Steelers Ben Roethlisberger fined $5000 for wearing Apple Watch on sidelines

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in General Discussion
Pittsburgh Steelers' Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has been fined $5,000 for a uniform violation after wearing Apple Watch during the game against the Cincinnati Bengals -- and he didn't even play.

(Inset) Ben Roethlisberger wears an Apple Watch on Monday night. (Photo: Justin Berl/Getty Images)
(Inset) Ben Roethlisberger wears an Apple Watch on Monday night. (Photo: Justin Berl/Getty Images)


The National Football League has fined Pittsburgh Steelers' quarterback Ben Roethlisberger $5,000 for what's being described as a uniform violation. Roethlisberger was wearing an Apple Watch during his first game back with the team since elbow surgery.

Significantly, Roethlisberger was not playing at the time of the incident. Following the surgery, he was on the sidelines supporting the team during Monday Night Football against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Roethlisberger maintains that not only was he on the sidelines, he was not warned that he could be in violation of the uniform code. According to ESPN, he may not even have realized that he was wearing it.

Ben Roethlisberger wearing Apple Watch on Monday night. (Photo: Justin Berl/Getty Images)
Ben Roethlisberger wearing Apple Watch on Monday night. (Photo: Justin Berl/Getty Images)


Despite having returned from elbow surgery, Roethlisberger is still unable to use his right arm and reportedly was dressed by his wife, Ashley Harlan. Roethlisberger was not in his players' uniform, but instead wearing street clothes as he watched the game from the sidelines.

The player is reportedly appealing against the fine, which concerns the wearing of any electronic messaging devices during play.

The NFL is sponsored by Microsoft, and was the Official Laptop sponsor of Super Bowl LIII -- albeit with a tablet.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 22
    netroxnetrox Posts: 1,415member
    I hope he wins the appeal. It seems ridiculous since he wasn't playing.
    razorpitAppleExposedStrangeDaysjbdragonjahbladelollivernetmagewatto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 22
    netrox said:
    I hope he wins the appeal. It seems ridiculous since he wasn't playing.
    Exactly what constitutes a uniform violation? Would he be in violation if he were wearing a Rolex? Fitbit?
    lolliverwatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 22
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,092member
    iOS_Guy80 said:
    netrox said:
    I hope he wins the appeal. It seems ridiculous since he wasn't playing.
    Exactly what constitutes a uniform violation? Would he be in violation if he were wearing a Rolex? Fitbit?
    "The player is reportedly appealing against the fine, which concerns the wearing of any electronic messaging devices during play."

    Right there, clear as day.  A Rolex and Fitbit do not have the ability to send electronic messages.

    I too think it's ridiculous especially since he wasn't playing at the time.  Would he be fined if he took out his smartphone and started texting on the sidelines as well since he's not playing?
    edited October 2019 netmagetommikele
  • Reply 4 of 22
    razorpitrazorpit Posts: 1,796member
    Any team playing in Foxboro needs devices that send and receive electronic messages because of how bad the headsets are.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 22
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member
    iOS_Guy80 said:
    netrox said:
    I hope he wins the appeal. It seems ridiculous since he wasn't playing.
    Exactly what constitutes a uniform violation? Would he be in violation if he were wearing a Rolex? Fitbit?
    It's that it is a communication device, not that it's specifically an Apple Watch. 
    GeorgeBMac
  • Reply 6 of 22
    carnegiecarnegie Posts: 1,077member
    sflocal said:
    iOS_Guy80 said:
    netrox said:
    I hope he wins the appeal. It seems ridiculous since he wasn't playing.
    Exactly what constitutes a uniform violation? Would he be in violation if he were wearing a Rolex? Fitbit?
    "The player is reportedly appealing against the fine, which concerns the wearing of any electronic messaging devices during play."

    Right there, clear as day.  A Rolex and Fitbit do not have the ability to send electronic messages.

    I too think it's ridiculous especially since he wasn't playing at the time.  Would he be fined if he took out his smartphone and started texting on the sidelines as well since he's not playing?
    To answer your question: Yes, probably.

    The use of electronic communications devices is generally prohibited on the sidelines (and, e.g., in coaches' booths) before and during games. There are some exceptions, e.g., for medical staff. But part of the point is to prevent people on the sidelines - whether coaches or players - from communicating with players on the field outside of the allowed methods. So it doesn't really matter that Mr. Roethlisberger wasn't playing. Even if he weren't a player he wouldn't be allowed to use a smartphone or, e.g., an Apple Watch on the sidelines.
    CloudTalkinGG1gatorguyjbdragonmld53adysamoriachemengin1caladanian
  • Reply 7 of 22
    AppleExposedAppleExposed Posts: 1,805unconfirmed, member
    Thought this was another stupid anti-Apple rule. Remember Beats?

