Apparently Tiger Woods isn't the only one who likes the ladies.
Ben Roethlisberger, two−time Super Bowl−champion quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers, has gotten himself into a situation that even Tiger wouldn't be envious of. In the past couple of years, Roethlisberger has twice been accused of rape, and a lawyer who recently appeared on WEEI radio claimed knowledge of a third incident that was never reported.
In 2008, a Nevada hotel employee accused Roethlisberger of raping her in his hotel room after he called her up to fix his television set. The accuser described the incident in such detail that it could only mean one of two things: Either Roethlisberger was guilty, or the accuser was bleeping crazy and looking for some money. Considering the fact that a civil lawsuit was filed but criminal charges weren't, it appeared that the latter case was more likely.
That is until last month, when Roethlisberger was accused of raping a 20−year−old college student in Georgia. Celebrating his 28th birthday, Roethlisberger was apparently bar−hopping in Milledgeville, a relatively small college town, where he met college girls and supposedly bought them drinks. One of those girls alleges that Roethlisberger followed her into a bathroom and proceeded to sexually assault her.
Again, Roethlisberger will not face criminal charges for this incident. Georgia state law has very high standards for evidence to prove rape, and even though the accuser was found with cuts, bruises and vaginal bleeding, her case was not strong enough to merit charges being filed. Further, the accuser told police that she did not want Roethlisberger to be prosecuted because of all the media attention and scrutiny that would befall her — the same reason the lawyer on WEEI claimed that charges were not filed in the alleged third incident.
I'm not saying that Roethlisberger is guilty in any of the above cases; I have no more information on the matter than anybody else. But something's clearly not right here.
If you were a multimillionaire world−class athlete, how would you celebrate your 28th birthday? Maybe a party at a prestigious club in a big city like New York or Miami. Maybe a wild weekend in Las Vegas. But probably not by cruising through college bars in a small town in Georgia.
I don't know what Roethlisberger was looking for that night, but the circumstances of the whole thing certainly seem sketchy. At best, he put himself in a bad situation and wound up embarrassing himself, the Steelers and the NFL.
Roethlisberger recently met with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, as it is being determined whether or not Roethlisberger will suffer disciplinary action. Even though he's not being prosecuted, it seems clear to me that something should be done.
NFL players are suspended all the time under the league's personal conduct policy, but the details are usually a little clearer. Michael Vick was suspended for his dogfighting ring, Pacman Jones for inciting a fight and shootout at a strip club. Santonio Holmes, whom the Steelers recently traded, was suspended for four games for violating the league's drug policy (meaning he either failed or skipped a drug test).
While the circumstances in Roethlisberger's case are not so cut−and−dry, he still needs to suffer a penalty. Forget about the cries of racism that Goodell will hear if he allows Roethlisberger to play a full season — the man clearly cannot conduct himself in a responsible manner. Even if Roethlisberger is innocent, the fact is that he never should have put himself in those situations to begin with, particularly the one in Georgia.
Roethlisberger should suffer consequences for acting so recklessly. Comissioner Goodell, it's up to you to make sure that he does.
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David Heck is a senior majoring in philosophy. He can be reached at David.Heck@tufts.edu.
