Joey Porter Admits Steelers Protected ‘Bad Person’ Ben Roethlisberger Amid S.A. Allegations: ‘What He Did Was Foul But We Protected Him’

joey porter roethlisberg

Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports/Barry Reeger-Imagn Images


Pittsburgh Steelers legendary linebacker Joey Porter has put former teammate and franchise quarterback Ben Roethlisberger on blast, calling him both a bad teammate and a bad person. Porter specifically referenced the allegation of sexual assault that was made against Roethlisberger in 2010.

During an apperance on the Not Just Football podcast hosted by current Pittsburgh Steelers defensive stalwart Cam Heyward, franchise legend Joey Porter went absolutely scorched Earth on his former teammate, calling Ben Roethlisberger a ‘bad person’ and the ‘foul of all foul.’

Porter also admitted to the Steelers’ protecting Roethlisberger amidst the allegations and legal troubles because he was the team’s franchise quarterback.

Former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Joey Porter admits that the team ‘protected’ Ben Roethlisberger amidst allegations of assault

“He broke the brotherhood. ‘Seven’ definitely broke the brotherhood. The ‘Seven Dude’ that did, that we don’t talk about, is crazy. (If anybody) should talk; he should never grab a microphone and really talk Steeler business. Because if we talking Steeler business, his a– is foul of all foul,” Porter said on Cam Heyward’s podcast.

“Like the s— that he’s did is foul of all foul. [Ben Roethlisberger is] not a good teammate. Won a Super Bowl with him, but the person, he’s just not a good teammate. Like, he knows that, anybody in the Steeler building knows that, but we protected him, because I’ve only won one Super Bowl, and that was my quarterback. So do I love my quarterback? Yeah, but is he a good person? No.”

In July 2009, Andrea McNulty, a VIP casino hostess at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe, filed a civil lawsuit against Roethlisberger in which she accused him of luring her into his hotel room under the false pretense of a broken television and raping her. No criminal charges were ever filed and Roethlisberg denied the allegations.

Then, in March 2010, a 20-year-old college student accused Roethlisberger of sexual assault at a nightclub called Capital City, claiming while she was intoxicated, Roethlisberger’s bodyguards led her into a hallway where the quarterback was waiting before he then allegedly followed her into a bathroom and sexually assaulted her while she repeatedly told him no.

Porter’s son Joey. Jr. currently plays for the Pittsburgh Steelers after being selected by the organization out of Penn State in the 2023 NFL Draft.