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Crash 'puts everything into perspective'
Roethlisberger
TRIBUNE-REVIEW file photo
Kevin Gorman can be reached via e-mail or 412-320-7812.
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After Roethlisberger emerged from seven hours of surgery to reconstruct his face June 12, Tollner had to get back to business. There were important decisions to make, primarily what to do about the scheduled taping of a Chunky Soup commercial at Heinz Field the next morning.
"When you get that news, it immediately puts everything into perspective," Tollner said. "Once I got to the hospital and got to be there with the family, I knew I'd need to speak quickly with Campbell's Soup Co. and consider all the options there. After the surgery, I visited with Ben and his mom and they decided to make a conscious decision that they wanted Campbell's to proceed as planned."
The Chunky Soup ad was shot - as planned - two days later with Steelers linemen Alan Faneca, Casey Hampton, Jeff Hartings, Kendall Simmons and Max Starks. The only one missing was Roethlisberger.
"Campbell's and Players Inc., have been so outstanding through the whole process," Tollner said. "It's such a procedure to set up a national commercial. They were ready to roll Tuesday morning. For this to happen Monday, our feeling was we want to have a long-term relationship with Campbell's - yet we're sensitive to their needs, as well. If they were planning on filling those spots, Ben would be very (sorry) if they were to move on to another athlete or another team altogether. This opportunity for his teammates to do the Campbell's commercial was very deserving because they had just won a Super Bowl."
Tollner said although Roethlisberger is "recovering so fast" and the Steelers quarterback is "up and about, walking and talking," he's a "few weeks" away from talking publicly about the accident despite overtures from "every major media outlet, not just in sports."
"Sometimes unfortunate circumstances like this can raise an individual's profile in a good way, that he can speak from the heart and give a different perspective on life," Tollner said. "As we saw in the media, this affected a lot of people outside the sports world. It was a near tragedy that a lot of people can relate to."
Tollner also said that he has received photographs from Roethlisberger to show updates of his progress after surgery to repair multiple facial fractures, including a broken jaw, but that Roethlisberger and his family don't want them to be published.
"It was Ben and his family's preference that he not be seen that way," Tollner said. "He was being so vilified in the media for his decision to ride without a helmet and I think there was, unfortunately, so many insensitive reports that Ben and his family didn't want to play into that any further.
"I would be very surprised if any pictures surfaced."
Tollner said that Roethlisberger was exercising Monday, and that the swelling in his face has subsided substantially.
"If he were seen today or tomorrow, I don't think anybody would be too alarmed," Tollner said. "He looks great, like how he might look after a hard-fought football game."
