The Pittsburgh Steelers Are Hypocrites?

About midnight Sunday, ESPN's John Clayton reported (in about a five second clip in between Phil v. Tiger and NHL playoff preview) that the Jets had acquired former Pittsburgh Steelers wideout Santonio Holmes in exchange for a fifth-round draft pick.

What a steel (er).

After being drafted in the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft, many immediately posted the "bust" label on Holmes. What they have failed to see is steady improvement over his past four seasons. As Pittsburgh moved from a run-heavy offense into a Ben Roethlisbergr-pass-it-all-around offense, Holmes' numbers improved.

Rookie: 49 Rec. 824 yards. 2 TD.

Year 2: 52 Rec. 924 yards. 8 TD.

Year 3: 55 Rec. 821 yards. 5 TD.

Year 4: 79 Rec. 1248 yards. 5 TD.

Oh, not to mention he made one of the most infamous Super Bowl grabs in NFL history en route to becoming the MVP versus the Arizona Cardinals.

But to be honest, I see the biggest issue with this trade is the underlying fact that the Steelers try to pride themselves on being a no-nonsense organization. Holmes, who today was slapped with a four-game suspension in the upcoming season for violating the league's substance abuse policy, presented a risk off-the-field for the organization.

While Holmes may have a troubled past, he is certainly not the only one.

Big Ben, a two-time winning Super Bowl quarterback for the Steelers, was recently involved in a third major off-the-field incident. His behavior and decision-making have become massive question marks for an organization who preaches good citizenship.

Following a Super Bowl victory over the Seattle Seahawks in 2006, Big Ben was in a motorcycle accident in which he did had an expired license and was not wearing his helmet.

In 2009, he was accused of sexually assaulting a hotel employee while participating in a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe.

Last month, he was investigated by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation after a woman claimed she was sexually assaulted by him at a college nightclub.

Isn't the old saying "three strikes and you're out?"

For Holmes, a second accusation while a member of the Steelers was enough to be considered for release, and eventually valued at a fifth-round pick. Even with his potential high and prospects rising, the Steelers saw no future for Holmes with the team given his tendency to be troublesome off the field.

As for Big Ben, today marks a meeting between him and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. The no-nonsense commish has a past of both giving second chances (see Michael Vick, Pacman Jones) and being very strict with others (see Chris Henry, Donte Stallworth, Tank Johnson).

If Roethlisberger receives any type of punishment from the league, it is only right the Steelers make his fate similar to that of Holmes -- ship him off or release him. The zero tolerance reputation the Steelers are trying to live up to should pertain to all of their players -- whether they are a special teamer, young wide receiver or Super Bowl winning quarterbacks.

Both Holmes and Big Ben have troubled pasts, with Ben's looking worse than Holmes. Now Holmes finds himself on a playoff-caliber team in the New York Jets, we have no idea of where Roethlisberger may be.

But if nothing is done with Big Ben, does that make the Steelers organization a bunch of hypocrites?