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Steelers QB Roethlisberger regrets not being on field for anthem; releases statement

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http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/...-regrets-how-pittsburgh-steelers-showed-unity



I felt that this was thread-worthy due to this being a big name player in the NFL who is, 24 hours later, saying he regrets protesting and wishes his entire team didn't.

This is lazy and weak. And when it's coming from someone with the kind of history that he has, it comes off as even more fraudulent.

You need to include Mike Tomlin's comment about the team yesterday. They were NOT protesting.



https://www.sbnation.com/lookit/201...ers-anthem-locker-room-no-participation-video
Exactly. Op, you've got a flawed premise here, because the Steelers were not protesting.
 

oo7

Member
Man, the thing is it seems to me that Tomlin said what he said in the above posts in order to not throw any one player under the bus knowing that he would be the one to face heat for his comments one way or the other, but then here comes BIG BEN to undermine the entire sentiment along with every teammate in the locker room who wanted to protest so he could win some cheap praise. Its not exactly a brave move to sabotage your teammates and fracture the locker room so you can look like a patriot or some shit.

You right. Dick move for sure. Didn't realize Tomlin had already commented beforehand.
 

Fitts

Member
seymour-punches-ben.gif
 

Zyae

Member
Holy shit guys. Put your pitchforks away. Is this the norm when someone has a different stance than the majority gaf view? Freedom of speech, unless it's not your opinion?

People talking about Jerry Richardson is a good ole boy redneck supremicist because he said he respects our vets.

People are making too big of a deal on these anthem protests. Then dumbass Trumpsicle gotta make it 10x worse. I just wanna watch foosball.

Stand up, sit down, free country. NFL anthem is not going to be the spark that we want it to be. Much bigger than that.

Yes, users on here have a very authoritarian streak.. I dont agree with Big Ben but he has the right to say it and hes not saying that his teammates or anyone in the NFL shouldnt be allowed to sit for the anthem. Hes expressing his personal stance on it and is calling for unity while supporting his teammates. I dont agree with it but this whole thing is about freedom of speech.
 

necrosis

Member
ben roethlisberger is a rapist that is supposedly donald trump's buddy so this is just par the course for the list of horrible things he's said & done
 
Why weren't all these people protesting it before Trump said some dumb shit? Just makes me respect Kaep even more for what he was doing. Hopefully it doesn't change the narrative on why Kaep started doing it into anti-Trump BS.
 

Saganator

Member
Motherfucker Trump is now dividing NFL locker rooms. There's no way he can claim to be unifying. Somehow they're going to blame Obama for this.
 

Beefy

Member
Holy shit guys. Put your pitchforks away. Is this the norm when someone has a different stance than the majority gaf view? Freedom of speech, unless it's not your opinion?

People talking about Jerry Richardson is a good ole boy redneck supremicist because he said he respects our vets.

People are making too big of a deal on these anthem protests. Then dumbass Trumpsicle gotta make it 10x worse. I just wanna watch foosball.

Stand up, sit down, free country. NFL anthem is not going to be the spark that we want it to be. Much bigger than that.

Basically your whole post.
 
Yes, users on here have a very authoritarian streak.. I dont agree with Big Ben but he has the right to say it and hes not saying that his teammates or anyone in the NFL shouldnt be allowed to sit for the anthem. Hes expressing his personal stance on it and is calling for unity while supporting his teammates. I dont agree with it but this whole thing is about freedom of speech.

People on a forum calling Rape-burger a dummy isn't affecting his free speech
 

LycanXIII

Member
Holy shit guys. Put your pitchforks away. Is this the norm when someone has a different stance than the majority gaf view? Freedom of speech, unless it's not your opinion?

People talking about Jerry Richardson is a good ole boy redneck supremicist because he said he respects our vets.

People are making too big of a deal on these anthem protests. Then dumbass Trumpsicle gotta make it 10x worse. I just wanna watch foosball.

Stand up, sit down, free country. NFL anthem is not going to be the spark that we want it to be. Much bigger than that.

Did you read the post, where Ben says he wants his team standing for the anthem? So much for freedom of speech, right?
 
Did you read the post, where Ben says he wants his team standing for the anthem? So much for freedom of speech, right?

How is that different from people on here saying they hope some players kneel for the anthem? Ben's not forcing anybody to do anything.
 

