Joey Porter Sr. made headlines when he criticized former teammate Ben Roethlisberger. Now, another former member of the Pittsburgh Steelers is coming to the defense.
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James Harrison, who won two Lombardi Trophies with the Steelers, said that Porter clearly has a personal issue with Roethlisberger that hasn't been resolved. This was in response to Porter saying that his former quarterback was not a good teammate and not a good person.
Porter also said that Roethlisberger and Harrison "broke the brotherhood" by criticizing now-former head coach Mike Tomlin during the 2025 season.
"I have a good relationship with Ben," Harrison said on the "Deebo & Joe" podcast. "I can say this because I talked to Ben — this is not going to be news to him — but 'Seven' could be an (expletive). That's facts.
"When Ben came in, this man went 13-1 as a rookie starter. The team was 15-1. His second season, the team won a Super Bowl. The youngest quarterback to ever do it, 23. That's when 'Seven' was born.
After Joey Porter Sr. criticized Ben Roethlisberger, Deebo pushes back and explains why he disagrees.@jharrison9292 @joehaden23 #DeeboAndJoe pic.twitter.com/LPUg4cTf5B
— Deebo & Joe (@deeboandjoe) February 16, 2026
"Hell yeah, that's going to stroke my ego and give me delusions of grandeur," Harrison added. "But over time, he has matured and grown up. You don't value the same things you did at 23 as you do at 30. Hell, I'm a different person at 47 than I was at 45. And I'm a far worse person at 40 than I was at 45."
Harrison also addressed Porter saying that he and Roethlisberger had broken the brotherhood with their comments about Tomlin. He fully acknowledged that he made some strong comments about Tomlin's coaching, but he defended Roethlisberger's statement.
"Two different things," he said. "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. But (Porter) went on (the attack) because he, obviously, has a personal issue with Ben that hasn't been resolved."
Porter spent the first eight years of his NFL career with the Steelers. Three of these seasons (2004-2006) featured a young Roethlisberger under center. He then spent the final five years of his career split between the Dolphins and Cardinals. He left the Steelers before Roethlisberger "matured and grown up" as Harrison said.
