Joey Porter Sr.’s harsh criticism of Ben Roethlisberger’s character isn’t universally accepted among his former teammates.
James Harrison, who played alongside Roethlisberger from 2004 to 2012 and again from 2014 to 2017, defended him during a recent podcast, stating, “I don’t think Ben is a bad teammate.”
This defense followed Porter’s strong remarks, where he labeled Roethlisberger as “just not a good teammate” and not a good person.
Porter also took aim at Harrison for allegedly breaking a “brotherhood” due to his comments about former Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin.
Harrison clarified, “That was an outright attack on Ben’s character, and what I said about Mike was an attack on his coaching,” during his appearance on the podcast “Devo and Joe.” He continued, “Two different things. That’s more of a breakup of the brotherhood than what Ben said. Ben simply mentioned he thought maybe Tomlin should move on. That’s what he said.”
Harrison added, “I tried much harder than that,” to manage the situation, noting that Porter seemed to be holding on to unresolved personal issues with Roethlisberger.
In his critical remarks, Porter highlighted a moment when Roethlisberger allegedly declined to sign gear for his teammates.
Harrison recognized that Roethlisberger’s ego may have shaped his earlier behavior on the team. “Yeah, it would pump my ego and give me delusions of grandeur, but over time, I can’t appreciate the same things I did at 23 the same way I did at 30. Oh my god, I’m a different person at 47 than I was at 45. And I’m a much worse person at 40 than I was at 45,” he shared.
As of now, Roethlisberger has not publicly addressed Porter’s comments.
