Early in his NFL and Pittsburgh Steelers tenure, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger developed a reputation for highly questionable off-the-field activities and even worse decision-making.
Two separate rape accusations, one involving a host at a Lake Tahoe casino and another involving a student at a bar in Georgia, resulted in significant backlash for the Steel City star. The latter of those two incidents also resulted in a six-game suspension for Roethlisberger for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy.
Since then though, Roethlisberger has ultimately managed to stay out of the unwanted eye of the negative media attention spotlight.
Former Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall, who suddenly and surprisingly retired from the NFL after the 2013 season at the age of 26 - a decision he detailed in an essay for Huffington Post - recently spoke to Men's Journal for an interview to discuss his life post-football.
During the course of the interview, Mendenhall's Steelers career and the antics of Roethlisberger, of course, came up.
"Of course, Mendenhall admits, there were parties," writes Reeves Wiedeman of MensJournal.com. "The wildest were the ones rookies are expected to throw at the start of each season. Mendenhall recalls a young offensive lineman making the mistake of giving his credit card to Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger."
But it wasn't just the typical rookie hazing - this particular episode was costly for the unnamed rookie.
"Ben just did the whole thing," Mendenhall said, per Wiedeman. "One night - the rookie ended up with a $25,000 bill from the club."
While a little financial ribbing from Roethlisberger pales in comparison to rape allegations, it's still an interesting glimpse into the personality and mindset of the Super Bowl-winning quarterback.
It's silly and ill-advised to ever view professional athletes as anything other than humans capable of erring all-too-often, just like the rest of us, but there's also no denying that as highly-compensated professional athletes they enjoy a particular standing in the world and therefore their words and deeds carry a heftier weight than most.
Roethlisberger has managed to keep his nose clean off-the-field since the incidents which plagued him early in his professional life, but it's not hard to see why a player like Mendenhall, once viewed as the next great Steelers running back, ultimately chose a life of art and isolated creativity over the rigors and restraints and the glaring spotlight of the NFL.