SeanC

Member
How is that different from people on here saying they hope some players kneel for the anthem? Ben's not forcing anybody to do anything.

Because he's the QB and Captain of his team where members in it wanted to kneel or sit, not a GAF member.
 

qcf x2

Member
You know what's super sad? The NFL could straight up stop playing the anthem or release a PR piece about their support for the black lives matter movement OR against racism and police brutality in general and their ratings would not suffer at all.

This is the same league that sends star players to premature deaths, that sometimes turns young men into literal monsters, a league that is so detrimental to the health of its players that many of us viewers wouldn't let our prospective children play the sport... yet we all still watch.

The racists might get angry if the NFL took a hard stance in favor of social justice, but they won't stop watching. The ratings won't fall. So why not just do it?

Why don't Tom Brady and Bill Belichick kneel? What a message that would send.
 

cwmartin

Member
People really need to stop telling me to "respect their opinion". I'm really getting sick of that bullshit. When your opinion is either moral apathy, or white supremacy, you can eat shit.
 

SeanC

Member
He still never forced people to stand, as he doesn't have the power to. He said the word hoped.

Never said he forced anyone. By "hoping" he's drawing a line, and he's on the wrong side of it while at the same time saying they were showing unity. He can say as he wishes, yes, but by saying he "hopes they do otherwise in the future" is diminishing the purpose of their protests and undermining the message.

In other words it's saying "let's move on" as though there's no reason to do it at all.
 

RinsFury

Member
ben roethlisberger is a rapist that is supposedly donald trump's buddy so this is just par the course for the list of horrible things he's said & done


According to McNulty, she was working as an executive casino host in July 2008 when she said Roethlisberger struck up a friendly conversation at her desk during the golf tournament. The next night she said Roethlisberger telephoned her to tell her that the television sound system in his room wasn't working and asked her to look at it. McNulty said she determined that the TV was functioning properly, but as she turned to leave, he stood in front of the door and blocked her, then grabbed her and started to kiss her.[131] According to the lawsuit, the woman obtained hospital treatment after the alleged attack

Yeah...this rapist fuck can eat shit.
 

smurfx

get some go again
i hope teammates stop talking to villanueva and rapistberger. dudes are throwing their teammates under the bus and in a team sport you really don't want that to happen.
 

YaBish

Member
Yeah, my first reaction to the Steelers not coming out was positive, but after looking into it, it's pretty bs
 

p2535748

Member
Ben Roethlisberger is an idiot and a bad person. His opinion on this was bound to be bad. What I find hilarious and incredibly stupid on his part is that he is essentially undermining his head coach. Tomlin intentionally stayed in the tunnel so that players wouldn't have to deal with who's standing and who is kneeling, and by coming out with this statement Ben's destroying that whole idea.

I have the feeling that if he were a black wide receiver, there'd be a lot of talk about him being a distraction or a locker room cancer.

Edit: I should make that last part clear. I mean that if he were a black wide receiver going against his coach like this, not on this issue.
 

LycanXIII

Member
i hope teammates stop talking to villanueva and rapistberger. dudes are throwing their teammates under the bus and in a team sport you really don't want that to happen.

Villanueva has apologized for what he did and said he respects his teammates and doesn't have a problem if they take a knee. He's already embarrassed by the photos of him from yesterday.
 
Wasn't Ben in the league already when players were just in the locker room for the national anthem anyway? I'm pretty sure the players being on the field for the anthem is a relatively new thing.

It is. As a matter of fact, the dept. of defense pays out millions of (taxpayer) dollars to the league to have the players stand during the anthem and have special, stadium-wide ceremonies pre-game, etc. Prior to 2009, the players were almost always in the locker room when the anthem played.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/defense-department-paid-5-4-million-nfl-honor-troops/

https://sports.vice.com/en_us/article/yp89dj/stephen-a-smith-points-out-nfls-paid-patriotism-problem

Kind of puts this whole thing in a new light. Even the "patriotic" players who stand with hand-on-heart during the anthem are (knowingly or unknowingly) simply taking part in a shallow marketing ploy.
 

Alucrid

Banned
Holy shit guys. Put your pitchforks away. Is this the norm when someone has a different stance than the majority gaf view? Freedom of speech, unless it's not your opinion?

People talking about Jerry Richardson is a good ole boy redneck supremicist because he said he respects our vets.

