When Did the Pittsburgh Steelers Become the Bad Boys of the NFL?

I suppose it started last year with the whole Big Ben drama. One of the most loyal and respectable organizations in the NFL had its reputation tarnished. Though the charges didn’t stick, Roger Goodell made it clear that he did not tolerate the behavior by forcing Big Ben to sit out the first four games of the 2010 NFL season. Though Santonio Holmes left town he was also suspended to start the year because of off-field incidents.

James Harrison drew some hefty fines with his hits that caught the attention of Goodell and the NFL front office. He was one of the primary players that led to the new rules.

Though the NFL has been in lockout mode for seemingly an eternity, the Steelers continue to find their way into the news for the wrong reasons.

Rashard Mendenhall got into some hot water for his tweets. First he supported Adrian Peterson’s claim that the NFL players were like modern-day slaves. Then he made some mind-boggling remarks about 9/11 and Osama Bin Laden.

Then Hines Ward got busted for driving drunk. He could have easily been voted in as player least likely to get in legal trouble across the whole NFL, let alone the Steelers. It was a surprise to see the veteran make a mistake like that. Thankfully nobody was hurt.

Then comes James Harrison again. Oh boy. He called out the Commissioner calling him a crook and a devil. He basically insinuated that Roger Goodell was racist because he fined Harrison more for hitting Drew Brees than Vince Young. He criticized Big Ben and Mendenhall. Harrison apologized for his remarks, but you really can’t take back something like that. It will always be in Goodell, Big Ben and Mendy’s minds.

The NFL lockout is expected to be over soon so we can start to focus on football and no the off-field issues. For the Steelers' sake, hopefully they have no more PR disasters.

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