Former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Joey Porter Sr. is revisiting his time in the locker room with Ben Roethlisberger—and he’s not holding back.
During Super Bowl week, Porter appeared on Cam Heyward’s Not Just Football podcast and delivered a blunt assessment of his former quarterback. Though the two won Super Bowl XL together, Porter made it clear that his issues with Roethlisberger go beyond football.
“Won the Super Bowl with him, but the person, he’s just not a good teammate,” Porter said. “He knows that. Anybody in the Steelers 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.”
Porter and Roethlisberger were teammates for three seasons after the quarterback was drafted 11th overall in 2004 out of Miami University. Roethlisberger quickly became the face of the franchise, earning Offensive Rookie of the Year honors and eventually leading Pittsburgh to two Super Bowl victories during his 18-year career.
But Porter described tension behind the scenes, particularly during Roethlisberger’s rookie year. One sticking point, he said, involved Roethlisberger refusing to sign memorabilia for teammates’ families—a locker room tradition at the time.
“He was telling people, ‘No, I’m not going to sign that,’” Porter said. “So once he did that, who they come and tell? The captain.” Porter recalled stepping in when veteran defensive linemen Chris Hoke and Aaron Smith were turned down. “You’re a rookie, you’re a young guy. You can’t tell my vets you’re too cool to sign for my vets. Who the hell is too cool to sign for your teammate? I’m not a fan.”
Porter also criticized Roethlisberger for publicly discussing internal team matters years later on his own podcast, Footbahlin With Ben Roethlisberger. He grouped him with former teammate James Harrison, accusing both of breaking what he called the Steelers’ “brotherhood.”
“Out of anybody that should talk, he should never grab a microphone and really talk Steeler business,” Porter said. “Because if we talk Steelers business, his a** is foul of all foul. The sh*t that he did is foul of all foul.”
Roethlisberger previously drew attention for questioning former head coach Mike Tomlin’s future on his podcast, suggesting it might be time to “clean house” following a loss.
Ahead of his induction into the team’s Hall of Honor, he clarified those remarks, saying, “Just because I said there’s a time for some new things… It’s not that they should.”
Representatives for Roethlisberger did not respond to requests for comment.