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Ben Roethlisberger takes 'veteran's day off' Wednesday

Originally posted on Sportress of Blogitude
By Jason Rowan | Last updated 9/19/18

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.

Ben Roethlisberger said he will not be practicing today. Taking a veteran's day off. #Steelers #dkps

— Dale Lolley (@dlolley_pgh) September 19, 2018

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.

#Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger, when asked how he leads this week: "Just keep trying to lead by example, going about my job, showing up to work and playing my butt off."

— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) September 19, 2018

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.

This article first appeared on Sportress of Blogitude and was syndicated with permission.

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