Former NFL running back
Najeh Davenport, who joined the Steelers that season after spending four seasons in Green Bay, says he soon heard the jabs at Roethlisberger, then 24, despite the quarterback's remarkable two-year résumé of success. "Team leaders there didn't respect the fact that he didn't respect what it took to be like a champion, like a true champion," Davenport says.
About 60 percent of the team felt that way, according to Davenport and former NFL safety
Mike Logan, who was then in his fifth season with the club and is now a talk show host for ESPN Radio 1250 Pittsburgh. Logan says Roethlisberger was seen by some teammates as unapproachable for their social and charity events and to sign autographs for fundraisers.
Both players, who were interviewed recently by "Outside the Lines," say they liked Roethlisberger and had good relationships with him, but there was no doubting the rift on the team.
"It was the elephant in the room," Logan says. "It was being talked about in different sections of the locker room."
Porter then called Roethlisberger out as "the last person in the building and the first person to leave, not being dedicated to the team," Davenport says.
Next, Porter took Roethlisberger to task for separating himself from the team, according to Davenport.
"Last year you used to hang out with us," Davenport recalls Porter saying. "This year, it's like 'the Pittsburgh Steelers and Ben.'"
