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.
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.