Just when it seemed off-the-field distractions were finally out of the Steelers way, offensive tackle Barret Brooks was arrested early Sunday morning.
The 34 year old lineman was driving recklessly around 2:30 am, prompting police offers to attempt to pull him over. Slight problem...Brooks didn't want to be pulled over and began a high-speed chase that lasted for over 5 minutes. During the chase, Brooks ran a stop sign and a red light at high speeds. Brooks finally dropped his motorcycle at an intersection, but when police approached him to finalize the arrest, he jumped back on and tried to escape once more. When the chase came to and end and Brooks was taken into custody at Allegheny County Jail, he was charged with fleeing and eluding, reckless driving, driving at an unsafe speed and other traffic violations.One other extremely disturbing tidbit to the story: he wasn't wearing a helmet! I'll save my commments about the helmet, they're far too obvious. All I will say is that Coach Cowher's got to be extremely frustrated that he hasn't been able to resonate with his players. Ultimately grown men will do what they do, but this is a blatant slap in the face to Cowher's credibility as a leader, at least to outsiders looking in. I have the utmost faith in him to convince his players to buy into the team philosophy, but things aren't off to the most promising start this year. More importantly, intead of focusing on football, we're now going to have to endure another drawn out distraction that is not football related. Sigh.Filed under: