I think there are many fan bases around the league that will excuse almost any on-field and off-field behavior by a player if the player is important to the team. Steeler fans will excuse Big Ben, Harrison, Ward, Polamalu; Jets fans will excuse Mark Sanchez; Eagles fans will get pissy if you don't like Vick for what he did; I'm sure there are Pats fans who will excuse bad behavior by our players. Fans of teams that are used to winning will want to continue winning, fans of teams that are winning less will want to win more - so what if the player(s) are bad apples? They are helping the team, so people will not only overlook bad things, but in some cases will insist that their improved play makes them a better person.
We see that with the attempt to remake Michael Vick's image - how he's such a better person now and stuff because he donates money and wins football games; we see that with the stories about how over the course of the season Big Ben has "become a better person" etc. What has he done, besides win games, to prove it?
This Onion article, fake though it is, makes fun of that very phenomenon.