Katherine Terrell, ESPN Staff Writer 7y

Big Ben counters Julian Edelman: We've got trophies out there

PITTSBURGH -- Ben Roethlisberger defended his organization Wednesday when asked if he had a response to Julian Edelman's comments about the way the Pittsburgh Steelers run their locker room.

Edelman gave his thoughts Monday to WEEI in Boston about a controversial live video shot by Antonio Brown in the Steelers postgame locker room Sunday. Brown's video captured Mike Tomlin calling the Patriots "a--h----."

While Edelman appeared to be pointing out that Tomlin probably has different rules for his team than Bill Belichick does for his, Roethlisberger talked about the bigger picture in response. He referenced the team's ownership and six Lombardi trophies (the New England Patriots have four of their own) as a rebuttal.

"I don't think I need to speak much; we've got the trophies out there; we've got owners that I think are the best in the business," Roethlisberger said. "They're family to us, and I'm sure if he talked to his owner, they would say the same thing about the Rooneys. Anybody in here or in the football word or the regular world that knows the Rooneys know what they are and what they stand for. It's a blessing to call them family ...

"Guys have come from other teams and they look shocked when they see our owners walking around the locker room, walking around at practice. They don't ever see their owners. We see our owners every single day. I think it's just a blessing to know that they care about us and that's one of the reasons we want to win."

Edelman clarified his comments on a conference call to Pittsburgh reporters on Wednesday, saying he thinks he was taken out of context.

"I’ve got nothing but respect for the Pittsburgh Steelers," he said. "They’re an unbelievable franchise. It starts from the top, with the Rooney family, coach Tomlin. ... I may have said it, but I think more of that, you know, it’s not the way we would do it here and that’s just how that goes. There’s no maliciousness about it. But, you know, it’s whatever. That’s what the media does, try to make stories."

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