--- description: The shoes pay tribute to the shooting victims at the Tree of Life Synagogue title: Pittsburgh Steelers Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger Honored Shooting Victims With 'Stronger Than Hate' Cleats image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt319d79304ddf3c56/69893e40b21a9c85cd4ff640/gettyimages-1057305656.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Sports](/section/sports/) ## Sports Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Pennsylvania](/tag/pennsylvania/) ## Pennsylvania Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Pittsburgh Steelers Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger Honored Shooting Victims With 'Stronger Than Hate' Cleats  by [Alejandro de la Garza](/author/alejandro-de-la-garza/)  ## Alejandro de la Garza Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 4, 2018 8:49 PM CUT  Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger #7 of the Pittsburgh Steelers wears cleats in response to last months mass shooting in Pittsburgh prior to the game against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on November 4, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger #7 of the Pittsburgh Steelers wears cleats in response to last months mass shooting in Pittsburgh prior to the game against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium on November 4, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland.Will Newton—Getty Images  by [Alejandro de la Garza](/author/alejandro-de-la-garza/)  ## Alejandro de la Garza Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 4, 2018 8:49 PM CUT Pittsburgh Steelers Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger wore specialized cleats Sunday to pay tribute to the victims of [last week’s shooting](http://time.com/money/5437626/pittsburgh-tree-of-life-synagogue-shooting-how-to-help/ "undefined") at the Tree of Life Synagogue in the city’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood. > [](https://twitter.com/steelers/status/1059123338704957440) The cleats featured a Star of David inside the Steelers logo and were decorated with the words, “Stronger than hate.” Roethlisberger wore the cleats during pregame warmups, then switched to standard cleats during the game against the Baltimore Ravens to avoid an NFL uniform violation. On Tuesday, Steelers players and staff also attended the funeral of brothers [Cecil and David Rosenthal](http://time.com/5439625/cecil-david-rosenthal-pittsburgh-service/ "undefined"), who were among the 11 victims of the shooting on Oct 27\. Michele Rosenthal, the sister of Cecil and David, is the former community relations manager for the Steelers. Robert Bowers, the suspected gunman, has [pleaded not guilty to 44 federal charges](http://time.com/5441748/pleads-not-guilty-pittsburgh-synagogue-shooting/ "undefined") that include murder, hate crimes, obstructing the practice of religion and other crimes. The “Stronger than hate” image has been widely shared on social media. > [](https://twitter.com/WeAreCharterOak/status/1056883591714693121) > [](https://twitter.com/yaneshai/status/1056282343781122049) “It was tough, it was crazy tough, especially with Michele and the closeness we have with her,” Roethlisberger said last Sunday, [according to ESPN](http://www.espn.com/blog/pittsburgh-steelers/post/%5F/id/29172/roethlisberger-honors-shooting-victims-with-stronger-than-hate-cleats "undefined"). “We’re thankful for the victory, but we all understand, there are bigger things, there’s life.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5444394/pittsburgh-steelers-ben-roethlisberger-tree-of-life-cleats/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5444394/pittsburgh-steelers-ben-roethlisberger-tree-of-life-cleats/"},"headline":"Pittsburgh Steelers Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger Honored Shooting Victims With 'Stronger Than Hate' Cleats","datePublished":"2018-11-04T20:49:15.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T21:55:59.080Z","description":"The shoes pay tribute to the shooting victims at the Tree of Life Synagogue","url":"https://time.com/5444394/pittsburgh-steelers-ben-roethlisberger-tree-of-life-cleats/","keywords":["Pennsylvania","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt319d79304ddf3c56/69893e40b21a9c85cd4ff640/gettyimages-1057305656.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alejandro de la Garza","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alejandro-de-la-garza/"}],"articleSection":"Sports","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt319d79304ddf3c56/69893e40b21a9c85cd4ff640/gettyimages-1057305656.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Pittsburgh Steelers v Baltimore Ravens","caption":"Pittsburgh Steelers v Baltimore Ravens","creditText":"Will Newton—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/sports/","name":"Sports"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/pennsylvania/","name":"Pennsylvania"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5444394/pittsburgh-steelers-ben-roethlisberger-tree-of-life-cleats/","name":"Pittsburgh Steelers Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger Honored Shooting Victims With 'Stronger Than Hate' Cleats"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Pittsburgh Shooting Suspect Appears in Court in a Wheelchair","description":"The man charged in the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre was brought into court in a wheelchair Monday, as some members of the Jewish community and others objected to President Donald Trump’s plans to visit.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/vF4iCkB6/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2018-10-29T19:26:32.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/vF4iCkB6.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5444394/pittsburgh-steelers-ben-roethlisberger-tree-of-life-cleats/","duration":"PT54S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5444394/pittsburgh-steelers-ben-roethlisberger-tree-of-life-cleats/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```