Not even Bill Cowher can separate Ben Roethlisberger from his Harley.
The Steelers' coach had a talk with his star quarterback yesterday morning about "choices and consequences," but, if there was any hope Roethlisberger would quit riding his motorcycle without a helmet, it was dashed by lunchtime. Big Ben won't stop biking.
"It's a choice," Roethlisberger told a news media pack in the Steelers' locker room. "I just get out there and relax, I don't try to take too many risks, I just go out and enjoy myself."
His Easy Rider routine might never have become an issue if it weren't for Kellen Winslow's accident riding a Suzuki GSX-R750 Sunday night in suburban Cleveland. Winslow hit a curb in a parking lot and was ejected from his bike. The Browns' tight end is in Cleveland Clinic with a swollen right knee awaiting an MRI. The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported that, if the injury prevents Winslow from playing this season, the Browns might try to recoup some of the signing bonus they paid him as part of a six-year, $40 million contract.
That accident, combined with reports that Roethlisberger has been tooling around town helmetless on his Harley, prompted Cowher to have a chat with him yesterday.
"I certainly don't condone that," Cowher said after the Steelers' first minicamp practice. "We talked about it this morning, we don't have to go into great details."
But here is part of what Cowher said he told his quarterback:
"It's a very small time in your life, you've got to be very careful, you can see it documented with Kellen Winslow in Cleveland. There are choices and consequences, there's a lot of scrutiny and, at times, some sacrifices every player has to make -- not just in riding motorcycles, but going out and where you go out and who you associate with.
"You have control over them, but once you make your decision, they control you. The sacrifices they make, while they may seem a lot, they're well worth it. It's a very small time we have to seize this opportunity as a football team, and I asked them all to make sure they make good choices."
Roethlisberger explained that he does not consider the way he rides his Harley sans helmet as taking much risk.
"It's one of those things, where he talked about being a risk-taker and I'm not really a risk-taker, I'm pretty conservative and laid back," Roethlisberger said. "So the big thing is just be careful and that's what we do. I think every person that rides is careful. That's the biggest thing, I'll just continue to be careful. I told him we never ride alone we always ride in a group of people, and I think that makes it more safe."
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