T.J. McConnell Was Bengals Fan After Ben Roethlisberger Angered Him in 6th Grade

Philadelphia 76ers point guard T.J. McConnell is from Pittsburgh and grew up as a Steelers fan, but an interaction with Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger when McConnell was in sixth grade caused him to temporarily switch allegiances and support the Cincinnati Bengals.

"I respect him as a player, but he wasn't exactly the nicest guy," McConnell said Tuesday on The Dan Patrick Show of his encounter with Roethlisberger. "He was being bombarded by people, so I understand."

McConnell said he was asking for an autograph during a Hoops for a Cure event at his high school and "it wasn't too good of an interaction."

"To be honest, I stopped rooting for the Steelers for a little bit after that," he admitted, adding: "I was a little petty and rooted for some teams in [the AFC North]. ... I was a Cincinnati Bengals fan for a little bit."

McConnell said he eventually reverted to being a Steelers fan.