Pittsburgh Steelers Quarterback and two-time Super Bowl champion Ben Roethlisberger will be avoiding political endorsements this election season, despite being mentioned by Donald Trump as a potential speaker at the GOP Convention in Cleveland.
Trump, the presumptive nominee, mentioned Roethlisberger’s name last week at a rally in Richmond, Virginia when he told the audience about one of his ideas for the convention, according to The New York Times. Trump is considering having a “winner’s evening” at the convention that would feature speeches from popular sports figures who have endorsed him. Roethlisberger was mentioned by Trump as a supporter and a potential convention speaker, along with New England Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady, former Indiana basketball coach Bobby Knight, NASCAR CEO Brian France, and UFC President Dana White.
Trump wants “winners” to speak instead of “these people, these politicians who are going to get up and speak and speak and speak.” He then appeared to criticize New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s 2012 convention speech where he talked about himself rather than Republican nominee Mitt Romney, although he never mentioned Christie by name.
“Our country needs to see winners,” Trump said. “We don’t see winners anymore. We have a bunch of clowns running this country. We have people who don’t know what the hell they’re doing running our country.”
Despite Trump’s mention, Roesthlisberger told Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he does not plan to endorse a presidential candidate. Roethlisberger called Trump an “acquaintance.” That should not be surprising as Roethlisberger maintains a low profile. The other sports figures mentioned by Trump have all endorsed the presumptive Republican nominee for President.
