Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger was involved in a motorcycle accident today in downtown Pittsburgh, apparently it's pretty bad. I'd linkify to other sites, but ESPN is sure to be carrying things at this point.
From the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (via link from ProFootballTalk.com)
Roethlisberger injured in accident
By Jill King Greenwood and and Karen Roebuck TRIBUNE-REVIEW Monday, June 12, 2006
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger suffered a serious head injury this morning after his motorcycle collided with a car on Second Avenue near the 10th Street Bridge, police said. Roethlisberger, who was not wearing a helmet, collided with a Chrysler sedan shortly before 11:25 a.m. and was thrown off his motorcycle, flying headfirst into the car's windshield "with a pretty good force," said a veteran city police officer.
Roethlisberger was taken to Mercy Hospital, said a Steelers spokesman, who declined to provide other information.
Okay, HUGE Browns fan here and I actually want to pass on my well-wishes for him. This is tragic for anyone, and I hope for a speedy recovery.
That said, if the reports of no helmet are true he is a moron. I see people out here all the time with no helmet, and I can't believe people would run that risk. I also seem to recall Cowher chastising him (around the time of Winslow's spill) for not wearing a helmet.
Folks, please protect your gourd if riding a motorcycle. It can save your life.
I hope he makes a full recovery, it seems that he's stable and that the injuries aren't life-threatening.
That said, he's been lectured by Bill Cowher about the dangers of riding sans helmet, and he ignored Cowher's warnings. Pennsylvania recently amended its helmet law to make them optional for motorcycle riders, and Roethlisberger took full advantage of that.
Not to sound heartless, because I sincerely hope he makes a full recovery and can play again, but this was an irresponsible thing to do. After having been lectured by the Rooney's, Cowher, Terry Bradshaw, and certainly countless others, he still decided to ride without the helmet. Just seems kind of senseless to me.
Stupid. Just. Plain. Stupid. I never understood why anyone would ride a bike without a helmet. It makes no sense. I hope that this accidnet keeps him out this season, Pittsburgh tanks because of him and the whole city of Pittsburgh secretly blames Roethelisberger while Cowher PUBLICLY blames him. Ben makes a full recovery the next season and leads the Steelers to the playoffs. He learns the error of his ways and starts to wear a helmet.
Well, that's just drunk talk! Sweet, beautiful drunk talk....
Big Ben always impressed me by being a young kid who'd tasted success (great success, in fact) and still kept a very level head.
His not wearing a helmet while driving a motorcycle makes me want to reassess that impression. Would he ever have considered taking even one snap in the NFL without his helmet on? I'm guessing not unless it was a pass from the shotgun with a Max Protect scheme and the Arizona Cardinals on the other side of the line. And even then it'd be a "maybe."
Judging by the accident layout in the article linked above, I wouldn't be surprised to find out Ben was trying to make a yellow light and neither he nor the driver of the car saw the other.
I truly hope Roethlisberger is alright and that we see him again in the NFL. I also truly hope we see him become the poster boy for wearing a helmet when motorcycling. He's lucky to be alive.
Originally posted by tarnishBig Ben always impressed me by being a young kid who'd tasted success (great success, in fact) and still kept a very level head.
His not wearing a helmet while driving a motorcycle makes me want to reassess that impression.
On SportsCenter, they're replaying his interview from last year where he claims that he doesn't wear a helmet because lets him be "more free."
I am not shocked that he was on a sports bike and not a cruiser. The sports bike kids down here usually do 100 on the beltway.
I don't thik that all sports bike riders are reckless, but this accident will give them another black eye, so to speak.
"You want to tempt the wrath of the whatever from high atop the thing?" --Toby, West Wing
I don't understand why people criticize Roethlisberger for "taking such a big risk" when really that's what he does for a living. The guy's job is to stand there while up to 11 people ranging from 230 lbs. to 375 lbs. or so do everything in their power to rip his head off. It takes a tough, dangerous mentality to do that and you can't just turn that mentality on and off.
He's young, he made a reckless decision and nearly paid for it with his life. All he can do now is learn from it and move on. I don't think he's a dumbass; I can completely understand why he would do something like this. He's gotta get his thrills in somehow. If anything, his money and celebrity status probably *encourage* this kind of behavior. If I was 24 years old, making millions of dollars and was well on my way to footbll folklore, I might think I was a little invincible to. Nobody can honestly tell me they've never taken some kind of chance that, had it not paid of, would have left you in some kind of terrible situatiuon. If you can honestly say that, well ... that seems pretty boring to me.
