The Pittsburgh Steelers hosted division rivals the Cleveland Browns in their Week 8 matchup on Sunday. While Pittsburgh secured a 27-6 victory to improve to 6-2 through the first eight weeks of the 2026 season, the game has since drawn attention for reasons beyond the result. A clip shared by Dov Kleiman went viral on X, with Scott Van Pelt’s on-air slip-up attracting significant attention.
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The incident occurred in the first quarter, with just over 10 minutes remaining and the Steelers facing second-and-7. Van Pelt appeared to make controversial remarks when talking about former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and Browns starting quarterback Deshaun Watson.
“We talked a bit about the r**ists that were looking up on the grounds and fields. I should say Ben Roethlisberger in the building on a beautiful day in Dawg Pound,” said Van Pelt during the Steelers Week 8 home game against the Browns.
Scott Van Pelt’s on-air remark during the matchup was a verbal slip and not a factual statement. However, the mistake is particularly sensitive considering both Roethlisberger and Watson have faced serious s**ual misconduct allegations during their NFL Careers.
In 2009, a former employee at Harrah’s hotel-casino in Lake Tahoe filed a civil lawsuit accusing Roethlisberger of r**ing her in July 2008. According to the lawsuit, the woman, Andrea McNulty, alleged that Roethlisberger asked her to visit his hotel room under the pretext of fixing a television before allegedly assaulting her.
The lawsuit also named Harrah’s, alleging that employees had helped cover up the incident. The Steelers legend, however, denied the allegations through his attorney.
“Ben has never s**ually assaulted anyone, especially Andrea McNulty,” his attorney, David Cornwell, said.
The civil lawsuit was settled between the parties in 2012, but the terms of the settlement were not disclosed. While there was no criminal charge against Roethlisberger in connection with this allegation, a complaint was filed against Roethlisberger in March 2010. A 20-year-old college student accused him of s**ually assaulting her at a Capital City nightclub in Milledgeville, Georgia. According to the police investigation, the woman alleged that Roethlisberger followed her into a bathroom and s**ually assaulted her.
A month later, District Attorney Fred Bright announced that Roethlisberger would not face criminal charges. However, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended Ben Roethlisberger for six games without pay for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.
Goodell explained that the decision was not based on a finding that Roethlisberger had violated Georgia law. In September 2010, Goodell reduced the suspension from six games to four after reviewing Roethlisberger’s conduct during the offseason.
Deshaun Watson, meanwhile, is currently leading the Browns’ offense during the 2026 season. However, his Browns stint hasn’t been without multiple complications, including major off-field allegations. In March 2021, a Houston-based massage therapist, Ashley Solis, filed a civil lawsuit against Watson, accusing him of s**ual misconduct during a massage session.
While Watson denied the allegations, additional women came forward with similar allegations over the following months. Ultimately, 27 women filed civil lawsuits against Watson. The alleged incidents primarily occurred between 2017 and 2020, when Watson was playing for the Houston Texans. Watson consistently denied wrongdoing and maintained that any s**ual activity was consensual.
Consequently, he did not face criminal charges arising from those investigations. NFL, however, suspended him for 11 games while also imposing a $5 million fine on the quarterback.
That said, while Van Pelt’s comment was an unintended on-air mistake, it quickly became a talking point because of the quarterbacks’ respective histories. Neither Roethlisberger nor Watson was criminally convicted in connection with the allegations, although both faced disciplinary action from the NFL.
