On Ben Roethlisberger's official Web site, there are a handful of photos of the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback astride a gleaming motorcycle.
And there's no helmet to be seen.
Roethlisberger's affinity for big, powerful cycles and his refusal to wear a helmet while riding have become part of the NFL star's swashbuckling image. But that mind-set appeared to contribute to the injuries the 24-year-old football star suffered yesterday when his Suzuki Hayabusa, a high-performance motorcycle, collided with a Chrysler New Yorker on a Pittsburgh street. He was not wearing a helmet, according to reports.
Just four months after leading the Steelers to a Super Bowl championship, Roethlisberger underwent surgery at a Pittsburgh hospital for injuries suffered in the accident. Dr. Daniel Pituch, who led the team, said Roethlisberger was in serious condition but stable.
The quarterback suffered a broken jaw and nose, his agent Leigh Steinberg told the Associated Press. ESPN also reported injuries to the player's teeth and knee and a head laceration.
Four doctors operated on Roethlisberger for seven hours to treat multiple facial fractures and "all of the fractures were successfully repaired," Dr. Harry W. Sell, chairman of the surgery department at Mercy Hospital, told reporters late last night.
Said Dr. Larry Jones, chief of trauma at Mercy Hospital: "He was talking to me before he left for the operating room. He's coherent. He's making sense. He knows what happened. He knows where he is. From that standpoint, he's very stable."
The collective bargaining agreement that governs contracts between players and NFL teams provides for a standard clause that prohibits players from engaging in activity other than football "which may involve a significant risk of personal injury."
If a player is unable to play because of a non-football injury or illness, the club is not obligated to pay his salary. And if a player misses an entire season, his contract is "tolled," meaning that the missed year is not counted toward fulfilling the term of the deal. Further, if a player has received an upfront bonus, the team can seek to recover a prorated portion of the bonus money.
However, none of those contract implications have been raised so far concerning Roethlisberger.
"On behalf of everyone within the Steelers organization, I want to express my concern for Ben Roethlisberger," Steelers president Art Rooney II said. "I am sure Ben knows that we are praying for his complete recovery. So far, we have been encouraged by the early reports from the medical team at Mercy Hospital."
