Zach Hatfield, Teenage Fan, Tries To 'Unsuspend' Ben Roethlisberger

One of the more striking moments of the NFL Draft occurred when fans bashed Ben Roethlisberger just before the Pittsburgh Steelers' first-round selection was announced. The crowd chanted, "She said no," in reference to details from the police investigation of the quarterback's alleged sexual assault in March.

What made the chants especially notable was that Pittsburgh's pick was to be announced by Zach Hatfield, a 15-year-old who suffers from acute promyelocytic leukemia and who endured a heart attack last summer. The crowd's jeers turned to cheers right when NFL commissioner Roger Goodell handed the microphone over to Hatfield.

It turns out the Belfry, Ky. native had a plan to fully leverage his time at the NFL Draft, which he described to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as "probably the best day of my life." While backstage with Goodell, the teenager asked the commissioner if "maybe you could unsuspend Ben Roethlisberger?"

Unsurprisingly, Goodell declined to accomodate Hatfield's request. Roethlisberger is currently suspended for six games and is forced to undergo a "comprehensive behavioral evaluation," although the punishment could drop to four games. For more information about Hatfield, check out the rest of the Post-Gazette article.

Comments

[tykam]

05:22 PM on 05/03/2010

Yeah, unsuspend him. Look, he plays football real good. What he does outside of that, who cares? So he sexually assaulted some stupid girls? They asked for it by fawning all over him. The girls should never have put themselves in that position in the first place. As soon as they see him, RUN! Instead, "Oh, I want to find ouit for myself. He seems like a nice guy." And the rest is history. Just say NO. Believe me, there'll be more. There's always more.

[exile]

09:43 PM on 05/02/2010

ok so ben threw a hellva last sec pass last season.
endzone
inside the line
etc.
and thats the answer why some guy still has a job in sports.

[bratcat]

05:14 PM on 04/29/2010

the iconic Steelers image in the 70s was the kid giving Mean Joe Green a Coke and Joe giving the kid his jersey. Today's version is a kid getting a Steeler star unsuspended and Ben giving the kid.... first dibs on the underaged, drunk coeds? Not sure Coke will jump on that one.

[maxfax]

09:52 AM on 04/29/2010

Ben proved he can play ball on the field, but has some real problems off it. The suspension was not long enough.

[Jeremy Danials]

04:49 AM on 04/29/2010

When you are in the public eye, you automatically become a role-model. You have no say in this.

That's why my heroes are, in no order whatsoever:

1) Barack Obama
2)Bill Clinton
3)Al Franken
4)Keith Olbermann
5)Joe Biden

Yes, they are liberals. Get over yourself.

And yes, all of them were not role-model material. That's why I like them. At least they didn't kill dogs for sport, or kill a man outside a nightclub.

[Zeroes]

01:28 AM on 04/29/2010

Ben is history...get over it.

[Longbaugh]

07:28 PM on 04/28/2010

If Ben Roethlisberger is getting it on draft day from Steelers fans you can be his career trajectory is going in the "down" direction.

The Rooney's should trade him to the Raiders for Darren McFadden.

I ******* hate the Steelers.

[stewie1324]

06:26 PM on 04/28/2010

OK people about the role model thing,,,,If you want a role model for your kids, why dont you be one yourself instead of demanding that someone else take that responsibility???

Athletes are heroes cuz they can play a sport well, thats it. If you're angry cuz the high school jock stuffed you in a locker, or stole your lunch or broke your heart or wouldnt go out with you cuz you were fat or had braces...get over it. You're just looking for any excuse to hate on them. Its French revolution style class envy thats it.

[KevG]

08:17 PM on 04/28/2010

No, it's because he sexually assaulted women. Nice speech, though.

[VTL]

09:49 PM on 04/28/2010

Really. This idiot thinks being accused of rape...twice...is just part of an athlete's personality we should ignore.

[LastWave]

08:35 PM on 04/28/2010

you talk as if parents can even choose their kids role models. you can guide them a bit, but if you push too hard they will hate you.
sounds like you dont have children.
french revolution class envy? wtf.
as if the french invented class envy.

