For some odd reason, it was made a big deal of in certain corners of the media and in Pittsburgh Steelers fandom that quarterback Ben Roethlisberger did not fly out all the way to the west coast in order to be on the sideline for the team’s last game against the Los Angeles Chargers, a couple of weeks after he had surgery on his elbow.
Given the reaction, it’s understandable that it could create negative optics not to have the face of your franchise out there on the sideline, especially when he was there and present and active the week before during a home game.