The Pittsburgh Steelers’ loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night was bad enough. Now, their injured star quarterback is being accused of blatantly violating an NFL rule.
During a break in the action, CBS’ television cameras panned over to Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger, who appeared to be very focused on a phone-shaped object before quickly putting said object away.
If Roethlisberger indeed was checking his cell phone, that’d be a violation of NFL rules, which prohibit the use of any personal electronic devices during a game. According to the Steelers, though, Roethlisberger was doing nothing of the sort.
Steelers team spokesman Burt Lauten told Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio that the object Roethlisberger was staring at was a black, plastic wristband containing play calls from the game, and that the quarterback had stored the wristband in his sweatshirt pocket and taken it out to check it.
The NFL corroborated this story as well, as league director of AFC communications Jon Zimmer told CSNNE’s Tom Curran that Roethlisberger was holding “a black armband with a clear cover that contained the Steelers play sheet.”
Since both the team and the league appear to be on the same page, it looks like this won’t be an issue going forward. It’s not the first sideline incident the Steelers have been a part of this season, though, as they apparently heard the New England Patriots’ official radio broadcast in their headsets during the NFL season opener at Gillette Stadium.
Thumbnail photo via Jason Bridge/USA TODAY Sports Images
