Well, if you were among those who were wondering whether or not Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was going to break his silence about the controversy of this offseason, you just got your answer. Apparently, KDKA is going to air an exclusive one-on-one interview with the 15-year veteran this evening.
In a Twitter post from Bob Pompeani, he also specifically says that Roethlisberger will address “the Antonio Brown offseason drama, criticism of his leadership, his new contract, and [the] future of his radio show”, so…yeah, we’re pretty much going to be getting the whole enchilada.
One on one with #Steelers QB @_BigBen7 who addresses the Antonio Brown off season drama, criticism of his leadership, his new contract, and future of his radio show. @KDKA Exclusive. Tomorrow #KDKA News at 6 and 11 pic.twitter.com/rug2suL0M8
— Bob Pompeani (@KDPomp) May 20, 2019
While that is going to be good for us in that it’s going to give us some good stuff to write about, which should get a good number of eyes on them, I do really wish he wouldn’t say anything, or at least not go out of his way to say anything. But perhaps he’s approaching this from the perspective that it’s best to do it this way.
Perhaps he feels that there is no escaping his having to address all of these topics at some point. The timing is not coincidental. The Steelers open up OTAs tomorrow. He will (presumably) be there, and he will have microphones in his face.
So he’s going to answer all the questions he’s going to get ahead of time, in a controlled environment in which he will be better able to prepare his answers. And so if there really is no way to ultimately avoid digging into this topics, then perhaps it is better to do it this way.
Up to this point, however, Roethlisberger has been able to gain a lot of ground by saying nothing. He had hardly said a word this offseason, and when he did, it was about the focus of the team and wanting to get better and things of that nature.
Brown, Le’Veon Bell, and others had attacked him pretty hard, but those individuals have done a solid job of damaging their credibility with their actions or inactions, and that has led to Roethlisberger’s alleged behavior being viewed in a more favorable light.
While Pompeani says that he is going to address these topics, I’m hoping that Roethlisberger offers very little in the way of soundbites. When he talks about Brown, he should say little more than that he was disappointed to hear what his former teammate had to say about their relationship and that he wishes him success out in Oakland.
The most interesting bit, however, may end up being about his radio show. There have been some reports indicating that he was weighing whether or not to continue doing it this season, as it’s something that has drawn him negative attention more than a few times. Is this interview an indication that he has no plans of changing course?
