Sexual Assault: NFL Player Ben Roethlisberger Isn't Getting Away With It This Time

EXACTLY!

I was talking to a guy that is good friends with a guy who went to college with Roethlisberger and he said that Ben has always been a creep and everybody kind of knew it.

! ! !

Can we get some sort of F.B.I. file on this guy?

It isn't Pittsburgh's fault. It certainly isn't the fault of the fans. It is the fault of Ben Roethlisberger and the departments that keep dropping the criminal charges.

If he were a regular guy he would be sitting in a jail somewhere.

BlogHer Contributing Editor, SarahSports and Fitness ( http://blogher.org/topic/sports-fitness ) can also be found at
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I agree with you totally, and as I was researching this post I was amazed at how infrequently the word rape was actually written anywhere or spoken in any news clips.

It was almost like nobody wanted to say it.

BlogHer Contributing Editor, SarahSports and Fitness ( http://blogher.org/topic/sports-fitness ) can also be found at
Sarah and the Goon Squad ( http://sarahandthegoonsquad.com/ ),
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Actually, a large number fair citizens of Pittsburgh, my home city, are pissed, to put it nicely. The Post Gazette printed some reactionary letters ( http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10107/1050981-66.st... ) from fans and, really, the first one on the page really gets to the heart of the matter. I will quote it here.

"Then right now? Damnit we should be ashamed. We should be disgusted. At the entitlement; at the priviledge, at the arrogance, at the lack of accountability on display. Yes I know they're football players not choir boys. I get that. But that girl? She could have been somebody's sister, she may one day be someone's mother, and she is damn sure right now somebody's daughter. And given the accounts that have come out? No one should be allowed to treat her that way. I don't care if she's passed out drunk on the floor."
Credit: - Al D. from Washington DC

Of course, there are other letters in that link that say the media is making this a bigger deal than it needs to be. Those are the folks that would say that about any sports related crime and not just if it was about Big Ben and his inability to keep his hands to himself.

Do know that there are far more angry than the link shows (probably to allow all sides to be presented). We're tired of being made to look like fools in Pittsburgh. Tired, tired.

Jenna Hatfield, @FireMom ( http://twitter.com/FireMom ), from Stop, Drop and Blog ( http://stopdropandblog.com ) and The Chronicles of Munchkin Land ( http://thechroniclesofmunchkinland.com )

I lived in Pittsburgh for four years. The citizens of the ‘burgh’ treat Roethlisberger like a God. He can do no wrong. Obviously this went to his head. He thinks he can take privileges because he won two Superbowls. The NFL should make him the example and throw him the hell out of football. This would end any ‘god’ syndrome for future players.

www.thejerseyshort.com ( http://www.thejerseyshort.com )

I still don't understand how the Kobe and the multiple Bill Cosby stories got swept under the rug.

One Friday night, I loaded up my life and headed out... ( http://isledance.blogspot.com )

Hi. I liked your post. I would like to say though, that I feel its important not to call it sex, sexual contact etc, when we mean rape.

"the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback had sex with her in a club after she said no"

We have sex with, not at, so this isn't it.

I think its important to differentiate as this language gets used in media and by lawyers to disprove rape, and to damage the character of victims.

Again, I liked your post, sorry to be negative.

The more I read about Ben Roethlisberger and the more I see him on the news, the angrier I get.

These don't sound like random accusations for money or fame, there are far too many women saying that he tried to force himself on them, and these accusations go back YEARS.

BlogHer Contributing Editor, SarahSports and Fitness ( http://blogher.org/topic/sports-fitness ) can also be found at
Sarah and the Goon Squad ( http://sarahandthegoonsquad.com/ ),
Draft Day ( http://draftdaysuit.com/ )

I'm a Steelers fan. Always have been. Always will be, long after Roethlisberger is just another memory.

That said, I'm SO angry with Ben. In fact, I'm angry with the male sports stars in general as of late. When I'm angry, I write, and so I wrote an Open Letter to Male Sports Stars ( http://stopdropandblog.com/2010/04/15/an-open-lett... ) just last week.

It's not really a punishment for the Steelers if he's suspended. I think the Steelers and Pittsburgh would welcome the suspension. Between Ben and then recently traded Holmes, we've got a really bad mark on the city as a whole right now. Sure, Holmes is gone but he'll be sitting out the first four games, too. Then again, I've rarely seen an athlete come off a suspension with a new lease on life. I'd like to think that a suspension could change these guys but, really, it won't.

@FireMom ( http://twitter.com/FireMom ) from Stop, Drop and Blog ( http://stopdropandblog.com ) and The Chronicles of Munchkin Land ( http://thechroniclesofmunchkinland.com )