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Right now, nobody wants to hear good-guy stories that acquaintances relate about Roethlisberger: picking up the tab for a Thanksgiving feast for Ronald McDonald House residents; footing all expenses for a stranger's birthday dinner party that was taking place close to his own table; buying police dogs for departments that can't afford them.
"If he throws an interception, he's going to be booed like you don't believe," Rickard said. "He's going to get booed before he throws a pass, for what all he's done. He's going to have to really, really play well to gain us back. And start being more respectful to everybody."
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THE ROONEYS
One thing about the Roethlisberger case stuns former NFL player turned Pittsburgh-based sports lawyer and agent Ralph Cindrich.
"Never in the history of the city can I recall anything close to it," Cindrich said. "I think most are offended because of not only the city, but how it reflects on the Rooney family -- if there's any franchise that doesn't deserve this, it's this one."
For 77 years, the Rooneys have operated a model NFL team, one so ingrained into the community that people will sometimes recall major life events -- births, weddings, funerals -- by what happened in Steelers history that season.
Two months ago, coach Mike Tomlin said the Steelers expect their players' conduct to be "above and beyond that of our peers." Yet the Roethlisberger incident and the recent trading of Holmes only after a series of off-field issues has led the Steelers to be compared to the Bengals and Raiders, teams with a history of employing troubled players.
The Roethlisberger mess is especially worrisome to Dan Rooney, the Steelers' primary owner and chairman emeritus who was appointed ambassador to Ireland by President Barack Obama. Rooney's son, team president Art Rooney II, runs the team on a daily basis and ultimately made the decision to keep Roethlisberger.
While Dan Rooney has mostly watched the Roethlisberger affair play out from a distance, those close to him know how much the case has troubled the man who ran the Steelers on a daily basis for more than 30 years.
"My job is to be in Ireland," the elder Rooney said during a recent visit to Pittsburgh. "I would just say it's a serious matter, and it's being handled properly by (management). I think they're handling it very well."
While Art II has maintained a calm but stern stance -- he worked with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell to determine the length of the suspension -- his unhappiness with Roethlisberger is well known within a tightlipped but tidily run organization. To date, only director of football operations Kevin Colbert has dared to offer any public support for Roethlisberger, saying the quarterback has earned the right to attempt to turn his life around.
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said the Roethlisberger matter doesn't concern the federal government. Still, the ambassador cares about the situation.
"Dan Rooney, during his time as one of the pillars of the National Football League, has always set a very high standard for himself and his employees," Crowley said. "I doubt that has changed at all with his shift to being ambassador to Ireland."
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THE STEELERS
Yet Roethlisberger is still a Steeler. The reason is simple. Even if the city can't stand him and the owners are angry, the team simply can't let him go and expect to remain a Super Bowl contender.
With an aging roster and a defense that could be past its peak, the Steelers may have only one or two shots remaining at a third NFL title since 2004 with their current roster. Jettisoning Roethlisberger in his prime likely would require years of rebuilding that might prevent James Farrior and James Harrison, Hines Ward, Aaron Smith and Troy Polamalu from realistically contending for another title.
It's not easy to find a new quarterback to win a Super Bowl, as the Steelers know. They went through a dozen starting QBs after the Terry Bradshaw era ended in 1984 before landing Roethlisberger, who has produced their only two Super Bowl victories in the past 30 years.
The Steelers chose to retain No. 7 and all the baggage he brings, hoping their fans -- as fed up as they are -- someday will forgive, if not totally forget.
"I'm sure we'll get this turned the right way," said Smith, a defensive end and a team leader. "(Why) wouldn't you keep him? The man's a great quarterback. I mean, he comes out there and wins games."
Release him? Trade him? Nose tackle Casey Hampton finds the idea preposterous.
"What are you cutting him for?" Hampton said. "The same fans who say they should cut him are the same fans who will be cheering if we win the Super Bowl."
Polamalu, a soft-spoken and deeply religious player, declined to say that Roethlisberger let those teammates down by being suspended for six weeks. But it was revealing when he said, "There are really good guys (in the NFL), like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, but there also are examples of what Ben is going to be able to do, turn his life around."
While Polamalu predicts Roethlisberger will return successfully, the challenges will be monumental when the suspension ends sometime in October. Roethlisberger won't have played a meaningful game since January, and the reception he gets -- home and away -- could be brutal.
In his only public appearance since prosecutors opted not to charge him, Roethlisberger said he wants to come through.
"I absolutely want to be the leader this team deserves, valued in the community and a role model to kids. I have much work to do to earn this trust," he said. "And I'm committed to improving and showing everyone my true values."
The Steelers and their city can only hope Roethlisberger keeps his word.
[Associated Press;
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