Antonio Brown had heard enough.
The Pro Bowl receiver defended quarterback Ben Roethlisberger Wednesday amidst statements made earlier in the week by former Steeler Emmanuel Sanders that seemed to question Roethlisberger's leadership ability.
"That was terrible. You don't throw your quarterback under the bus, the guy that made you who you are," Brown said.
For his part, Sanders has tried to ease the rocky waters stirred up by his comments about Roethlisberger that eventually led to Jerome Bettis coming to his former quarterback's aid. While Sanders reiterated that he does believe that Peyton Manning is a better leader, Sanders said on his twitter account that he "never said Ben wasn't a leader... I have nothing but respect for Ben as a man and as a player."
While I'd much rather be focusing on training camp, Brown's comments had to be made. When a former teammate says something controversial about a teammate-let alone the quarterback-a public response from a respected veteran needs to come out. It's like in baseball when the other team hits your No.3 batter. You know what's coming next when it's your turn to pitch.
Brown's words will only strengthen the bond between Brown and Roethlisberger after the pair combined for the most single season receiving yards in franchise history. Now in his fifth year, Brown is being counted on to lead by example both on and off the field.
The actions of both Brown and Sanders is only making the Steelers front office look good. Remember two years ago when the Steelers rewarded Brown with the hefty contract and not Sanders or Mike Wallace? It seems that the Steelers brass made far and away the right choice.