Skip navigation
Site powered by
Latest news:
msnbc.com: Top msnbc.com headlines: Egypt protesters torch candidate's HQ

Man arrested, told women he was Steeler QB

Jackson pretended to be Roethlisberger, back-up St. Pierre to get dates

Image: RoethlisbergerAP FILE
A man was arrested for pretending to be Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to get dates with women.

PITTSBURGH - Police have flagged a man for an illegal quarterback sneak.

Authorities said Brian Jackson, 31, dated two women 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 when he signed 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 preliminary hearing July 25.

The team didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment.

In one of the scams, Jackson arrived at the woman’s home on July 6, 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.

Slide show: The Week in Sports Pictures
QUALLS GIPSON
  Oct. 3 - 9
Images from the baseball playoffs, NFL, college football, and more.
Allegheny County police said Jackson pretended to be St. Pierre, the 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.

© 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

advertisement