Are Fans and NFL teams too demanding of players?

Ben plays football. Ben also lives his life the way he wants to. If he really wanted to play professional football and maintain and long healthy career he would take all the necessary precautions. He's just living to whatever suits his fancy. I don't see anything wrong with that. I'm sorry he got injured, just like I'm sorry anybody gets injured. He's just a man that happens to be a professional sports athlete. The Pittsburgh Steelers have often been a championship level team long before Big Ben and they probably will continue to be one after. Maybe not in the immediate future but as they say: the game goes on.

Part of the Big Ben thing is he was so adament about NOT wearing a helmet, now it's come to bite him in the ass. It's his life, but he may have just sacrificed his career.I agree that not wearing the helmet for extra protection was dumb on his part but if he was wearing an open face helmet the broken nose and jaw would have probably still occured.It would have prevented the cut to the back of the head and the picture I saw of the window you could see hair in the glass. I do agree that a team has the right to but things in a contract to protect their interest but the hard part is what is considered risky behavior. Its between him and the team. I would think if the Stealers thought that him riding a bike was that great of a risk they would have done something to have stoped him from riding. Even if its not in his current contract they could have done something to stop him from riding.

Ben plays football. Ben also lives his life the way he wants to. If he really wanted to play professional football and maintain and long healthy career he would take all the necessary precautions. He's just living to whatever suits his fancy. I don't see anything wrong with that. I'm sorry he got injured, just like I'm sorry anybody gets injured. He's just a man that happens to be a professional sports athlete. The Pittsburgh Steelers have often been a championship level team long before Big Ben and they probably will continue to be one after. Maybe not in the immediate future but as they say: the game goes on.

So you don't see anything wrong with doing something detrimental to your career in your free time? I'm not saying stop riding the bike, but at least wear a helmet.

He let his team down. He is not only hurting himself. he is hurting an organization and as far as I am concerned they could tell him where and when to sleep if he signs a contract that says that. It should be a basic thing in contracts to have no cycles. This is a high caliber team and he puts people's careers in actions. They train hard and they expect everyone to do the same.

So you don't see anything wrong with doing something detrimental to your career in your free time? I'm not saying stop riding the bike, but at least wear a helmet.

Not at all. It's a choice that he made and without a doubt he was aware of the potential consequences. If Ben was all about football and playing for the Steelers he wouldn't have been on the motorcycle. His career is not as important to him as having a good time and enjoying himself. That's not the same as saying his career is not important. As far as his financial future, he will always have money, unless he's into heavy gambling or major substance abuse. If he's the free spirit that I think he is, nothing holds him back from doing the activiites that he wants to do. Ten years from now he may regret riding that motorcycle but right now he did what he felt like doing. Good for him.

Does Ben get paid all that much? If he never played again I am sure he would seriously need money soon.

Teams invest in players and should have the right to tell them what to do. No one forces anyone to be a football player, its their choice. These types of things should go with the territory and if someone doesn't like it they shouldn't be football players. They are on call 7 months a year and get paid more in 7 years than the next three generations of our families hope to make. Anyone that invests in something has to protect their investment. If someone wants to play football they should give up reckless behavior for the 10 years they would be lucky to play at most.
I agree with this statement and to further expand on it, we are talkng about a franchise player here not a special teams player. If your the franchise player on a team(which Ben is), you owe it to your employer, coach, teammates and fans to be at your best on game day. If your going to take extreme risks in everyday life then you are letting all those people down. Terry Bradshaw suggested to Ben to "ride the bike when you retire".

Does Ben get paid all that much? If he never played again I am sure he would seriously need money soon.

He's a Super Bowl QB that gets endorsement checks. Autograph sessions, jersey sales, not to mention Big Ben Beef Jerky (http://www.plbsports.com/ProductPgs/products_roethlisberger.htm), Ben will be alright for a few years. Then he'll open up a car dealership and be the new King of Cars.

I agree with this statement and to further expand on it, we are talkng about a franchise player here not a special teams player. If your the franchise player on a team(which Ben is), you owe it to your employer, coach, teammates and fans to be at your best on game day. If your going to take extreme risks in everyday life then you are letting all those people down. Terry Bradshaw suggested to Ben to "ride the bike when you retire".I don't know if riding a bike is considerd an extreme risk now if he was cliff diving maybe we could say extreme risk.

I definitely agree we're expecting too much to think a person can't do what they want in their free time. If they end up losing millions because of their actions that's their business.

I have no issue with them doing whatever they want and losing money as a consequence. What I do have an issue with is the fact that often times they don't lose money and continue to collect their guaranteed money. I bet if Ben sits out this coming year he'll continue collect his paycheck.