TheWretchedMass Posted August 1, 2006 Report Share Posted August 1, 2006 [url="http://www.sportsline.com/columns/story/9578575"]http://www.sportsline.com/columns/story/9578575[/url] Big Ben balks when he could make a difference July 30, 2006 By Gregg Doyel CBS SportsLine.com National Columnist Tell Gregg your opinion! Someone out there looks up to pissburgh stealers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. This guy has a Roethlisberger poster on his wall, a Roethlisberger jersey on his back and a can of Roethlisberger-approved Campbell's soup in his bowl. Big Ben's body is fine, but what about his mind? (AP) This someone, this blindly loyal fan of Ben Roethlisberger, has a motorcycle in his garage. Somewhere nearby a helmet gathers dust. This is why Ben Roethlisberger makes me sick. Not because he wrecked his bike and nearly died on June 12, too cool to wear a helmet. That's a choice Roethlisberger made, and luckily for him, he gets the chance to live with that choice. He's partaking in training camp right now, even though he had his face put back together with titanium plates, and at this very moment might or might not have potato salad stuck to his chin. How would he know? After all that surgery, he can't feel parts of his face. Food on his chin? That's not why Roethlisberger makes me sick. He makes me sick because he could make a real difference in the real world, and he chooses not to. Every day people die needlessly on motorcycles, dead from massive head injuries that could have been prevented had the biker been wearing a helmet. From 1984 to 2004, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA), helmets saved the lives of an estimated 16,019 motorcyclists. That's nearly half the population of Findlay, Ohio, Roethlisberger's hometown. As the winning quarterback in Super Bowl XL -- and now as a survivor of a motorcycle crash that was unnecessarily near-fatal because he wasn't wearing a helmet -- Roethlisberger is in a unique position to advocate for motorcycle safety. He doesn't have to barnstorm the country, making speeches and filming commercials. It wouldn't take all that much. Just a few words. A little humility. Some brutal honesty. Nothing more. Tell people that they, like Roethlisberger, should have done on June 12, and wear a helmet when they ride. Anything less and they're needlessly risking their lives. According to that same NHTSA study, an unhelmeted motorcyclist is 40 percent more likely to suffer a fatal head injury than someone with a helmet. It's not empty rhetoric. Helmets work. Roethlisberger already has said if he rides again, he'll do so with a helmet. That's a start, but it's not enough. For one thing, no offense, but I don't believe him. This is the same guy who said he "forgot" his helmet on that June 12 day, and the same guy who told ESPN's Andrea Kremer in July 2005 that he had a motorcycle license -- which was a lie. Later in that interview, when asked why he doesn't wear a helmet, Roethlisberger said, "Because you don't have to. It's not the law. ... I know I don't have to and you're just more free when you're out there with no helmet on." That's what he said before the wreck, statements wreaking of the untouchable bravado of youth. Roethlisberger wouldn't talk for this story, but this is what he said shortly after the wreck on Good Morning America: "I don't think that's my place," he said of speaking out for motorcycle safety. "Some people feel that, you know, I probably should be doing that and being a big advocate for that. But for me, I'm going to let people make their own decisions. ... So I don't think you'll see me doing any kind of billboards or advertisements." On most things, people can and should make their own decisions. But on some issues they -- we -- need guidance. Like Roethlisberger on June 12 when he "forgot" his helmet, we sometimes do dumb things to be cool. This is why 49 states force us to wear seatbelts in the car -- and why 20 states force us to wear helmets on motorcycles. As for the other 30 states, most of which insist teens wear helmets but leave the choice up to adults, what are they thinking? If human life isn't valuable enough, consider the financial impact. The NHTSA estimates that motorcycle helmet use saved $1.3 billion in 2002 in terms of avoided medical bills and other fallout from unnecessary head injuries. From 1984-2002, the estimated savings was $19.5 billion. A dead motorcyclist is a family tragedy. A vegetative motorcyclist is a government-funded tragedy. Yet most states, like Pennsylvania, let motorcyclists choose whether to wear a helmet. Don't give me this "land of the free" crap. This country is all about freedom of choice, yes, but we're not (legally) allowed to choose killer drugs like heroin and crack. We're not (legally) allowed to dance blindfolded on the highway. And in every state but New Hampshire, we're not (legally) allowed to be in a moving car without wearing a seat belt. This is a free country, but it's a country that would like its citizens to stay alive. With just a few words, Roethlisberger could maybe, just maybe, help a few more stay alive. It's impossible to predict the impact on Pennsylvania lawmakers if Roethlisberger spoke out for helmet laws. But somewhere out there is a stealers fan with a Roethlisberger jersey, a Roethlisberger autograph, a Roethlisberger loyalty. That fan has a motorcycle. You want to be a real hero, Ben Roethlisberger? Don't tell that guy to eat soup. Tell him to wear a helmet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAGICTOUCH Posted August 1, 2006 Report Share Posted August 1, 2006 He just excommunicated himself from the rest of his media brothers and sisters who coddle the squeelers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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