Former NFL player Ryan Clark was recently asked on ESPN NFL Live whether he was surprised about quarterback Ben Roethlisberger sharing his story about his battles with addiction to alcohol and pornography.

At first, Clark didn't want to comment because he felt like Roethlisberger's struggles shouldn't be talked about on TV. (h/t Steelerswire)

“Now you have to get on TV and talk about whether you expect it or whether you could see this, and I’m not going to do it,” Clark said. “I wouldn’t want anyone to do it to me. I’ve had my struggles as a man.”

However, Clark went on to say that he didn't have the right to judge or criticize Roethlisberger about his battles with addiction.

“I don’t necessarily believe that we have the right to judge, to critique, to criticize, or do anything with his personal moments that weren’t for us. This wasn’t even for our consumption.

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Nevertheless, Clark expressed that he was happy for Roethlisberger for being able to share his personal issues because it could help inspire people.

“For me, I’m happy for him that he is trying to grow,” Clark said. “I’m happy that he’s tried to grow from when he was a rookie until now. I’m glad that he’s sharing his personal struggles with people in hopes of trying to build them, in hopes of trying to build better men, but as far as anything else that has to go into it, that is for Ben, and I’m gonna leave that for Ben.”

It's clear that Clark has tremendous respect for Roethlisberger, which isn't a surprise because they were teammates for eight seasons on the Steelers.