Steelers’ QB Ben Roethlisberger Credits His Faith for Helping in His Recovery from Alcohol, Porn Addiction

Ben Roethlisberger is about to return to the playing field after missing 14 games last season due to elbow surgery. The Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback underwent surgery to treat his injury. It is the first time he has been required to miss more than four regular-season games over a career that has spanned 16 seasons in the NFL.

The Super Bowl champion says his throwing arm is back. He can move it without any limitations.

Says Athletes Are Not Above Addiction Issues

When speaking at the annual “Manup Pittsburgh” Event, Roethlisberger did not focus on his injury recovery progress. Instead, he revealed that he has had issues with alcohol abuse and pornography abuse.

As Roethlisberger shared with ESPN, “People don’t realize all the time that us athletes, we’re human. We sin like everybody else [and] I am no different. We make mistakes.”

He explained that he moved away from his Christian beliefs when he went away to college. Roethlisberger also says that this attitude persisted during the early part of his professional career.

He explained he was not ready for the fame and fortune that came with being an NFL player when he joined the football league. He says that he lost touch with the values that had once been important to him. Around this time, he started on the slippery slope toward experiences with alcohol and pornography addictions.

Legal Problems in 2009-2010

In 2009, a woman filed a lawsuit against Roethlisberger where she accused him of raping her in his hotel room in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. The case was settled out of court and the terms have been kept confidential.

In a separate incident that occurred in 2010, Roethlisberger was accused of sexually assaulting a 20-year-old college student at a nightclub in Milledgeville, approximately 85 miles southeast of Atlanta. He owned a lake home in the area. Roethlisberger had been with three other companions who were mixing with another group that included the alleged victim. The complainant accused Roethlisberger of following her into a bathroom stall at the nightclub and raping her. She ultimately asked the District Attorney handling the case not to prosecute. The charges against Roethlisberger were dropped.

The NFL stepped in to suspend Roethlisberger for four games at the beginning of the 2010 season for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.

Marriage and Re-focus on Faith While Dealing with Addictions

Roethlisberger married in 2011. He is now the father of three children and was re-baptized in 2017. Roethlisberger describes himself as having matured and now refers to his behavior off the field in the early days of his career as “selfish.”

At the beginning of last season, Roethlisberger was focused on his faith and making a comeback. In the second game of the year, he injured his elbow. He had to take time to slow down, lean on his faith, and devote himself to his training. Roethlisberger readily admits that if the injury had occurred 10 years ago or even as recently as five years ago, he would not have been able to handle it.

Sources:

cbssports.com/nfl/news/steelers-ben-roethlisberger-admits-to-recent-struggles-with-addiction-renewed-purpose-for-2020/

usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/steelers/2020/06/24/ben-roethlisberger-pittsburgh-steelers-qb-discusses-alcohol-pornography-addictions/3248503001/

post-gazette.com/home/2012/01/21/Roethlisberger-settles-civil-suit-in-Nevada-that-alleged-2008-rape/stories/201201210222

nytimes.com/2010/03/06/sports/football/06sportsbriefs-roethlisberger.html