National Football League

Report: Steelers vets ax pingpong

Published Sep. 19, 2013 1:00 a.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

foxsports

The Pittsburgh Steelers are 0-2 for the first time since 2002. They're rushing attack is 31st (out of 32 teams) in the NFL. Mike Wallace (and his speed) is gone; Troy Polamalu (and his decade-plus of NFL wear & tear) is still around. Ben Roethlisberger is spending more time scrambling for survival than looking downfield for open targets.

On Thursday, the team's veterans and captains apparently found the cause of all their ills. Ping-Pong, of course.

According to several reports, during a meeting among the veterans, a rule was passed that players with less than four years of NFL experience were banned from playing table tennis or pool in the locker room. While this looks like a silly rule akin to mild hazing, some of these tweets by Jory Rand of KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh, the veterans are claiming to have the young guys' best interest — on and off the field — in mind.

But not everybody was unhappy with the decision.

Ultimately, though, the concensus was this is a misguided attempt at instilling discipline.

share

Get more from National Football League Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

National Football League