Steelers Great Ben Roethlisberger Gives Strong Advice To Young Stars That Come Off As Jerks To Fans In Public

Pittsburgh Steelers' legendary quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger was always known as a solidified stud on the football field, but had his fair share of controversy off the playing surface during his 18-year NFL career, especially early on. Sexual assault allegations, as well as a gruesome motorcycle accident had many fans wondering if it were even worth it to keep him around. He ended up spending the entirety of his professional days in the Steel City, coming up with two Super Bowl victories. The retired soon-to-be 42-year old made a rare appearance on a podcast that's not his own to speak with Bruce Gradkowski.

Gradkowski hosts his own podcast called Alpha 5 Method and had Roethlisberger on to discuss a plethora of topics. One of the more intriguing conversations came towards the end when Gradkowski asked Roethlisberger about the attention professional athletes receive from fans when out in public. The future Hall of Fame signal-caller realized quickly that fame isn't always easy.

"I figured out early that if I didn't want to deal with that, that you just don't go out. You don't leave your house. You don't go to dinner. If you're not in the mood to deal with it, 'cause the last thing you want to do is go out and give someone a first impression that you're a jerk. You could have an off day. Everyone has off days. The nicest people in the world have off days."

Roethlisberger didn't directly point his next words at young stars in the league, but they could certainly learn from his experiences. He seems to have plenty of memories regarding his good public encounters versus the ones when he was maybe having a rough day.

"They're going to go tell people. I've always realized that when you, if you're a nice guy to somebody, they might go tell one or two people. 'Man, I met Ben, he was such a nice guy.' If you're a jerk, they're going to go tell hundreds of people that you're a jerk. It's just like anything you get the mass of people that love you, they're not the loud ones... The few that don't like you or don't have something to say, they're the loudest."

The six-time Pro Bowler certainly has a point. People are unforgiving and a bad run-in with a celebrity is almost always talked about more so than the ones that occurred without confrontational disagreement.

Roethlisberger expanded on his comments. He seemed extremely set on the ways that he has decided to go about his public appearances in the past. There were times that he just wanted to be in the moment with his family.

"You just don't go deal with it. If you're not in the mood to deal with it, don't go out and do that because someone's first impression of you needs to be who you really are and so, to me, and I'm not saying I was always the nicest or the best because, you're right, sometimes you're sitting at dinner with your family, you're trying to have an intimate conversation or whatever, and it's always, 'Hey, one more thing.'"

Roethlisberger has never been shy to speak his mind, especially since he retired at the end of the 2021 season. His insight as a former player definitely shines light on what current NFL competitors go through. Some that have bad reputations for being rude to fans when out may need to take a page out of Roethlisberger's book if they are concerned with the public's perception of them.

Steelers Surely Miss Roethlisberger In 2024

Roethlisberger may have retired over two years ago, but the organization is currently in quarterback purgatory. His appearances on his own podcast as well as others are great for fans to hear from him, but 18 years of incredible on-field play quickly flew by. Now, the Steelers are desperately hoping to find the next franchise signal-caller.

Do you think young players should take some of what Roethlisberger said to heart? Let us know in the comments below!

#SteelerNation