Pittsburgh Steelers Fans Welcome Back Ben Roethlisberger With Cheers, Not Jeers

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Posted on 1st August 2010 by Gordon Johnson in Brain Injury

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Pittsburgh Steelers fans are either very forgiving, have short memories or approve of taking advantage of young drunk women in the bathrooms of bars.

In any event, the fans welcomed shamed quarterback Ben Roethlisberger –  some even seeking his autograph – back to team practice with cheers and open arms Saturday, according to The New York Times.  

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/01/sports/football/01steelers.html?ref=sports

An apparently grateful, or relieved, Roethlisberger didn’t give fans the shirt off his back, but he did give them the shoes off his feet. Literally. That anecdote is in the first paragraph of  The Times’ story, which is headlined “For Roethlisberger, Feelings of Anxiety Fade With The Sound of Cheers.”

Roethlisberger’s practice at camp Saturday was essentially his first public appearance since the quarterback was suspended for six games. He got that suspension after being accused of sexually assaulting a woman in a Georgia bar in March.  He was not criminally charged in that incident, but he faces a lawsuit from a woman who alleges he raped her in Lake Tahoe, Nev.

I believe, and have blogged here on this topic, that Roethlisberger’s behavior changed for the worse as a result of his past brain injuries, which included brain trauma he sustained in a motorcycle accident where he wasn’t wearing a helmet, to the several concussions he sustained while playing for the NFL. 

The Times esimated that 10,000 fans showed up at St. Vincent College, where the Steelers train, and they roared when Roethlisberger came out onto the field.

Instead of jeers, one many yelled out to Roethlisbeger, “You’re the man,” The Times reported.

After the practice Roethlisberger told The Times, “It was good to be out here. I walked out, and they cheered pretty loud. It was neat to hear everybody cheering and seeing my jersey (on fans).”   

Some of the fans wearing Roethlisberger’s jersey were women, old and young alike.

The quarterback, in addition to his supension, also had to undergo a behavorial evaluaton. His team mates say that he’s acting more “personable.” The question is whether this is an act, or a real change in Roethlisberger.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will visit the Steelers practice as part of his training-camp  tour, , and The Times says the scuttlebutt is that Goodell may cut the quartereback’s suspension to only four games instead of six. 

What The NFL’s ‘Intervention’ With Pittsburgh Steelers Quarterback Roethlisberger Entails

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Posted on 23rd April 2010 by Gordon Johnson in Brain Injury

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Make no mistake about it, the National Football League’s punishment this week of Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was really an intervention.

 Roethlisberger was not only suspended without pay for six games for an incident in which he had sex with an intoxicated 20-year-old student in a bar bathroom, he was also ordered to undergo a comprehensive behavioral evaluation.

 NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is trying to help the quarterback, who was accused of – but not criminally charged –  with committing a sexual assault in the Georgia bar incident. Goodell flat out asked Roethlisberger, once a hero who lead his team to two Super Bowl wins, to help himself and turn his life around.

 “Your conduct raises sufficient concerns that I believe effective intervention now is the best step for your personal and professional welfare,” Goodell wrote in a letter to Roethlisberger.

 “I believe it is essential that you take full advantage of the resources available to you,” the commissioner said. “My ultimate disposition in this matter will be influenced by the extent to which you do so, what you learn as a result, and the demonstrated commitment to making positive change in your life.”  

 The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote a detailed story on what kinds of  tests Roethlisberger faces to determine to what degree his violation of the NFL’s personal conduct policy can be blamed on psychological, behavioral or neuropsychological disorders.  http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10113/1052700-66.stm

 Then, a plan for treatment and intervention must be devised.

 If anyone is a candidate for having neuropsychological problems, it’s Roethlisberger. A foolish daredevil who distains helmets, he was almost killed in a motorcycle accident several years ago when he was thrown and hit his head. As a Steeler, he sustained four concussions. That’s all a recipe for behavioral issues.

 The quarterback won’t be able to play ball until he completes his evaluation and therapy.  

 The evaluation will be done by medical professionals hired by the NFL. The process is likely to begin with a one or two-hour interview. As Roethlisberger talks about his problems in the past, doctors will be paying close attention to his actions and demeanor.

 Neuropsychological testing will hopefully be part of the NFL evaluation, to determine if the quarterback’s frontal lobe, the part of the brain that controls judgment and impulse control, was damaged from his motorcycle accident and football concussions, according to the Post-Gazette.

 The evaluation will also determine if Roethlisberger has an alcohol or drug addiction.

 Finally, the doctor in charge of the evaluation will have to study all the information and suggest treatment, it it’s deemed necessary. That could mean treatments such as cognitive behavioral therapy or anger management.