Will Big Ben Roethlisberger Follow in Footsteps of Webster, Strzelczyk, and Long?

Mike Lupica of The New York Daily News said Roger Goodell suspended Ben Roethlisberger FOR THE GOOD OF THE LEAGUE. I’m curious if Goodell hopes it helps Roethlisberger and other players in the NFL?

This move certainly sends a message to other players in the NFL, but for one moment do you think it will stop off the field problems in the league?   Hell. No.

Certainly, the league will always be put ahead of its’ players.  Nobody is bigger than the game.  The NFL  is the most popular league. Just look at the excitement the NFL received after that amazing Roethlisberger throw to Santonio Holmes 14 months ago in the Super Bowl.  But the headlines surrounding Roethlisberger and what happened in Milledgeville, Georgia…..well, those aren’t good for business.

The NFL is behind you–until its’ players mess up.  The Steelers are behind its’ players too, well until their players do something embarassing.  It takes courage to want to  help Big Ben.  Personally, I admire the decision to not trade Roethlisberger to the highest bidder.  It would be easy to make Roethlisberger and his diversions disappear.  But it wouldn’t help the person under that helmet, and that is the important part of the Steelers decision.  It should be a part of the NFL’s decision too, I’m afraid it’s not however.

It certainly wasn’t an easy decision for the Steelers.  Keeping Roethlisberger is the hard move.  He is a player with so much baggage that  isn’t good for the business of pro football–  Roethlisberger has suffered concussions on the field and exhibited questionable behavior off the field.

Remember the Steelers named Mike Webster, Justin Strzelczyk, and Terry Long?   Post mortem examinations of each of their brains revealed CTE or punchdrunk syndrome.   Give this article a read when you have a moment, Is Ben’s Brain Trauma at Fault for Recent Behavior?

People who suffer repeated head injuries often exhibit signs of aggression, childishness, impaired self-control, inappropriate sexual activity and alcohol abuse, according to the National Institutes of Health.

"“Ben Roethlisberger is a guy with a lot of concussions,” said famed forensic pathologist Cyril Wecht. “It would be a very wise decision, a very appropriate one, for the NFL to test him for damage related to them. That’s being very fair to Ben.“It’s conceivable to think that there is a possibility that those concussions have led to some behavioral issues. The question I pose is simple: Can someone with several chronic or repetitive head injuries later display behavior that is socially undesirable? It’s certainly possible, but we won’t know that unless there is a proper evaluation, then work-up and treatment plan. It would be medically negligent not to include these sorts of tests as a part of this disciplinary process.”"

So what will Ben have to say tomorrow, something earth shattering?  I trust that he tells us he has seeked out professional help.

Don’t count on it.  It wouldn’t be good for the league. It wouldn’t be good for Ben in a court of law.   But I think this, it’s not about he said, she said.  It’s not about Nevada or Georgia.  It’s not about 242 sacks.  It’s not about four concussions/head traumas, a motorcycle accident, two Super Bowl trophies….no.  It’s not about any of that stuff that has happened. 

Monday should be about one thing.  Who is taking a look ‘inside’ Roethlisbergers’ brain FOR THE GOOD OF ROETHLISBERGER.  Perhaps none of this is caused by a medical condition, but I need a medical expert to tell us that, not some blogger, not a sportswriter.  I simply hope an expert can figure it out, before it’s too late.