to know by now that future Hall of Famer was not just a poor teammate, but made some bad life decisions along the way.
"Won the Super Bowl with him, but the person, he's just not a good teammate. He knows that. Anybody in the Steelers building knows that, but we protected him because I've only won one Super Bowl and that was my quarterback. So do I love my quarterback? Yeah. But is he a good person? No," Porter Sr. continued.
Porter's comments were echoed by current and former Steelers, including Mike Mitchell and Mason Rudolph. The latter in particular would know a thing or two about getting on Roethlisberger's bad side. When Rudolph was drafted, Roethlisberger did little to help him along, and even criticized the Steelers selection multiple times to the media and on his own radio show.
Great quarterbacks don't always make good teammates. They are demanding, and expect everyone in the locker room to be on the same page. Roethlisberger held the Steelers to his own on-field standards, but considering just how productive he was over the course of nearly two decades in Pittsburgh, that was rather unfair. To then air those grievances on the radio, week after week, was an unwise decision by Ben. And you can bet he was doing far worse behind closed doors.
Mike Tomlin held the Steelers together as long as he could
Porter Sr. was defensive of Tomlin because of what he perceives as the Steelers brotherhood. Tomlin helped mold these young players into men, including Roethlisberger, who was only in his NFL infancy when Bill Cowher left the building. The two won Roethlisberger's second Super Bowl together. However, Roethlisberger is a member of the media now. Does that mean he ought to keep his mouth shut when Pittsburgh needs a change in direction?
It's a fine line to walk. Roethlisberger adores this kind of attention. It's why he had a radio show to begin with, and now a podcast where he talks all things football and, you guessed it, Steelers. He doesn't shy away from talking about specific players, coaches or the organization, but he often forgets his own history. Following a Week 13 loss to the Bills, Roethlisberger said it might be time for the team to clean house, which included Tomlin. Then, at the Steelers Hall of Honor ceremony, he walked it back.
"Just because I said there's a time for some new things, that's just saying that I think Coach Tomlin, if he wants to move on, he has every right to move on -- it's not they should," Roethlisberger said.
Porter Sr.'s defense of Tomlin – and how Roethlisberger has handled his moment in the spotlight since retirement – is just a glimpse into how important he was to maintaining some semblance of normalcy in that building during Ben's playing career. Whether Steelers fans want to admit it or not, Roethlisberger was always a ticking time bomb, and the media eagerly waited to play along.
Steelers brand is having a moment, and Big Ben isn't helping
Tomlin's decision to step down ended one era of Steelers football. His replacement, Mike McCarthy, will have to start the next while avoiding land mines. Tomlin was such an essential topic of conversation among Pittsburgh sports fans for so long, and a controversial one at that. Just imagine how his players feel, and you'll start to understand why Porter Sr. – a staunch defender and good friend of Tomlin's – felt the need to insult Roethlisberger and James Harrison in such a way.
Roethlisberger wanted this life. He talks Steelers football on a weekly basis during the season, and with that comes the risk of offending not just fans, but his former teammates. The fact that he was a bad teammate (and person if you ask Porter Sr.) won't help matters.
It's easy to forget the mishaps of Roethlisberger's younger days when we look back on his career as an NFL Films project. Roethlisberger suffered a near-tragic motorcycle accident and wasn't wearing a helmet. He was also accused of sexual assault on multiple occasions, once at Lake Tahoe and again in Georgia, a year apart. As a result, he was suspended by the NFL and the Steelers nearly traded him to the Raiders. This man comes with a lot of baggage many Pittsburgh sports fans refuse to acknowledge.
Roethlisberger ought to tread likely. Porter Sr. and his teammates know where the bodies are buried, and the last thing the Steelers need as they enter a new era with a fresh (albeit older) head coach is an autopsy.