Over the last several weeks it has been nearly impossible to pick up a newspaper or turn on the television news without hearing the name of Ben Roethlisberger.   Most of the reports have speculated on one aspect or another of  “Big Ben’s” latest sexual assault accusation.  Although the high-profile investigation of Ben’s behavior has been endlessly discussed, the inner workings of the investigation have only now been made public.  Based on the documents made available, it is no wonder that the case was closed by the Milledgeville authorities.

The case turned out to be so shaky  (i.e. no DNA, no video evidence, and no eyewitnesses), and the drunken recollections of the accused woman so vague that when investigators from the District Attorney’s Office tried to set up an interview, the woman and her family said they did not want to go forward with the case.  Like so many other cases of this nature, it all boiled down to “he said-she said”, combined with the alleged victim’s reluctance to re-live the entire incident on the witness stand in the presence of family, friends,  and two hundred million curious onlookers.

As an ardent Pittsburgh Steelers fan, I can tell you I am relieved that the case against Big Ben has been dropped.  There is no way that anybody but Ben, and maybe the accusing woman, will ever know the truth of the matter concerning whether a crime really occurred.   All we will ever really know is that Ben has been “sowing the wild oats” of his youth for quite some time now, and obviously enjoying it to the maximum.  After all, he’s young, single, famous and worth $100 million, or so.  This is not a crime.  However, there does come a time when the recklessness of youthful behavior  must be put aside, especially when it leads time and again to an attitude of entitlement, and a feeling of invulnerability to the laws that govern us all.   It is a good thing that the NFL and the Steeler management has taken Ben to the proverbial “woodshed”, and altogether proper that Ben receive a short suspension from playing football.  A clear warning shot has been fired across the bow of the SS Roethlisberger.

The Pittsburgh Steeler fans are lucky to have the services of  a highly talented quarterback such as Ben Roethlisberger.  He may have a certain air of arrogance about him, he may eschew interviews with the press, and he may be reluctant to sign autographs, but he sure can pass and run the football like very few others on the planet Earth.  No matter what he does off the field, the Pittsburgh Steeler fans should fully embrace him for what he does on the field.  Fortunately for Ben, peoples’ attention is easily diverted, and it won’t be long before another celebrity athlete is in the limelight.  When football season rolls around again, I will be cheering loudly for the newly minted 2010-/2011 team, and thanking the “football gods” that Big Ben still plays the game for us.

Rich

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Big Ben Roethlisberger has become our hometown hero as one of the best Quarterbacks in football. He helped the Steelers win games when it was so close, they may not have had that win in their column. We have held him up high as he himself raised the bar in football and raised the Lombardi Trophy over our city.  Pittsburgh loves its heroes and Ben has been one who helped a city which is re-inventing itself, to promote that positive image. We stand by our own, even when many others give up. Now, however, he has once again brought questions about his character and may have lowered the bar in his personal lifestyle.

In 2006 he nearly lost his life due to not wearing a helmet while riding and crashing his motorcycle. We chalked it up to his youth and rallied for his recovery. Then a hostess in Nevada accused Ben of sexually assaulting her. She had failed to file a police report and Ben denied the accusations. They settled out of court and many chalked this one up to a wanton woman wanting money from a Super (and rich) hero. The latest of Ben’s escapades, however,  has us shaking our heads, talking in coffee shops and wondering whether Big Ben has been off-sides in personal life, thereby casting aspersions not only on himself, but on football, the Rooneys and this city of Pittsburgh.

As a woman I ask myself why a woman would go to the police and file a report of sexual assault, when we know that in courts, many women are re-victimized as every aspect of their personal life is examined and dissected in the search for her as being complicit. It is a humiliating process for women, and one does not take this step lightly. The twenty year old college student who happened to be in the same bar in Milledgeville, Georgia last week as Ben Roethlisberger, has taken the steps of filing a complaint of sexual assault against him with the police, hiring an attorney and thereby subjecting herself to scrutiny which will be denigrating and up-heaving. Ben has hired one of the top attorneys in Atlanta. Another high-profile case has begun, and this time it is not Tiger Woods or one of the Washington politicians. It is Big Ben, hometown hero.

The investigation continues and Ben is innocent until proven guilty. That is the law. What the law does not cover is that this 28 year old man should have better judgment. Whether he likes it or not, with the victories come the spoils and that should not include rotten behavior which denotes lack of character.  Certainly he is no newcomer to fame. Whether on the field or off the field, he has a responsibility to conduct himself properly. He may be innocent. She may be seeking money. But this time, this time, Ben has us all wondering whether he deserves the status he has attained.

—cher