Steelers DT Cam Heyward Responds to Ben Roethlisberger's 'Selfish' Comments
Former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger knows plenty about winning. The two-time Super Bowl champion finished his NFL career without a losing season, but towards the end, the team's postseason performance took a dive.
The Steelers haven't won a playoff game since 2016, and recently, Roethlisberger spoke about why they've struggled. In an interview with Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Ron Cook, Big Ben pointed to a "me-first" mentality as the reason they haven't made a run.
"I feel like the game has changed. I feel like the people have changed in a sense," Roethlisberger said. "Maybe it’s because I got spoiled when I came in. The team was so important. It was all about the team. Now, it’s about me and this, that and the other.
"I might be standing on a soapbox a little bit, but that’s my biggest takeaway from when I started to the end. It turned from a team-first to a me-type attitude. It was hard. It’s hard for these young guys, too. Social media. They’re treated so well in college. Now, this new NIL stuff, which is unbelievable. They’re treated so special. They’re coddled at a young age because college coaches need them to win, too. I know coach [Terry] Hoeppner never coddled me [at Miami of Ohio]. Neither did [Bill] Cowher."
Defensive tackle Cam Heyward caught wind of the comments and made it known on his podcast, Not Just Football, that the Steelers don't have a selfish mentality.
"It looks as though we are looked at as selfish players, and I don't think that's the point,' Heyward said. "We have a lot of young players that come from different backgrounds, have experienced different things from what others or I may have experienced. That doesn't make them selfish or more of a me-type attitude. ... There are a lot more team-first guys than me-type attitude. I took offense to that."
Heyward said that as team captain and a proven veteran, he is responsible to standup for his teammates.
"I'm accountable for those guys," Heyward said. "Obviously we haven't had a Super Bowl in a long time, and maybe that's where Ben is like, 'Man, if those guys would have grown up.' But it's up to the older guys to step up and hold guys accountable. ... It's up to a vet to put you under your wing and pull you across and say, 'Hey, this is what it's like to be Pittsburgh Steeler.' And that's what I'm trying to do.
"Maybe Ben didn't see it that way, but man, I'm going to protect my guys. You just can't say it's a 'me-type of attitude' now. Everyone's out to be a Super Bowl winner, make money, one day be an MVP. But when it all comes together, we care about one thing, this logo right here. ... I've always tried to extend that to my younger teammates. I think Ben was a little out on that one."
Heyward made it know he wasn't calling out his former teammate, but also wanted it to be known that he believes the Steelers are not a "me-first" team.
"Don't say Cam is calling out Ben -- it's not like that," Heyward said. "But I will say, I'll protect my team. I will make sure that everybody knows that we care only about football on the field and less about off the field. We can all understand Ben has been a heck of a QB. You don't do this game and become a Hall of Fame quarterback and do it at a low level.
"Ben has taken some hits not a lot of other teams could do. He saved us, he won games we weren't supposed to win, and he's always stepped up. But it was the team around him that helped him do it, and I don't want anyone to ever forget that the whole team won -- not just Ben."
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