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Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is well aware of the amount of people who are doing whatever they can to fight COVID-19, and he is appreciative of their efforts. Per Ed Bouchette of The Athletic, Roethlisberger said:
“The biggest thing we need to do is say thank you to all the people, the doctors, the P.A.’s, the nurses … Those people literally dive in head-first every day for this virus. Most of us are trying to stay away, we’re trying not to get it and they’re going right into the battle. ‘We’re going to get it,’ is what they’re saying, ‘but we’re going to help people while we’re doing it.’ I have friends who are doctors and stuff and take my hats off to them.”
The coronavirus has halted the 2019-20 NBA and NHL campaigns and has resulted in the 2020 MLB season being pushed back. While the 2020 NFL regular season has not been affected at this point, organized team activities have been cancelled and the NFL Draft is being conducted virtually from homes.
However, Roethlisberger is more concerned about the safety of everyone else rather than the state of football:
“I hope people take it seriously and stay safe … I know a lot of people are taking it seriously, but there are still a lot of people who don’t. I think if we all as a society are really taking it seriously for a little bit of time, we could start to get on the downswing and get to the bottom of that curve, get back to normalcy. But we have to take it seriously. We’re doing it, and I hope everyone else is.”
The 38-year-old played just two games in 2019 due to an elbow injury that required surgery. He said he was preparing to participate in Steelers minicamp, but obviously, plans changed once the NFL scratched it.
Roethlisberger is entering his 17th NFL season.