People are making too big of a deal on these anthem protests. Then dumbass Trumpsicle gotta make it 10x worse. I just wanna watch foosball.

Stand up, sit down, free country. NFL anthem is not going to be the spark that we want it to be. Much bigger than that.

are players taking a knee mid play now? how does someone kneeling during the anthem prevent you from watching football? unless bringing attention to racial inequality disgusts you so much that you need to immediately turn off the tv.
 
are players taking a knee mid play now? how does someone kneeling during the anthem prevent you from watching football? unless bringing attention to racial inequality disgusts you so much that you need to immediately turn off the tv.

"Actually it's about ethics in sports broadcasting."
 

Elandyll

Banned
I have heard this question today and I wonder that too.

When has the army coopted the flag and the national anthem? Because apparently it's now all about respecting people in uniform...
 
I have heard this question today and I wonder that too.

When has the army coopted the flag and the national anthem? Because apparently it's now all about respecting people in uniform...

It's "paid patriotism". The flag has been bought. (and the hypocrites who normally don't give it a second thought only give a shit when it's to squash minority dissent)
 

harSon

Banned
I feel like the optics of this situation are different for the Steelers. I think it's pretty stupid to relate sitting/kneeling during the national anthem with anything resembling anti-American / military sentiment. The real message behind the gesture is so unbelievably worthwhile, that I urge every player to take part in it - and commend everyone who does. Having said that, I'm not sure how I'd feel if my teammate on the field was a veteran who served three tours in Afghanistan. Furthermore, I'm not sure how I'd feel after seeing said person uncomfortable enough with the team's decision to do so - that he felt the need to wander onto the field by himself during the national anthem. So in that sense, I can empathize with where Ben is coming from.

Having said that, the right thing to do in this situation - as the captain of this team and a fellow player in the league - would have been to bite your tongue and not make the moment about yourself. This whole ordeal at a league level is a collective protest, and for something that is REAL and in need of as much spotlight as humanly possible, so to do what he did definitely rubs me the wrong way. So that's where I have a huge issue with Ben's statements.
 

Alucrid

Banned
I feel like the optics of this situation are different for the Steelers. I think it's pretty stupid to relate sitting/kneeling during the national anthem with anything resembling anti-American / military sentiment. The real message behind the gesture is so unbelievably worthwhile, that I urge every player to take part in it - and commend everyone who does. Having said that, I'm not sure how I'd feel if my teammate on the field was a veteran who served three tours in Afghanistan. Furthermore, I'm not sure how I'd feel after seeing said person uncomfortable enough with the team's decision to do so - that he felt the need to wander onto the field by himself during the national anthem. So in that sense, I can empathize with where Ben is coming from.

Having said that, the right thing to do in this situation - as the captain of this team and a fellow player in the league - would have been to bite your tongue and not make the moment about yourself. This whole ordeal at a league level is a collective protest, so to do what he did definitely rubs me the wrong way. So that's where I have a huge issue with Ben's statements.

how would you feel if you released this statement only for your veteran teammate to release his statement regretting being on the field and feeling as if he threw his coach and teammates under the bus while being supportive of any of his teammates who choose to kneel during the anthem?
 

TraBuch

Banned
yep

Kaep blackballed for being a decent human being and Big Ben will be a HoF'er despite being a rapist

the NFL!
Uppity black man that has the second greatest receiving numbers in the history of the NFL? No Hall of Fame. Gotta teach that boy a lesson.

Peacefully kneeling black man? Never gonna throw another pass in the NFL.

White rapist? Cover-up. Icon. HoF lock.

I'm assuming you purposely left out the part about the woman bragging to a friend/co-worker about sleeping with him and even said that she hoped she was pregnant.
Hate to break it to you, Pittsburgh fan, but that was the first accusation. The second one was two years later where the responding officer called the victim a bitch, never questioned Roethlisberger, and then resigned after the media frenzy.
 

smurfx

get some go again
Villanueva has apologized for what he did and said he respects his teammates and doesn't have a problem if they take a knee. He's already embarrassed by the photos of him from yesterday.
empty apology. he knew what he was doing when he went out there.
 
The Steelers were embarrassing in every facet yesterday, from this horrible divisive approach to this anthem issue to the terrible game they played. And it's continuing into the week, with Ben sounding asinine as fuck.

Go take a civics class, Ben.

ffs
 
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