Big Ben Part 2

Well Ben Roethlisberger has been released from the hospital, and he will not be drinking out of a straw for 6 to 8 weeks. He might be eating a lot of soft food till his dental work is done though.

Because Roethlisberger's multiple facial fractures, broken nose and broken upper and lower jaw are being held in place by screws and 2-inch titanium plates, he can eat soft foods -- and not be restricted to liquids -- during an estimated six-to-eight-week recovery period.
"We take a titanium plate, bend it and adapt it to the contours of the facial bones and then secure it in place with screws," surgeon Daniel Pituch said. "This kind of state-of-the-art technology allowed us to successfully treat Mr. Roethlisberger's facial fractures."
As a result, the 240-pound Roethlisberger probably won't lose as much weight as he would have on an all-liquid diet. The Steelers have not given a timetable for his return, but they are optimistic he will be ready for their Sept. 7 opener against Miami.

If you read that clip, you can come to love modern medical technology. That being said, Ben was very, very lucky not to have suffered more serious damage. I have said it before and I'll say it again, I hope Ben recovers completely, and has learned a lesson from all of this.

As it stands now Ben made several poor decisions, all of which I attribute to him being an elite athlete that some members of society are willing to empower as being above the law, and invincible. His actions and resulting accident came in spite the team's efforts to treat him like a responsible adult.

Pittsburgh Steelers officials warned quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in writing last year that he might jeopardize portions of his contract, and could suffer financial implications, if he continued to ride a motorcycle.
League and team officials confirmed for ESPN.com on Tuesday night that the Steelers last year sent a letter to Roethlisberger's representatives stating their concerns and the possibility his contract could be affected if he was injured while riding a motorcycle. Agent Leigh Steinberg confirmed for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the Steelers sent such a letter.
It is believed the letter was intended to serve dual purposes: To apprise Roethlisberger in writing of the team's stance on what it considered a perilous activity, and to place the club on more solid legal footing were the Steelers forced to try to recover prorated signing bonus money or even base salaries if the quarterback failed to fulfill his contract because of a motorcycle-related injury.

All that being said and the fact that in the past 3 years now we have had 3 premier athletes suffer serious injuries while riding motorcycles. It cost Jay Williams his career, it has cost Kellen Winslow 1 year off of his career and millions in lost bonuses and other money, and it will certainly will cost Ben when it comes to both his next contract as well as the amount of trust that the Steelers have in him. It is almost a guarantee that Ben's next contract will have a clause in it above and beyond the standard unsafe conduct wording and it will most likely have restrictions spelled out in detail and be very restrictive to say the least.

The contract Roethlisberger signed as the Steelers' first-round choice in the 2004 draft does not include language which specifically precludes the quarterback from riding a motorcycle. But the standard NFL contract, in general terms, prohibits players from engaging in off-field activities that pose "a significant risk of personal injury."

In the wake of the Roethlisberger accident, some league teams are likely to become more specific in contractually forbidding players from engaging in certain activities.
Buffalo Bills safety Troy Vincent, the president of the NFL Players Association, said Tuesday that the union does not oppose teams using such specific language but noted it should be done on a case-by-case basis.

It is good to see that the NFLPA agrees that protecting the players from themselves is something that is reasonable. When these young men realize that they have been given enormous responsibility in exchange for insane amounts of money, that is when those sort of contract language will not be necessary. In the meantime it will be interesting to see if Ben does learn from this, and maybe Gene Wojciechowski has hit the nail on the head for what Ben will have to do for riding with out a license