Tomlin Not Concerned With Roethlisberger's Night Out
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - Mike Tomlin isn't Concerned About Big Ben's Fort Worth Night Out "One Iota." And neither should we.
By now you might have seen the TMZ video of Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger singing Billy Joel's "Piano Man" at Fort Worth's Pete's Dueling Piano Bar Tuesday night. Big Ben reportedly bought a round of drinks for the bar, rang up an $800 tab and took care of the servers, tipping $200.
THEN there's this about Hines Ward, Ike Taylor and "a number of other pro athletes" enjoying a Dallas strip club Monday night. Ward skirted the issue.
Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin says that his players being spotted out and about is a non-issue.
"I am not concerned about that one iota," Tomlin said at Thursday's media session at Daniel Meyer Coliseum. "It's normal for guys to eat dinner, believe it or not, every now and then during the course of a week leading up to a game. So this week is no different from any other."
Tomlin wants his team to treat Super Bowl week just like any other game week.
"I understand things may be viewed and reported differently but that's not our concern," he added.
Apparently it's been a tradition for Roethlisberger to take his teammates out to eat during Tuesday nights during the week. They enjoyed bar-b-que before their trip to Pete's.
Lots of media types have been on the record criticizing the Steelers for their after-work activities this week. "Why can't they just stay at the hotel and watch movies?" is one refrain. I get it that Roethlisberger's situation is marred by a number of incidents, having been accused of rape twice but never brought up on charges. His appearance anywhere in cell-phone video world will raise eyebrows, especially during Super Bowl week. But I also think that too many people have unreal expectations on athletes. They're no different from any of us, just paid better.
"Believe it or not - guys live lives," Tomlin said this morning.
Trust me. You don't want to know what Cowboys players were doing when they won those three Super Bowls in the 90's
Issue? Non-issue? What are your thoughts?
