Despite playing his entire Hall of Fame career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Terry Bradshaw is not afraid to be critical of his old team or it’s current quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger.
Following Pittsburgh’s AFC Championship Game loss, Big Ben hinted that retirement was a possibility, which you can read about here.
Bradshaw commented publicly on Tuesday, wondering what the purpose was.
“When he said that, I thought it was the pity move,” Bradshaw said, H/T Dave Bryan, Steelers Depot. “If Ben was sitting right here, I’d say ‘Ben, why’d you say it?’ Don’t say that, because It gets blown out of proportion. You make the organization uncomfortable. I wouldn’t have said that. Keep that quiet.”
The comments don’t seem to be worrying the organization too much. Mike Tomlin did say that he took the comments seriously, but team president Art Rooney II said that he anticipates Roethlisberger will return in 2017, which you can read more about here.
For the most part, Bradshaw is right. When a player of Roethlisberger’s caliber makes comments like that, it’s going to become a big story. If nothing else, the comments didn’t need to be made so quickly. Roethlisberger easily could have talked with his family privately, then waited a few weeks. At that point, if the doubt still existed, then a public comment would have been more appropriate.
Bradshaw has become a lightning rod of controversial statements. In December, he called Tomlin a “cheerleader.” On Tuesday, he blasted Houston Texans quarterback Brock Osweiler.
So, if you’re looking for a big name to take strong shots at an NFL player, Bradshaw may be a guy to follow around for a while.