Illegal forward pass? Cops nap QB impersonator
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Police have flagged a man for an illegal quarterback sneak. Authorities said Brian Jackson, 31, of Abel Avenue in Brentwood, dated two women since last fall by pretending to be Pittsburgh Steelers quarterbacks Ben Roethlisberger and Brian St. Pierre.
Jackson, arrested Friday, was charged with harassment for allegedly continuing to contact both women after they learned of the ruses. He was also charged with criminal mischief for allegedly ruining a Steelers jersey owned by one of the women’s neighbors by signing his worthless rendition of Roethlisberger’s autograph on it. The jersey was worth $75 before it was signed, police said.
Jackson and his attorney, Paul Boas, declined comment after he was arraigned in Pittsburgh City Court and released on an unsecured bond Friday. Boas again declined comment when reached at his office. Jackson faces a July 25 preliminary hearing.
Roethlisberger told WTAE-TV that the case concerns him.
“You know, part of it kind of scares you a little bit,” he said. “…There’s a lot of rumors and stories out there about me, and now that this guy’s been arrested I think a lot of people will realize the negative things that were said about me weren’t true.”
Since his stellar rookie season, Roethlisberger has been the subject of stories ranging from his relationship with pro golfer Natalie Gulbis to his practice of riding his motorcycle without a helmet.
“Maybe it wasn’t really me riding the motorcycle – maybe it was this guy,” he quipped.
Police investigated after Steelers security officials referred the incidents to them. Team representatives didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment Friday.
Police said the second woman met a man at a Pittsburgh-area pizza shop earlier this summer and he told her that he knew Roethlisberger and that “she was the type of girl that Roethlisberger likes,” police said in an affidavit. They exchanged phone numbers and a man claiming to be Roethlisberger called the woman a couple of days later.
The woman eventually agreed to date “Roethlisberger,” who called to cancel their first meeting when she told him she’d be bringing a friend along. When Jackson came to her home on July 6, he gave her an autographed football and pretended to be Roethlisberger, signing the neighbor’s jersey, authorities said.
When she got home from their date that night, the neighbor brought her a newspaper article and told her that the man wasn’t Roethlisberger. Jackson allegedly continued to contact the woman and leave her telephone messages, including one in which he allegedly apologized for impersonating Roethlisberger, authorities said.
Allegheny County police said Jackson pretended to be St. Pierre, the Steelers’ third-string quarterback, when he met a woman last September. She told police that during the three weeks they were in contact, Jackson often talked of his “teammates” and offered to autograph footballs for neighborhood kids. Jackson also told the woman to watch Steelers games so she could see him when he went into the game, police said.
When the woman did watch a Steelers game, she saw the real Brian St. Pierre on the screen and realized that Jackson was an impostor, police said. Jackson tried to explain to the woman that he looked “different” on TV, but she asked him not to contact her, police said.
The woman said Jackson followed her home from work and to other locations, and even had people call her claiming to be Roethlisberger and his girlfriend.
That’s when the woman went to see a Steelers security representative – and Jackson called her cell phone during that interview, again pretending to be St. Pierre, police said.
Coleman arrested
ATLANTA – Atlanta Falcons defensive tackle Rod Coleman was arrested for misdemeanor disorderly conduct during a traffic stop early Friday, allegedly cursing at an officer and asking, “Do you know who I am?”
DeKalb Police spokesman Sgt. Charles Dedrick said Coleman “was verbally abusive” to a police officer.
During the stop, the officer said he was telling the driver his car insurance was expired when Coleman said, “I wish you would touch my (expletive) truck. Do you know who I am? I play for the Falcons,” according to the police report.
Then, according to the report, Coleman tried to walk away from the car and told the officer to shut up. Coleman, who is black, also requested a white officer.
The officer, A.C. Francis, complied and also let Coleman call his girlfriend. Francis wrote, “After granting Mr. Coleman every request he asked for besides letting him walk drunk on the interstate … Mr. Coleman’s insults continued and threats escalated until the only choice was to take him to jail.”
Coleman spent about three hours in the DeKalb County Jail and was released on a $363 bond, said jail spokeswoman Mikki Jones.
Coleman came to the Falcons from the Oakland Raiders as a free agent in 2004. A native of Philadelphia, Coleman played college football at East Carolina and has been playing in the NFL since 1999.
The Falcons released a statement Friday confirming the arrest but providing no new details.
Coleman missed three games last season for knee and shoulder injuries suffered in a car accident on Oct. 16.
He swerved to avoid hitting a deer and flipped his luxury SUV. He was not charged, but the Hall County Sheriff’s accident report stated that Coleman had been drinking. According to the report, Coleman passed a series of field sobriety tests and did not appear drunk.