Easy, Rider
So Ben Roethlisberger is sorry. And he promises to wear a helmet whenever he rides his motorcycle from now on. I'm sure that's a consolation to the Steelers, who are still cleaning the soil from their underwear after hearing the grocery list of injuries Ben suffered in the accident.
Look, I'm not even going to get into Pennsylvania's absurd lack of a helmet law. I'm upset enough I recently got a ticket for not clicking it, while Roethlisberger gets to zip his little crotch-rocket all over the city with no helmet. The Steelers have a lot of money invested in Roethlisberger, compensation for being their Super Bowl-winning QB, not the Steel City's favorite Evil Knievel. Even Terry Bradshaw was smart enough to warn Ben of that. Maybe the Hulk Hogan-esque bald spot is where the clarevoyance takes place.
Roethlisberger will be fine in time for the season, he's already home from the hospital and the damage to his knees isn't serious. But this isn't the first sign of behavior unbefitting of a league representative. Let's just hope he doesn't go on joyrides on nights like these.
What's even more disheartening than Roethlisberger's stubborn myopia is the attention given to his accident. When I awoke Monday morning and put on ESPNNews, the story was relegated to a small breaking news box in the lower right corner - "Roethlisberger hurt in motorcycle accident." Simple. Self-explanatory.
When I returned home that evening, BikeGate had taken on Princess Di-like proportions, with every local and national news station weighing in. I find it hard to believe that the reaction would be as sympathetic if the athlete involved were to be, let's say, plain ole' Trent Dilfer. The case was the same when Tony Dungy's son died towards the end of the Colts' impressive regular season last year. Obviously we all felt for Dungy and recognized what must be the horror of losing a child, but ESPN would've never given it a second mention if the coach involved was different. Dungy's black and well-liked amongst the NFL and its media, and had just recently suffered the first loss of the season after opening the year 13-0. The media puts emphasis on the sob of these stories for whomever it chooses.
What this accident is more than anything, though, is proof that we should all be careful what we wish for. This friendless young man wished harm upon Big Ben, now he's eating his words. The power of Christ shall compel you, young man.
