Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger has seen a myriad of different insults hurled his way through his career in Pittsburgh, for reasons concerning both on and off-field issues.
With those insults have come a handful of people knocking at Ben’s doorstep in a negative manner, in-particularly those who support Antonio Brown’s side of the split between him and the Steelers.
The latest supporter to do so however does raise some eyebrows.
Early Thursday morning, former Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall fired off a series of tweets in regards to Brown’s situation, saying he “feels for AB” and dives into being a black athlete.
After receiving a tweet from a fan asking him to explain why Brown “quit” on the Steelers before their last game against the Bengals, Mendenhall let the world know exactly what he thought with a simple press of the “send” button.
This isn’t the first time Mendenhall has caught the spotlight for tweeting something controversial, either. In 2011 Mendenhall gave some very strong opinions on the death of Osama Bin-Laden.
Mendenhall, the team’s first round pick in 2008, played five seasons with the Steelers before ending his career in Arizona. Mendenhall won Super Bowl XLIII as a member of the Steelers, yet his late fumble in Super Bowl XLV against the Green Bay Packers is what he is mainly remembered for in the Steel City.
The racist accusations towards Roethlisberger come from seemingly thin air, as no current/former player has raised an issue with Ben’s treatment towards players of a different race. In fact, players such as Maurkice Pouncey have been the first to defend Roethlisberger when the heat gets turned up, stating he is going to retire when Roethlisberger does as well.
It’s been a wild off-season for the Steelers, and like many of the fans that fill Heinz Field in the fall, there’s a good chance Roethlisberger can’t wait to just play football again.