Dear Ben,
I have rooted against you your entire professional career. Being a lifelong Browns fan, my disdain for the Pittsburgh Steelers instinctively runs deep.
But while I have not been your biggest supporter on the field, it was never my intention to extend those negative feelings off it. You have the kind of background that naturally leads people, including myself, to offer support.
Instead of attending a giant, private football academy, you emerged from a small, public high school in Findlay, Ohio. After a successful high school career, you again chose to go small, deciding to play for the Miami Redhawks of the Mid-American Conference.
Your stellar career in Oxford led the Steelers to draft you in the first round in 2004. The boy who was born and raised in Findlay had made it to the National Football League. Having grown up within an hour of the city, I know how big of a deal it was to see someone like you go pro, a feat not common in the area.
The only thing you did wrong, in my eyes at least, was be drafted by Pittsburgh, something you had no control over. In fact, had you been drafted by almost any other team in the league, I surely would have supported you. Still, my negative attitude toward you was solely based on your jersey colors and not anything directly related to you as an individual.
But since then, your behavior off the field has been anything but divine. You were severely injured and nearly killed in 2006 when the motorcycle you were riding — without a helmet and well over the speed limit — crashed into an oncoming car in downtown Pittsburgh.
More recently, allegations have swirled regarding your sexual aggression, leading to accusations of assault in Lake Tahoe, Nev., and Milledgeville, Ga. You were not charged in either situation, though the latter earned you a six-game, unpaid suspension at the start of the 2010 season.
Despite never being charged, I find it hard to believe that you are entirely free from blame. It is sometimes easy to dismiss one person’s allegations, but that task becomes increasingly difficult when it happens multiple times.
If nothing else, you are guilty of being immature. Your performance in real life, at least recently, has failed to resemble your accomplishments in football. Your headlines used to include words like “Super Bowl” and “Victory.” Now they include “Suspension” and “Scandal.”
For the sake of all involved, I hope you are not guilty of the allegations against you. But even if you are innocent, Commissioner Roger Goodell is right for handing down this suspension. Hopefully it will open your eyes to the consequences of your actions.
Everyone can cheer for the “Ben Roethlisberger from Findlay.” But when we see news of assault allegations, we can only shake our heads in disappointment.
Sincerely,
A Browns Fan
