Steelers' quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, in bike crash and not wearing a helmet.

Ben Roethlisberger was in an accident this morning while riding his motorcycle. He was riding his motorcycle without a helmet. I just heard on The Herd on ESPN Radio that Roethlisberger was traveling West bound and hit a car coming East bound. It was said Roethlisberger went over the handlebars on his bike and traveled headfirst into the car’s windshield and then rolled off onto the ground. The reporter on The Herd said Roethlisberger was slowing down to make a turn at the time. It was also said that Roethlisberger did not know what city he was in when asked by the EMT’s attending to him right after the accident.

Hopefully this will all turn out to be fine, and early indications are that his injuries are not life threatening. I just do not understand all these athletes that make millions of dollars, who want to ride motorcycles during the off season and jeopardize their ability to earn or sometimes to even play again. How many times have we seen this? Jayson Williams of Duke/Chicago Bulls pretty much ended his career after a bike crash. Kellen Winslow, Jr. has lost a year of playing time and for a young guy who has rarely played so far in his career that is time that cannot be made up.

I know that athletes should be able to ride motorcycles if they want too, this is America, right? I just wonder why some do not wear helmets when they ride. Does this not make sense? I am not exactly a fan of laws that try to govern our personal freedoms like helmet laws or no smoking laws, but wearing a helmet while riding a motorcycle just sounds smart to me. If you wear a helmet and fly head first into a car’s windshield, there will probably be less damage.

I guess it is not cool to ride around on your $20,000 bike with a helmet. I hope that not only athletes, but every bike rider will look at this and start wearing a helmet. It would be a shame that a famous athlete has to die before people realize that riding without a helmet is not cool, but deadly stupid.