Now that Martavis Bryant is back in the saddle with the Pittsburgh Steelers, he wants to have a “man-to-man” conversation with Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger over his critical statements about Bryant’s suspension last year.
Martavis Bryant wants to have a ‘man-to-man’ conversation with Ben Roethlisberger
Bryant didn’t like some of the comments his quarterback made concerning suspension.
Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images
According to ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano, Bryant, 25, said he doesn’t agree with some of the comments, “so I want to sit down and hear his own opinion, man-to-man, about why he did that.”
Bryant said he was “going through a lot of stuff” at that time and wasn’t worried about Roethlisberger’s opinion because there was so much going on. However, Bryant still referred to the veteran quarterback as his brother.
“I love him. But at the same time, I have my own family outside of football. I have my own problems. I’m not just going to come up to you and open up to you about what’s going on with my personal life. That’s not how I am. We just didn’t see eye-to-eye on that, but as far as right now, everything’s great.”
Roethlisberger told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette last July that Bryant lied to him and that the team felt “let down” by the young wideout when the league handed Bryant a year-long ban in 2016.
“I just think the approach, the denial of everything. Looking me in my eye and denying everything, it’s tough. It disappoints you as a man and a guy who cared so much about him. I obviously care a lot about him as a person and a football player,” Roethlisberger said last summer.
The NFL conditionally reinstated Bryant in April. He said he’s been clean for more than a year and doesn’t see anything getting in the way of his 2017 return. Bryant said he’s been training harder than he ever has in the offseason. On the other hand, he believes he needs to sit down with Roethlisberger before the season begins. Bryant noted that he and his quarterback haven’t had a sit-down yet.
Earlier this summer, Roethlisberger said Bryant had to “win back everybody’s trust” and hoped Bryant would chat with him. When asked how Bryant expected the talks to go, he said it doesn’t matter.
“Man-to-man talk. You put it out there, man-to-man, explain to me what you mean.” With that conversation out of the way, Bryant and Roethlisberger can put this behind them and focus on 2017.
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