Robert Ortiz
Ben Roethlisberger has been one of the premier “tough” quarterbacks in the NFL alongside Philip Rivers. Even with that reputation, there is one injury Big Ben doesn’t take lightly — concussions.
With a matchup looming against the Indianapolis Colts, one key storyline surrounding the game revolves around Colts quarterback Andrew Luck and his injury status.
Luck is currently in concussion protocol, something that is very hard to clear on a short week.
Roethlisberger had a few words to say regarding Luck and his status for this week’s upcoming game during a conference call, via SportingNews:
“The brain is nothing to mess with. He’s young and has a long career ahead of him,” Big Ben said during a conference call. “You have to prepare for him to play. If he does say he doesn’t feel ready to go out there, there will be no knock on him coming from me.
While Big Ben did say he wishes to face Luck, he said so with the caveat that he only wants Luck out there if he is truly capable to go.
Roethlisberger then began to discuss concussions in general during his conference call, even going so far as to reveal that he used to hide concussions suffered in the past.
He ended the conference call with a final quote, one that every young player should take to heart:
“You can rub dirt on a lot of things. You can’t rub dirt on the brain, so you’ve got to be smart about that. When you play this game long enough, you’re bound to have injuries because it is a violent sport,” he said. “You’ve got to be smart when it comes to your brain because you play football for such a short period of your life. When you’ve got a family and people you’re going to be with for long-term, you’ve got to really make sure your health is taken care of.”
Good on you Roethlisberger, for taking the stance that needed to be taken.
