PITTSBURGH — An ESPN article published Thursday night involving the Pittsburgh Steelers' head of security is causing quite a stir.
The ESPN article questions the dual roles of Jack Kearney who is the head of security for the Pittsburgh Steelers and a high-ranking officer in the Allegheny County Sheriff's Department.
ESPN's investigation says Kearney may have improperly helped Steelers players when they ran into messy legal issues.
The article highlights the most recent case of Steeler Mike Adams who was stabbed on Pittsburgh’s South Side.
In a statement to Channel 11's news partners at TribLIVE, the Steelers defended Kearney:
"Jack Kearney has assisted the Steelers with security for players, coaches and other staff since 2001. His services are provided on a part-time basis, with the majority of his time coming during the football season.
"We are not aware of any conflicts in regard to his time on Steelers matters, nor are we aware of any conflicts of interest."
Allegheny County Sheriff William Mullen also defended Kearney.
"The article is certainly slanted in my opinion. Obviously, I'm going to stick up for my troops almost all the time,” he said.
Mullen told Channel 11 that Kearney is an aggressive, successful fugitive task force leader who works for the Steelers on his own time.
"The time that he works the most for the Pittsburgh Steelers is during camp. He takes his vacation time during camp,” said Mullen.
Mullen claimed that the ESPN report suggested Kearney was one of Ben Roethlisberger’s body guards during the Georgia rape accusations.
"(The reporter) identified one as a Pennsylvania state trooper. He doesn't identify where the other officer was from. It kind of puts a subliminal message in your mind (that) it's Kearney,” said Mullen.
A Coraopolis police officer was actually the second body guard, not Kearney who was never in Georgia.
Channel 11 also spoke with Beth Pittinger who is the executive director of the Citizen Police Review Board and was interviewed for the ESPN article.
She said that she had a lengthy discussion with ESPN, saying that she has a fundamental issue with a law enforcement officer working another security detail as secondary employment.
Pittinger said the public gives law enforcement officers their power and she questions if they're using that power for personal gain or for the gain of the private interest that's employed them.