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Ben Roethlisberger retired from the NFL after the 2021 season and sent the Pittsburgh Steelers into a new era. After 18 seasons with the Steelers, with the last two being a bit disappointing, Roethlisberger has stepped out of the spotlight and has been virtually off the grid since the end of the season. That was until a certain cult Netflix personality put Big Ben back in the headlines this week.
Joe "Joe Exotic" Graham from the hit Netflix show "Tiger King" reportedly sent a handwritten letter to Ben Roethlisberger at the end of March (according to the date on the letter). As many are aware, "Joe Exotic" is currently serving jail time for being accused of planning to put a hit out on his rival Carole Baskin and for killing endangered tigers at his zoo. He's been pleading with anyone who will hear that he's innocent and deserves to be freed. While he didn't directly ask for Ben Roethlisberger to use his status to help free him, "Joe Exotic" did ask for another favor.
First off, "Joe Exotic" claims to have been kidnapped by the United States in favor of Carole Baskin and PETA passing the Big Cat Safety Act, which he opposes. The act restricts the possession or breeding of big cats like lions, tigers, and jaguars. Within the first two sentences, "Joe Exotic" likely lost Roethlisberger's interest.
The letter continues to ask if Big Ben could so kindly ship a signed jersey to Joe's stepson Johnny, who is apparently a fan of the former quarterback and thinks he is "the sh**". The letter goes off the rails a bit again when Joe claims there is one on Ebay for $600 and not even Joe's fans could make it happen for Johnny. In reality, you can find signed jerseys from Roethlisberger much cheaper online.
"Joe Exotic" calls his last shot by tugging at Ben's heart strings and claims Johnny sees him as a hero.
There is no evidence that Ben Roethlisberger is a fan of "Joe Exotic" or if he intends on accommodating the request. The letter could have also just been a way to keep Joe fresh in the eyes of the media and public, which it has. The letter itself may not be legit anyways, as the Twitter account it was from is suspicious of fraud.
Ben Roethlisberger is no stranger to bad publicity
"Joe Exotic" might be in prison for something he did or did not do when it came to plotting for Carole Baskin to be killed. Ben Roethlisberger was accused of making severe allegations early in his NFL career.
Ben had two separate sexual assault allegations against him in 2009 and 2010. The first one was tossed out due to a lack of incriminating evidence and ended in a settlement with the acuser. The second one led to Ben not getting charged due to a lack of evidence, but he was suspended for six games in the 2010 season by the NFL.
