Hines Ward Apologizes for Criticizing Ben Roethlisberger

If Hines Ward had it to do over again, maybe he wouldn't have given NBC an interview last Saturday.

Ward apologized to his teammates for having to deal with the aftermath of his quotes about Ben Roethlisberger. Ward had said that the locker room was 50-50 over whether Roethlisberger should play against Baltimore, one week after suffering a concussion at Kansas City.

Having had to go on ESPN after the game to do damage control and having heard his comments become the main subject of sports talk for the past three days, Ward said on Wednesday that he considers the matter now dead.

"We talked. I'm not going to get into what was specifically said,'' Ward said at lunchtime in front of his locker. "The issue's been resolved. I apologized to the team today for having to even answer questions about this. We've moved on and getting ready for Oakland.''

Ward says his comments, especially the 50-50 comment, were misinterpreted. But it's probably more accurate to say that his comments were more pointed and damaging than he intended. His message came from frustration, because Ward claimed he would have tried to lie to doctors to get on the field.

Ward is getting blistered by a lot of Steelers fans for creating dissension, but it's worth remembering that this was an error that came from caring for the team's success. That's not the same thing as spouting off to try to bring attention to himself. But it's a safe bet he will censor himself more the next time a situation like this comes up.