Recently-retired Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger recently took some shots at the new generation of NFL players.
Big Ben argued that today’s players have a more “me-type” attitude instead of focusing on what’s best for the team.
Here are Roethlisberger’s full comments on the matter from an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
“The team was so important. It was all about the team. Now, it’s about me and this, that and the other.
“I might be standing on a soapbox a little bit, but that’s my biggest takeaway from when I started to the end. It turned from a team-first to a me-type attitude. It was hard. It’s hard for these young guys, too. Social media. They’re treated so well in college. Now, this new NIL stuff, which is unbelievable. They’re treated so special. They’re coddled at a young age because college coaches need them to win, too. I know coach [Terry] Hoeppner never coddled me. Neither did [Bill] Cowher.”
Roethlisberger’s longtime teammate Cameron Heyward, who’s entering his 12th year with the Steelers, said these comments made him “a little bit upset.”
“It looks as though we are looked at as selfish players, and I don’t think that’s the point,” he said during the most recent episode of the Not Just Football with Cam Heyward podcast. “We have a lot of young players that come from different backgrounds, have experienced different things from what others or I may have experienced. That doesn’t make them selfish or more of a me-type attitude… There are a lot more team-first guys than me-type attitude. I took offense to that.”
The 33-year-old defensive lineman believes it’s his job to keep his younger teammates on the right track.
“I’m accountable for those guys,” Heyward added. “Obviously we haven’t had a Super Bowl in a long time, and maybe that’s where Ben is like, ‘Man, if those guys would have grown up.’ But it’s up to the older guys to step up and hold guys accountable. … It’s up to a vet to put you under your wing and pull you across and say, ‘Hey, this is what it’s like to be Pittsburgh Steeler.’ And that’s what I’m trying to do.
“Maybe Ben didn’t see it that way, but man, I’m going to protect my guys. You just can’t say it’s a ‘me-type of attitude’ now. Everyone’s out to be a Super Bowl winner, make money, one day be an MVP. But when it all comes together, we care about one thing, this logo right here. … I’ve always tried to extend that to my younger teammates. I think Ben was a little out on that one.”
Heyward’s younger brother, Connor, was selected by the Steelers in this year’s draft.