Would I ever ride a bike at 100 mph with no helmet? No, but then my idea of an exciting risk is more like taking a different bus route to work and seeing if I still get their on time (I don't).
Originally posted by TheBucsFanI don't understand why people criticize Roethlisberger for "taking such a big risk" when really that's what he does for a living.
And when he's doing that on the field, he's wearing pads and a helmet. Taking a big risk on the field would be him playing w/o the gear, IMO.
I do agree with you that the whole "big risk" thing is silly. The one chick on Around The Horn was going off about how basically anyone who touches a bike will be in a horrific accident. Just like in a car, all you can do is ride as safe as you can and hope some idiot out there doesn't plow into you.
From the accident pics, it looks like he T-boned the car. I don't know enough to guess who is at fault, but those are the wrecks that all riders dread.
"You want to tempt the wrath of the whatever from high atop the thing?" --Toby, West Wing
You wanted the best, you got... Out of Context Quote of the Week.
"I know, I know you are saying "sure there was some bad calls, but Jake Gyllenhaal obviously dropped too many easy catches and Ang Lee had some horrible clock management at the end of each half!"" (krakken2000)
Originally posted by ZeruelI do agree with you that the whole "big risk" thing is silly. The one chick on Around The Horn was going off about how basically anyone who touches a bike will be in a horrific accident. Just like in a car, all you can do is ride as safe as you can and hope some idiot out there doesn't plow into you.
As soon as you said Around the Horn, I hope your hyperbole detector went into overdrive. I'm not convinced anything of any substance will ever come out of that show, and that panelist most likely proved that.
Obviously we won't know for sure until they officially release police and medical reports, but the last-substantiated stuff I heard was
- broken jaw, broken nose, lacerations. he may or may not have knee damage that may or may not be structural which is the big question from an athletic standpoint.
- a woman pulled in front of him while he had a green light at an intersection. unsure of what speed he was going but if he was going crazy-fast he would probably be hurt much worse.
Not that it isn't retarded to ride without a helmet, but it's neither illegal nor would it probably have prevented any of those injuries. So with that in mind and if he isn't culpable, then from a karmic/dumbass standpoint, I'm not really feeling it.
It'd be nice if he was so concerned with staying healthy to play football that he lived in a protective bubble for the duration of his career, but just because I want him to win games for my team doesn't mean I'd be so self-righteous as to forbid him from riding a motorcycle.
Profootballtalk.com is reporting that they're hearing that the knee injuries are just road rash, nothing structural. I hope the guy's ok. I don't understand the whole not wearing a helmet thing, but he broke no laws, so we'll just let people call him an idiot and move on.
Oh man. Best of luck to him in a full recovery. We're just getting Carson Palmer back in shape and as much as I don't like the Steelers, I've been looking forward to this rivalry to go on for years to come.
Originally posted by JustinShapiroObviously we won't know for sure until they officially release police and medical reports, but the last-substantiated stuff I heard was
- broken jaw, broken nose, lacerations. he may or may not have knee damage that may or may not be structural which is the big question from an athletic standpoint.
- a woman pulled in front of him while he had a green light at an intersection. unsure of what speed he was going but if he was going crazy-fast he would probably be hurt much worse.
Not that it isn't retarded to ride without a helmet, but it's neither illegal nor would it probably have prevented any of those injuries. So with that in mind and if he isn't culpable, then from a karmic/dumbass standpoint, I'm not really feeling it.
It'd be nice if he was so concerned with staying healthy to play football that he lived in a protective bubble for the duration of his career, but just because I want him to win games for my team doesn't mean I'd be so self-righteous as to forbid him from riding a motorcycle.
So how would a full helmet and mask not have prevented a broken jaw and broken nose?
Every time I see a jackoff on a bike with a half helmet (and worse, shorts and t-shirt) whizz around cars, I hope for them to do a Pete Rose slide under a bus.
This is no different. Had he jumped out of a plane with no parachute, would we pity him? No. That's not illegal either, and it sure as hell is retarded. F*** him.
(edited by BigFredMachine on 12.6.06 2113) "If you don't have anything to say, don't say it"