    "The player is reportedly appealing against the fine, which concerns the wearing of any electronic messaging devices during play."

    So how did he violate this rule?
    lolliver
  • Reply 8 of 22
    rezwitsrezwits Posts: 878member
    See, I don't understand how these guys can wear BEATS headphones or AirPods during warmups, and then (how can they stream music?) they need an Watch that Microsoft doesn't make, but they have to an Watch for the best setup, SO STUPID!

    This will be funny...

    Guys be like "Hey I need my personal music when I warm-up!"
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 22
    Thought this was another stupid anti-Apple rule. Remember Beats?

    "The player is reportedly appealing against the fine, which concerns the wearing of any electronic messaging devices during play."

    So how did he violate this rule?
    General observation:  Super obvious there aren't that many football fans in this thread.  The lack of understanding is weird viewed from the perspective of an avid sports fan.

    To answer your question.  
    It's electronic messaging device during game play, not him playing specifically.  The goal is to prevent cheating or an unfair advantage.  Also, the "Beats thing" wasn't really a Beats thing specifically.  It was a sponsorship prohibition.  Bose paid a crap ton of money to replace Motorola as the Official Headset of the NFL.  They also paid to be the Official Headphone, Official Home Audio, Official Speaker, and Official Sound of the NFL.   I have no idea what the Official Sound is, but they paid money to be it.  


    edited October 2019 gatorguyjbdragonrazorpitbeowulfschmidtnetmagedysamoriachemengin1
  • Reply 10 of 22
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    You play for a professional team and you play by their rules.
    GeorgeBMacchemengin1
  • Reply 11 of 22
    jbdragonjbdragon Posts: 2,305member
    Thought this was another stupid anti-Apple rule. Remember Beats?

    "The player is reportedly appealing against the fine, which concerns the wearing of any electronic messaging devices during play."

    So how did he violate this rule?
    General observation:  Super obvious there aren't that many football fans in this thread.  The lack of understanding is weird viewed from the perspective of an avid sports fan.

    To answer your question.  
    It's electronic messaging device during game play, not him playing specifically.  The goal is to prevent cheating or an unfair advantage.  Also, the "Beats thing" wasn't really a Beats thing specifically.  It was a sponsorship prohibition.  Bose paid a crap ton of money to replace Motorola as the Official Headset of the NFL.  They also paid to be the Official Headphone, Official Home Audio, Official Speaker, and Official Sound of the NFL.   I have no idea what the Official Sound is, but they paid money to be it.  



    For beats, stick a blank label or maybe even a Team Logo over the Beats LOGO and you should be fine.

    If the guy is standing there with the rest of his teammates wearing an Apple Watch, then he should have gotten the fine!  Look at him wearing one of their Headsets!!!!  Now he could look at his Apple watch and communicate over that and then chat with the person(s) over the headset he's wearing.  I don't see how he can get out of that fine.  He may not be IN the game, but clearly he's on the sideline coaching or something.   I think he got off easy with only a 5K fine.

    gatorguy
  • Reply 12 of 22
    mpantonempantone Posts: 2,033member
    It looks like there are a few AI readers who don't understand the basic premise which has been around for decades.

    Unapproved electronic messaging devices are not allowed because they can create an unfair advantage.

    Let's say there are five or six people sitting in the locker room or in the stands and analyzing various video feeds. Perhaps they see something of interest and send a message to a player/coach via an electronic device. In baseball this is even more serious as someone sitting in the stands may be able to relay the opposing team's catcher's signs to the dugout and thus to the batter.

    So for many sports, the only sanctioned electronic devices are league approved and often closed circuit communications, like a football head coach to specific members of his coaching staff in a booth high up in the stadium.

    Ben wouldn't be the person sending the message. More likely he would be the recipient of a timely tip and could lean over to a coach's ear and whisper what he learned.

    It has nothing to do with the league being anti-Apple. Cellphones, pagers, computers, etc. aren't allowed either, regardless of the manufacturer/brand/model. This is not a new development

    Note that in the rare instances when some coach's headset fails due to a technical malfunction, the standard practice is to require the other team to remove the same piece of equipment. Otherwise the home team might be inclined to sabotage the visiting team's communications gear.
    edited October 2019 beowulfschmidtdysamoriachemengin1
  • Reply 13 of 22
    jbdragon said:
    Thought this was another stupid anti-Apple rule. Remember Beats?

    "The player is reportedly appealing against the fine, which concerns the wearing of any electronic messaging devices during play."

