Ben Roethlisberger: Dan Rooney the inspiration for Steelers’ no-music locker room policy

With his 40th birthday three months away and a potential retirement coming sooner than that, Ben Roethlisberger concedes a generational gap between himself and some of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ younger players.

“I’ve just kind of relented,” Roethlisberger said, “and (decided) I’ll stop being the grumpy guy.”

The future Hall of Fame quarterback has, he said, been the proverbial “old man yelling at cloud” in the locker room in recent years. At least when it comes to a no-music policy.

A talking point this week with the Steelers openly discussing their practice habits on the heels of a three-game winless streak was receiver Chase Claypool suggesting music during practice to “make it a little bit more fun.” The following day, coach Mike Tomlin made it clear he wouldn’t be influenced by Claypool’s request.

The music policy in the locker room is separate and typically enforced by players themselves. As the team’s elder statesman and co-captain, Roethlisberger has as much purported power as anyone in that area.

Wednesday, Roethlisberger explained why he still sought to (for lack of a better term) enforce a no-music rule in the locker room.

“You know, it was always that way,” Roethlisberger said. “… And I think as guys started to leave the locker room that that had that traditional history, I tried to keep it going.”

Among the veteran players over Roethlisberger’s tenure who emphasized the no-music rule were Brett Keisel (who preceded Roethlisberger) and Maurkice Pouncey (who became one of Roethlisberger’s best friends and retired in January).

“Guys like that kept going. And I always told guys (when) new guys would come in and play music, I would shut down,” Roethlisberger said.

Ben Roethlisberger treats the Bengals game like stale Big League Chew pic.twitter.com/NI2W5u1Nr9

— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) December 1, 2021

Roethlisberger said it dates to when the late Steelers chairman Dan Rooney would make his rounds around the locker room.

“I had a conversation with guys like Cam Heyward and Vince Williams and told them, ‘The reason that we don’t do it is because I always wanted if Mr. Rooney came in the locker room, you want to listen to him,’” Roethlisberger said, referencing the team’s second-generation patriarch who died in 2017. “You want to hear the things he had to say, whether it was about Steelers, about life, just about whatever.

“He was like a grandfather to all of us, and we had so much love for him. And obviously, as new guys came in and Mr. Rooney wasn’t around, they don’t understand that quite as much. So we tried to pass it on. And even after he passed, I try to tell guys, like, I just still wait for him to walk through that door, you know, to come talk to you and you just want to listen to him because he was so soft spoken, but it was so wise.

“And so that was always my thing of why I didn’t want the music: because you never had it when he was around. And so I just wanted to carry that on. “

In recent seasons, though, the no-music policy has been abandoned.

WED #BreakfastWithBenz "First Call"--Cam Heyward dismisses Chase Claypool's idea for music at practice. Rocky Bleier rips recent Steelers efforts. Brian Kelly's ill-timed reference to Mike Tomlin. Ravens rare favorite at Heinz Field https://t.co/Peqrq86TOw @TribSports @TribLIVE

— Tim Benz (@TimBenzPGH) December 1, 2021

“There’s music in the locker room a lot,” linebacker Joe Schobert said.

Schobert, a veteran of three teams who’s in his first season with the Steelers, said players show respect for the organization in other ways.

“When you walk upstairs to the meeting rooms, there’s six Lombardi Trophies in the trophy case right there,” Schobert said. “You walk by that every day. You walk by the team pictures of the guys who did it, and that’s who built the franchise and that’s who you’re carrying their legacy on now. It’s a certain level of … respect for them, but you have to play well to uphold to that tradition.”

Steelers alumni Ryan Clark and Rocky Bleier were critical of the team in the wake of Sunday’s loss.

While music on the practice field is a separate issue, team co-captain Heyward said on 102.5 FM on Tuesday he “hoped (Claypool) was kidding” about the music request.

“Because as soon as he said it, I was about to rip the speaker out,” Heyward told the radio station. “That is not what we need right now. It’s X’s and O’s and execution.”

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