[stewie1324]

11:06 PM on 04/28/2010

Im referring to the way the mob went around guillotining anyone they didnt like without regard to justice or due process. The Mme Defarges so to speak

[stewie1324]

11:16 PM on 04/28/2010

Also just to add, most kids dont care or pay attention to the private lives of athletes, they just wanna see them perform...You honestly think most kids look up the salacious details of the private lives of every athlete? You think they are even interested in that?
When I was growing up I was a huge Dallas Cowboys fan. I didnt know about all that crazy stuff that went on other than the thing about Irvin and cocaine, and I had to ask my parents what cocaine was lol. And I forgot about it two days later. I learned about most of the crazy party stuff when I was older.
I remember when the Clinton scandal was all over the news. All the adults seemed to be interested in it but I was about 10 or 11 at the time and I didnt have the faintest interest. .

[XLintLuvR]

05:31 PM on 04/28/2010

"Could you please, pretty please unsuspend Big Ben?"
"Sure kid."
"Really?"
"Nah. I'm just screwing with you!" Get a better role model kid.

[cybolt]

05:20 PM on 04/28/2010

And there, in a rather large nutshell, is the ramification of Ben's behavior.
Dying kid asking the commish to unsuspend his hero who acts like a drunken frat boy.

[michelesda]

09:25 PM on 04/28/2010

Not quite as touching a moment as the dying kid asking Babe Ruth to hit him two home runs.

[stewie1324]

12:09 AM on 04/29/2010

Ruth was also a drunk and a womanizer...the standards are way different because of the media. Im sure everyone thought JFK was a fantastic guy while he was president also.

[Val49]

05:16 PM on 04/28/2010

Vick had to serve two years Roethlisberger got a 6 game suspention, WOW, what is this world coming too.

[Bryan Bowyer]

06:05 PM on 04/28/2010

It was because there was no conviction or proof of any crime. It came down to a he said she said case. Personally I think he is guilty but that doesn't mean anything to our justice system, and many players were complaining that he got suspended at all.

[DemiCrat]

09:06 PM on 04/28/2010

and a botched investigation and incompetent prosecutor.

[KevG]

08:18 PM on 04/28/2010

Vick should still be in jail.

[t-boy42]

05:17 AM on 04/29/2010

why? because of the dogs? If his case was just the dogs he probably wouldn't have done any time in jail. They got him for running a gambling ring. I don't see why he should do 3 years for that.

[TiffanyHusseinBanned]

04:53 PM on 04/28/2010

Aww. How cute is that?

[pageleft]

05:32 PM on 04/28/2010

Kudos to that brave young man. I feel for him having to endure the pointless ranting of a few people who have convicted someone in the Court of Public Opinion and inappropriately used this venue to voice their displeasure. Perhaps he's not as naive as some here would paint him but was only demonstrating his understanding of the "innocent until proven guilty" concept.

[Iehi Aour]

08:16 PM on 04/28/2010

Or his own future proclivities.

[Rob Cypher]

04:42 PM on 04/28/2010

It's depressing to think that this kid is going to die soon with the notion that "Big Ben" was a swell guy. Who do you blame for this mishap???

[Socrmom]

04:03 PM on 04/28/2010

That's right, never let a little sexual assault get in the way of your favorite athlete.

[Lin McKay]

03:58 PM on 04/28/2010

To suspend or to not suspend . . . Ben R got off easy with only 6 games suspension. He should be out the entire season or until the Nevada case is resolved. He is a poor excuse for a human being and he is really getting off easy. Ben and his bodyguards should all be charged with crimes and the bodyguards that are law enforcement officers in their 'other' jobs should lose those jobs. They certainly did not take care of the people they are hired to protect. Shame on all of them.

[JJM21]

04:19 PM on 04/28/2010

Unless of course...he didn't commit a crime.

[Iehi Aour]

08:17 PM on 04/28/2010

Or, he did.