    So how did he violate this rule?
    General observation:  Super obvious there aren't that many football fans in this thread.  The lack of understanding is weird viewed from the perspective of an avid sports fan.

    To answer your question.  
    It's electronic messaging device during game play, not him playing specifically.  The goal is to prevent cheating or an unfair advantage.  Also, the "Beats thing" wasn't really a Beats thing specifically.  It was a sponsorship prohibition.  Bose paid a crap ton of money to replace Motorola as the Official Headset of the NFL.  They also paid to be the Official Headphone, Official Home Audio, Official Speaker, and Official Sound of the NFL.   I have no idea what the Official Sound is, but they paid money to be it.  



    For beats, stick a blank label or maybe even a Team Logo over the Beats LOGO and you should be fine.

    If the guy is standing there with the rest of his teammates wearing an Apple Watch, then he should have gotten the fine!  Look at him wearing one of their Headsets!!!!  Now he could look at his Apple watch and communicate over that and then chat with the person(s) over the headset he's wearing.  I don't see how he can get out of that fine.  He may not be IN the game, but clearly he's on the sideline coaching or something.   I think he got off easy with only a 5K fine.

    For some guys it was even more simple. They still wore the Beats and they (Beats) paid the fine. They considered it guerrilla marketing. Worked for a while until the NFL and the NFLPA clamped down. The solution was for Bose to supply headphones to the players. You can see lots of them wearing Bose 700's now and QC35's before that.Image result for bose 700 nflImage result for bose 700 nflImage result for bose 700 nfl
    Anywho, this is sort of thread jacking soooo...
    The only takeaway here is that Ben wasn't fined for wearing an Apple Watch per se.  He was fined for wearing an electronic messaging device.  It just happened to be an Apple Watch.  
    edited October 2019
  • Reply 14 of 22
    entropysentropys Posts: 4,152member
    In the movie Ben Hur one of the Roman soldiers can be seen with a wrist watch.
  • Reply 15 of 22
    entropys said:
    In the movie Ben Hur one of the Roman soldiers can be seen with a wrist watch.
    Nah bud, that's a common mistake.  It was actually an Antikythera mechanism.   :D
    Ancient history humor is always the best humor.
  • Reply 16 of 22
    thttht Posts: 5,421member
    iOS_Guy80 said:
    netrox said:
    I hope he wins the appeal. It seems ridiculous since he wasn't playing.
    Exactly what constitutes a uniform violation? Would he be in violation if he were wearing a Rolex? Fitbit?
    A rules violation would be anything that the NFL deems to violate their rules. An NFL player has strict guidelines on what they can wear when at work. Work constitutes the time from parking at the stadium or getting off the bus and walking into the stadium on game day. During the game, work constitutes everything that can be seen on a player, from head to toe. 

    So, everything they wear is regulated. 

    Rothlisberger was at work. It doesn’t matter if all he used the swatch for was looking the time. It makes news because the rules are so draconian. A few years ago, a dude was fined for wearing his socks too high. Players have been fined for wearing improper headbands, wrong color socks, who knows what else.

    Whenever you see some player in a game or an interview post game interview, everything they wear was approved or guided by the NFL.
    chemengin1
  • Reply 17 of 22
    razorpit said:
    Any team playing in Foxboro needs devices that send and receive electronic messages because of how bad the headsets are.
    Good to know there are New England Patriots haters even on AppleInsider...
  • Reply 18 of 22
    seafoxseafox Posts: 90member
    razorpit said:
    Any team playing in Foxboro needs devices that send and receive electronic messages because of how bad the headsets are.
    Good to know there are New England Patriots haters even on AppleInsider...
    How is he bashing the Patriots when he specifically is talking about the headsets, and even says that any team playing there would need another communication method.
  • Reply 19 of 22
    razorpitrazorpit Posts: 1,796member
    seafox said:
    razorpit said:
    Any team playing in Foxboro needs devices that send and receive electronic messages because of how bad the headsets are.
    Good to know there are New England Patriots haters even on AppleInsider...
    How is he bashing the Patriots when he specifically is talking about the headsets, and even says that any team playing there would need another communication method.
    Yep, and multiple teams have had issues.
  • Reply 20 of 22
    blah64blah64 Posts: 993member
    entropys said:
    In the movie Ben Hur one of the Roman soldiers can be seen with a wrist watch.
    Nah bud, that's a common mistake.  It was actually an Antikythera mechanism.   :D
    Ancient history humor is always the best humor.
    Hahaha.  Good one.

    I had to go look it up, and then realized that I'd read all about this a few years back, just didn't remember the name.  Great stuff.

    CloudTalkin
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