Several Pittsburgh Steelers alumni went back and forth on social media on Wednesday following controversial comments made by former linebacker Joey Porter. Appearing on Cam Heyward’s Not Just Football podcast, Porter went scorched Earth on Ben Roethlisberger.
“The sh*t that [Roethlisberger did]… that we don’t talk about is crazy,” Porter said. “Like, out of anybody that should talk, he should never grab a microphone and really talk Steelers business. Because if we’re talking Steeler business, his ass is foul of all foul. Like, the sh*t that he did is foul of all foul. He’s not a good teammate. [I] won a Super Bowl with him. But the person? He’s just not a good teammate. Like, he knows that. Anybody in the Steeler building knows that. But we protected him. Because I’ve only won one Super Bowl, and that was my quarterback. So do I love my quarterback? Yeah, but is he a good person? No.”
This sparked many comments from former Steelers on both sides of the argument. Some agreed with Porter, while others came rushing to the defense of their quarterback. Amongst the biggest names to do so was Antonio Brown, who took to X to voice his support for Roethlisberger.
“Big Ben [is] a great teammate,” Brown said. “One the best one to have! You got to earn his respect before he open up coming in talking won’t get his attention! Take it from a six round draft pick.”
Brown wasn’t the only one to defend Roethlisberger. Duck Hodges posted a photo of himself and Roethlisberger celebrating in 2019.
It goes without saying that Roethlisberger is polarizing, even amongst the players who shared a locker room with him.
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