Oct 28, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Sr. waves the Terrible Towel before a game against the New York Giants at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn Images Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

'Good Person? No': Steelers Legend Calls Out Ben Roethlisberger

Originally posted on Pittsburgh Steelers on SI
By Noah Strackbein | Last updated Feb 11, 2026 10:00 AM ET

The Pittsburgh Steelers are in the midst of figuring out their quarterback situation, and have plenty of talking heads trying to play general manager and make the call for them.

One of those talking heads is their former quarterback. Ben Roethlisberger left the game of football five years ago and jumped right into podcasting with his show, 'Footbahlin' With Ben'. The podcast continues to grow, and the former QB is not shy about talking about his former team.

So much so that Joey Porter Sr. is calling him out for it. Speaking on Cam Heyward's podcast, 'Not Just Football,' Porter didn't hold back talking about why Roethlisberger shouldn't have anything to say about the group of players in Pittsburgh these days.

"The s*** that [Roethlisberger] do that we don't talk about is crazy. Out of anybody that talk, he should never grab a microphone and talk Steelers business," Porter said. "Because if we talking Steelers business, his a** is fould of all foul. The s*** that he did is foul of all foul. He's not a good teammate. Won a Super Bowl with him, But the person? He's just not a good teammate. He knows that. Anybody in the Steeler building knows that. I've only won one Super Bowl and that was my quarterback. So do I love my quarterback? Yeah. But is he a good person? No."

Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

Porter named two examples of Roethlisberger's character during his time with the Steelers. The first is as a rookie when Big Ben wouldn't sign memorabilia for players to give to their families, despite veterans being willing to sign things.

The second was that players wouldn't vote for him as captain because he didn't have "captain qualities."

Roethlisberger's Reputation in Pittsburgh

It's hard to talk about the Steelers without talking about Big Ben. Roethlisberger will go down as the greatest quarterback to play in the Steel City and is going to find himself in the Hall of Fame sooner rather than later.

Still, there has been plenty of push back over the years about Roethlisberger not being the best teammate in Pittsburgh.

So much so that he apologized for it on an episode of his podcast last year.

"If there was ever someone I wronged or wasn't kind to, looking back now, I wish I could fix that wrong or say I'm sorry, but I still would stand by what I said as, 'I'm here to win.' Maybe I still could've done that, but found time to have been there more for guys that needed me."

Back in Porter's time, players didn't do as much talking. Podcasts weren't a thing like they are today. And so, it's an adjustment to allow former players to criticize their former teams. As the dust settles, everyone will return to doing just that, but for the moment, Porter's words certainly stand tall as a franchise legend calling out one of the biggest names in team history.

This article first appeared on Pittsburgh Steelers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: