Joey Porter Sr. is coming under criticism for his own criticism of QB Ben Roethlisberger. A story that’s become No. 1 in local media during a rare dead zone of the NFL calendar, Porter took Roethlisberger to task for his recent comments. Former NFL player and current 93.7 The Fan host Dorin Dickerson expressed his own issues not just in what Porter said but where he went public with them.
“Now Cam Heyward is in a tough spot,” Dickerson said on The Fan Wednesday. “I probably wouldn’t do that. If I had a problem with someone back in the day and I wanted to say something and I was on a platform? Yeah, I would do it with Kay Adams. But I wouldn’t do it with Cam Heyward. Who is a Steeler.”
Porter’s comments came on Heyward’s Not Just Football podcast. It placed Heyward in an awkward spot between a former teammate like Roethlisberger and Porter, a former Steeler himself who coached during part of Heyward’s tenure with the team. Two men Heyward is presumably friends with.
Heyward himself attempted to stay out of the discussion during Porter’s rant against Roethlisberger. The ball is now volleyed back into Roethlisberger’s court. Though less regular during the offseason, he’ll likely record an episode of his Footbahlin podcast to air next Tuesday. Odds are high he’ll respond to Porter’s comments and the social media agreement from several of Roethlisberger’s former teammates. Which will only stir up another news cycle of headlines.
It’s hard to understand how this story even began. Roethlisberger’s podcast takes are generally mild and inoffensive. Frankly, there are times where his responses make it clear he’s only semi-following the team.
Porter’s accusation is that Roethlisberger broke the team’s “brotherhood” by “talking Steelers’ business,” but it’s not obvious what comment that refers to. Roethlisberger’s made passive-aggressive comments about QB Mason Rudolph and created controversy over his Mike Tomlin takes, comments he later walked back, but Porter’s aggressive stance seems unprovoked. And it put Heyward in an awkward spot between two Steeler legends.
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