“Who better to talk to for some perspective on this Pittsburgh Steelers season?” Dave Helman asked as he introduced Ryan Shazier as his guest on The NFL on Fox Podcast on Thursday.
Considering what had transpired mere hours before the podcast was published, listeners probably had a very different answer than Helman was anticipating.
While the former Steelers linebacker is certainly qualified to discuss his former team and the NFL at large, he was already on the minds of many NFL fans on Thursday morning — and not because of his latest podcast appearance. Rather, on Wednesday night, Shazier’s wife, Michelle Shazier, took to social media to accuse the former Pro Bowl linebacker of infidelity, sharing screenshots of flirtatious conversations he had been having with another woman.
“Infidelity at its finest!” Michelle wrote in the since-deleted post. “I can’t sit here and keep hiding anymore . You can have it. I deserve better. This is Ryan… he’s a liar and a cheater!”
https://twitter.com/NFLonFOXPod/status/1730217616453812500
While Michelle deleted the post, screenshots of it quickly spread on social media. Speaking to TMZ, the Ohio State product said that he and Michelle have been separated and asked for privacy for his family.
Helman’s interview with Shazier didn’t touch on the allegations and was likely recorded before they were even made public on Wednesday night. Nevertheless, many on social media were quick to make jokes about his ill-timed podcast appearance, in which he discussed the state of his former team, as well as the rest of the AFC North.
While the podcast didn’t necessarily need to pull Shazier’s appearance as a result of the adultery allegations, listeners likely felt like there was an elephant in the room throughout the interview. All things considered, while there may have been other options for how the podcast could have handled the situation, this can ultimately be chalked up to being an uncomfortable coincidence.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.