Ben Roethlisberger spoke at great length on Wednesday about the myriad issues plaguing the Pittsburgh Steelers both on and off the field. Then Big Ben elected to take a “veteran’s day off” from practice, according to a report.
What makes Roethlisberger electing to take a day off so interesting, however, is a quote from the Steelers signal-caller from Wednesday’s meeting with the media about how he goes about accomplishing the duties of a team leader.
That quote was Roethlisberger's response to a question about leadership amid the widespread perception of dysfunction and disarray currently afflicting the downward-spiraling 0-1-1 Steelers.
In the grand scheme of things, Roethlisberger has earned the right to take a day off. A veteran like Big Ben can clearly overcome missing one midweek practice, especially given the Steelers don’t play their Week 3 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers until Monday night.
That said, as the clichéd reference goes, the optics of speaking to the duties of being a leader then taking a day off just aren’t good.
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