Ben Roethlisberger opens up about past addictions in Father’s Day talk

Ben Roethlisberger opened up about some of his past addictions during a virtual, religious-oriented talk put on by his Pittsburgh Steelers head coach, Mike Tomlin in connection with a charity.

Every year, Tomlin teams with Urban Impact for an event on Father’s Day called “ManUp Pittsburgh” that aims to teach “men to be godly leaders for their families, and raises awareness of the devastating impact of fatherlessness among youth today.”

Roethlisberger talked about how he has become more religious in recent years, even getting baptized three years ago to affirm his childhood baptism. He also talked about the difficulties of fighting off vices, according to ESPN’s Brooke Pryor.

“People don’t realize all the time that us athletes, we’re human. We sin like everybody else. I am no different. We make mistakes. We get addicted to things. We sin. We’re human. I think sometimes we get put on this pedestal where we can’t make mistakes. I’ve fallen as short as anybody. I’ve been addicted to alcohol. I’ve been addicted to pornography, which makes me then not the best husband, not the best father, not the best Christian I can be,” Roethlisberger acknowledged, via Pryor. “But you have to dedicate yourself and understand that you can get out of it because of the grace of God and him saying, ‘Listen, you’re good enough for me the way you are. You don’t have to be perfect.'”

Roethlisberger shared the message with the audience that Christianity is cool and that one can be both a good Christian and a good athlete at the same time.

The 38-year-old Steelers quarterback faced two sexual assault allegations early in his career and was suspended for part of the 2010 season as a result. These were the details from the 2010 accusation.

Roethlisberger got married in 2011, finished his college degree a year later, and now has three children with his wife. He has not had any reported legal issues since the 2009 and 2010 allegations.