The Big Ben Article That Just Doesn't Sell

The following was submitted to SteelerFury anonymously, reflecting the thoughts and efforts of several posters from our message board.

This isn’t your father’s media anymore. At some point, formerly responsible journalists caved to the reckless, sensationalistic reporting of what passes for news these days on the internet and blogs. Factual and objective reporting has gone the way of the dinosaur. What sells are attention grabbing headlines and articles in which the writer invokes artistic license. Forget about double-confirming sources; some unabashedly admit to thriving on peddling rumors. It’s a list too long to name, but we carry our share of blame for failing to demand higher standards.

And so a second allegation of sexual impropriety has media and fans alike calling for swift and severe punishment of Ben Roethlisberger. Some Steeler fans want the QB traded for failing to live-up to the standards of the Pittsburgh Steelers – the NFL’s flagship of morality, a team founded on gambling winnings with a history of “intolerance” for abusing alcohol, steroids, women, and police helicopters.

Roethlisberger’s troubles began a little less than two years ago when a woman in Reno, NV filed a civil complaint accusing the QB of rape. Months earlier, in emails and comments to friends and co-workers, she openly bragged about their night together and glowed with fantasies of having his child. Roethlisberger has counter-sued his accuser. Most had dismissed this as a completely bogus accusation targeting the deep pockets of Roethlisberger and Harrah’s Casino. Many of those same people now want to suggest the Georgia case - a case in which DA Fred Bright, in his honest opinion, “did not even have probable cause for an arrest” – somehow adds facts and evidence that gives it new credibility. Fortunately, Dan Rooney was a rare voice of reason in this matter, taking the view that the GA case is a first offense, rightly believing that NV bears no impact on this matter.

This is what we know for certain about the recent case in GA: The alleged victim and several of her sorority sisters were highly intoxicated and had been drinking for hours before meeting Ben Roethlisberger and his group. The girls’ own statements are riddled with inconsistencies and internal contradictions. Multiple third parties (unrelated to either group in question) have eye-witness accounts that call into question both the accuracy and recall of the accusers. DA Bright, in his press conference, said Roethlisberger never admitted (to law enforcement) to being alone with the girl and never admitted to any sexual contact. The rape kit provided no sufficient samples for comparison (sufficient being an amount approximately 1 BILLIONTH the size of a raisin), but they did find trace samples of male DNA. The medical report was unable to conclude forcible penetration occurred. There are problems proving Ben Roethlisberger had sex with this woman, there is no proof of forcible penetration, and the witness’s own statements call into question whether there was any sex, at all, as well as whether or not there was never consent. You need to prove all three for a rape conviction, and DA Bright has a problem with “All three. I have a problem with all three.”

The media had a field day speculating what was implied by DA Bright’s moral sermonizing and grandstanding. Instead of salaciously inferring what DA Bright believes happened, let’s allow his comments to stand on their own: “This decision was not difficult to reach. I knew pretty early on that this was the way this case was going… Everybody, I think, could be criticized for their actions that night… But there was too much drinking going on. If he were my son, the best way I can answer that is, ‘Ben, grow up.’… As for her, she’s gone through enough already. I think she has learned a lesson here. I hope a lot of people that were involved in this case learned some lessons that evening. .. And the truth of the matter is there probably was too much alcohol drinking by too many people that night… we do not prosecute morals, we prosecute crimes.”

It would appear that, at least initially, some sort of consensual sexual activity took place. For whatever reason, it would also appear that the rendezvous ended prematurely. The logical conclusion would be that either Roethlisberger realized she was too intoxicated and he ended it, or she said stop and he stopped (Line-up the virgins to cast the first stones). We don’t even know if any sex took place, and the lack of DNA evidence would suggest there was none. An already questionable allegation should have been do-not-resuscitate in that hospital examination room, but a tip to TMZ gave it new life.

Call it irresponsible and immature and question the decisions both made that night (I’ll refrain from calling it immoral since that would be an indictment of most 20-somethings). Allegations lacking any corroboration do not justify sanctions or you risk making your players targets every time they step out in public. At last, Dan Rooney finally brought some sanity and a true sense of morality to the matter when he said Roethlisberger would have the opportunity to regain the trust and respect of the fans and organization. Implicit in having a strong moral compass is the concept of forgiveness and a chance to atone for mistakes, a concept and belief with which the Steelers DO have a firm understanding of and history of upholding.