Willie Colon confused by Jason McIntyre’s ‘racial element’ question about Mike Tomlin and Ben Roethlisberger

It might be a slow week on the sports calendar, but that hasn’t stopped Jason McIntyre from making news.

After forgetting Mike Evans won a Super Bowl with Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers just five years ago, McIntyre took over as lead host on The Herd Thursday afternoon. And during a segment with Willie Colon, he left the former Steelers offensive lineman perplexed by his question about Ben Roethlisberger.

“I don’t know if Big Ben started it, but I’ll ask. Willie, do you think there’s a racial element to this?” McIntyre asked. “Big Ben, Tomlin, Porter.”

Jason McIntyre wonders if there is a racial element to Ben Roethlisberger criticizing Mike Tomlin

Willie Colon: “No…I don’t even know what that component would be, you would have to help me” pic.twitter.com/uyNWGwc78b

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 19, 2026

Ben Roethlisberger was notably critical of Mike Tomlin near the end of Tomlin’s tenure as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The criticism prompted Joey Porter to lash out at Roethlisberger, accusing him of being a bad teammate.

But as for whether there was a possible racial element to any of the barbs being exchanged, Colon seemingly had no interest in playing that game. Not only did he disagree with McIntyre’s line of thinking, but Colon also appeared confused by the question.

“No, that’s nonsense,” Colon answered. “I don’t even know what that component would be; you would have to help me. I wouldn’t know how to connect those dots.”

“Big Ben seems to be taking a lot of shots at Tomlin on his way out the door,” McIntyre said to connect those dots. “And I’m just like, why? Tomlin was beloved. And then Big Ben – I don’t want to say he started it – he seemed to go after Tomlin down the stretch…it just felt weird.”

Despite the explanation from McIntyre, Colon still wasn’t willing to engage in the conversation of whether Roethlisberger’s criticism of his former head coach was rooted in any sort of racism.

“The reason I’m confused about the racial component is because there’s another person who’s an African American who’s been very vocal about Mike Tomlin and that’s James Harrison,” Colon explained. “That’s why I’m confused with the statement. Nevertheless, man, it’s okay to have gripes about how you felt about the great Mike Tomlin.”

And with that, the potentially juicy narrative was dead. Roethlisberger may have been a bad teammate. He may have some lingering issues with Tomlin. But that doesn’t mean any of it was racially motivated.