What was the Steeler QB thinking?
I was going to focus solely on golf’s U.S. Open this week, but
after Pittsburgh Steeler Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger opted to
not wear a helmet while racing around on the
”
fastest production motorcycle in the world,
”
I had to talk about big bad Ben and his bonehead move.
Fortunately for him, he is boneheaded.
What was the Steeler QB thinking?
I was going to focus solely on golf’s U.S. Open this week, but after Pittsburgh Steeler Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger opted to not wear a helmet while racing around on the “fastest production motorcycle in the world,” I had to talk about big bad Ben and his bonehead move.
Fortunately for him, he is boneheaded.
Sure, this was an accident and accidents happen, and everyone is praying for a speedy recovery, especially those fans that have a terrible towel in their households. But what was this guy thinking?
Here is a guy that has to wear a helmet everyday to work but he refuses to wear one when he’s on a deadly machine that screams along an asphalt track at 100-mph.
There’s a reason why football players need to wear helmets on the grassy gridiron and there’s even more of a reason to wear one on a motorcycle. Just ask movie actor Gary Busey or the countless others that have been in motorcycle accidents. Helmets save lives the same way that seatbelts do.
I just don’t get it.
Maybe he went helmetless in order to be more comfortable. Last summer he said he felt “more free” without a helmet on. Or maybe he thought he’d look more cool or rugged without one. Now that he broke his impact with the windshield with his face, he’s bound to take on that rugged look.
But this guy is the reigning Super Bowl champion quarterback, a star in the NFL. Does he really need to look more cool?
Legendary Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Fame Quarterback Terry Bradshaw said just last summer that he was starting to think that Roethlisberger wasn’t that smart after his determination to keep riding a motorcycle. Bradshaw probably regrets those words now, but he was right.
Any star athlete that engages in risky career-threatening activities has got to be a little crazy, whether that activity is snowboarding, being involved in a bar room brawl or walking on hot coals. These guys are getting paid millions of dollars a year. Why jeopardize it for a little extracurricular fun? The average NFL career is only three years anyway so there is plenty of time for this activity later on.
This week, the entire Pittsburgh organization is breathing a sigh of relief that the 6-foot-5, 241-pound QB is alive. Now the question is will he ever be able to play again? And if so, will he be effective?
He is said to have broken his upper and lower jaw, nose and has multiple lacerations on his head – all of which could impact his vision, etc, etc. Then there’s rumor floating around that he suffered some knee damage.
Knee damage for a quarterback in the NFL is the difference between scrambling on third-and-long for a first down or getting hammered for a loss behind the line of scrimmage.
What’s most crazy is that this issue has made the headlines on a number of occasions.
Just last year Roethlisberger talked about his desire to cruise around on his motorcycle without a helmet and received a nice little lecture from head coach Bill Cowher about why he shouldn’t.
The first and foremost reason for wearing a helmet is added safety, which Cowher probably addressed. But sadly in the era of multi-million-dollar contracts and an obsession to win at all costs, the Steeler front office was probably more worried about how an off-field injury would affect the franchise. Now they’ll find out.
Cowher and the Steeler front office made it clear last season that they didn’t even want to see him on a motorcycle with a helmet, let alone without one. But star athletes tend to get away with anything and everything. Just ask Terrell Owens.
The coast was cleared for Roethlisberger to go helmetless after Pennsylvania chose to repeal its old helmet law, which gave him the right to do as he chose.
Unfortunately, that choice may have coast him a Hall of Fame career.
