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James Harrison defends Ben Roethlisberger after Joey Porter Sr. viral comments: 'That was a pure-out attack'

Brian Jones Profile Picby: Brian Jones02/17/26brianjones_93

James Harrison is defending Ben Roethlisberger after Joey Porter Sr. went after the former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback for being “not a good teammate.” On the Deebo & Joe podcast, Harrison spoke out about what Porter said about Roethlisberger, who criticized Mike Tomlin, who resigned as the Steelers head coach at the end of the 2025 season.

“That was a pure-out attack on Ben’s character, and what I said about Mike was an attack on his coaching,” James Harrison said, via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “Two different things. That’s more breaking the brotherhood than what Ben said. Ben said, ‘I think I feel like maybe Tomlin should move on.’ Like, come on, bruh. That’s what he said.

“I went way harder than that,” Harrison added. “But (Porter) went on (the attack) because he, obviously, has a personal issue with Ben that hasn’t been resolved.”

Last week, Jorey Porter Sr. spoke to Dianna Russini of The Athletic about Roethlisberger sharing his thoughts on the Steelers. “He broke the brotherhood,” Porter said. ‘Seven’ definitely broke the brotherhood. The ‘Seven Dude’ that did, that we don’t talk about, is crazy. (If anybody) should talk; he should never grab a microphone and really talk Steeler business. Because if we talking Steeler business, his ass is foul of all foul.

Joey Porter Sr. says Ben Roethlisberger is not a good person

“Like the shit that he’s did is foul of all foul. (Ben Roethlisberger is) not a good teammate. Won a Super Bowl with him, but the person, he’s just not a good teammate. Like, he knows that, anybody in the Steeler building knows that, but we protected him, because I’ve only won one Super Bowl, and that was my quarterback. So do I love my quarterback? Yeah, but is he a good person? No.”

Roethlisberger played for the Steelers from 2004 to 2021. During his time in Pittsburgh, the Miami (Ohio) alum was named a Pro Bowler six times, was named Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2004, and led the Steelers to two Super Bowl wins.

Roethlisberger finished his NFL career with 64,088 passing yards and 418 touchdowns. He holds the NFL record for most 500-yard passing games (four) and most completions in a game (47).