The past week and a half have been nothing but a whirlwind with controversy surrounding Joey Porter Sr., Ben Roethlisberger, and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Porter went after Roethlisberger and James Harrison for criticizing Mike Tomlin this season. He went as far as saying that Roethlisberger is a “bad teammate” and is a “bad person” too.
Former Steelers offensive guard David DeCastro defended his former teammate on Monday.
“Everyone’s entitled to their opinion,” DeCastro said on 93.7 The Fan. “I guess, negativity seems to sell these days, but I loved playing with Ben, for Ben, protecting him.”
A two-time All-Pro and six-time Pro Bowl selection, DeCastro spent all nine years of his career with Roethlisberger from 2012-2020. He made the Pro Bowl in his final six years and still resides in Pittsburgh.
DeCastro complimented Roelisberger’s fight and competitiveness on the field.
“I just loved his energy,” DeCastro said. “Ben’s the ultimate competitor, no matter what it is.”
Fellow teammates Maurkice Pouncey and Zach Banner also defended Big Ben over the last week, while others have criticized the two-time winning quarterback. Other current and former Steelers supported Porte,r taking shots at Roethlisberger and Harrison for talking badly about Tomlin.
“Go off @jportersr55”, Mason Rudolph wrote on the post promoting Heyward’s podcast.
“Peezy talking that talk,” former Steelers safety Mike Mitchell said.
While some Steelers players may be trying to defend Tomlin, the appearance is that they are also taking shots at Roethlisberger. This is the most vocal we have seen former Steelers talk about their teammates in years, taking shots at each other on social media and podcasts.
It feels very anti-Steelers. But the reality is, not everyone got along on the 2005 Steelers Super Bowl XL winning team, and it likely won’t be the last time we hear about teammates complaining about one another, despite some of its history occurring in Pittsburgh 20 years ago.