Roethlisberger and his THIRD Sexual Assault Allegation

[AmishBengalFan]

Rather than bury this in the existing "Roethlisberger... again" thread, I thought I'd kick off a new thread to highlight the latest BRAND NEW allegation.

A Boston attorney has come forward, claiming a [i]third[/i] alleged sexual incident involving Roethlisberger:
Linky: [url]http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/2010/04/13/2010-04-13_steelers_qb_ben_roethlisberger_meets_with_nfl_commissioner_roger_goodell_as_more.html[/url]
[quote][b]Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger meets with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell as more allegations surface[/b]

A day after a Georgia district attorney declined to charge Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger with sexual assault, a Boston attorney came forward to say he had knowledge of another alleged victim with "absolutely identical" allegations. The new allegations, which would mark the third round of sexual-assault allegations leveled against Roethlisberger, came on the same day that Big Ben traveled to New York to meet with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who has the option of suspending Roethlisberger even in the absence of criminal charges.

Attorney Harry Manion called in to a radio show on Boston's sports-radio station WEEI to say that he had investigated allegations against Roethlisberger that arose last year. "Six months ago I was retained by a client of mine, a close friend, to investigate allegations against Ben Roethlisberger in a Las Vegas nightclub that were absolutely identical to this Georgia girl's story," said Manion on the Dennis and Callahan radio show. "My client was a graduate of college, 26 years old, out socially with a bunch of other young women, grabbed from the line, brought up to the VIP suite – the same old story."

A veteran lawyer at the Boston law firm of Cooley Manion Jones, Manion said he explored the woman's case but that the alleged victim did not want to move forward with her allegations. A secretary at Manion's office said that Manion would have no further comment on the situation beyond what he said on the radio program, Dennis and Callahan.

Roethlisberger is involved in litigation with the former employee of a Nevada hotel and casino who sued Roethlisberger last year for what she for what her lawyers say was a sexual assault that occurred in the summer of 2008.

Roethlisberger was accused of a sexual assault last month by a 20-year-old college student who claimed the assault took place in a Milledgeville nightclub while Roethlisberger's bodyguard was standing in a nearby hallway. Fred Bright, the district attorney for the Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit in Milledgeville, announced Monday that he wasn't bringing charges but that "significant questions" remained about the incident. The alleged victim could still file a civil complaint, which might be a more serious consideration for Roethlisberger.

According to Craig Silverman, a Denver trial attorney and former prosecutor who followed the Kobe Bryant sexual assault case closely, a lawyer bringing civil charges against Roethlisberger would have a much easier threshold to reach than a prosecutor, who must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. A plaintiff's lawyer, Silverman says, would only need to convince a jury that evidence demonstrated a preponderance of guilt.

"If you want to use a football game metaphor, in a civil case you only have to win my one point, in a criminal case, you have to score a runaway victory if you are the prosecutors," said Silverman.[/quote]

[sois]

[b][size="7"]Rapistberger FTL![/size][/b]

[Bengals1181]

assault or not, his ass should be nailed to the wall for admitting to having sex in a public place and having an off-duty cop block the door.

[scharm]

This can't be real.

Molesterberger.

[CTBengalsFan]

lol @ the Google ads this thread generates:

[IMG]http://www.be-logic.org/uploaded/10_1271187740.jpg[/IMG]

[Jamie_B]

They wont do anything to him without chargers.

[Bengals1181]

[quote name='Jamie_B' date='13 April 2010 - 03:45 PM' timestamp='1271187955' post='877403']
They wont do anything to him without [b]chargers[/b].


[/quote]



you mean with like phillip rivers? You think he'd be into that?




:1/2 ninja:

[AmishBengalFan]

[img]http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2010/04/14/alg_roethlisberger.jpg[/img]
If I were Carey Davis (Steelers #38) I would be embarassed that Roethlisberger was using my locker for his apology.

[JC]

No one wants to fuck Ben without the mullet and blonde curls.

[AmishBengalFan]

PS - Roethlisberger just lost a local sponsor today.
Linky: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/thehuddle/post/2010/04/owner-drops-ben-roethlisberger-from-big-ben-beef-jerky-endorsement-deal/1?loc=interstitialskip
[quote][b]Owner drops Ben Roethlisberger from 'Big Ben Beef Jerky' endorsement deal[/b]

The owner of a company with an endorsement contract with Ben Roethlisberger said he has ended his relationship with the embattled Steelers QB.

Ty Ballou, a Steelers fan and owner of the PLB Sports in Pittsburgh, told the New York Times that he is discontinuing his contract to make Big Ben Beef Jerky.

Ballou told the paper he was disgusted by the allegations made against Roethlisberger in a Georgia sexual assault case. The local DA announced Monday that no charges would be filed.

Said Ballou: "I can't imagine anyone touching Ben Roethlisberger. Enough is enough. I hope there is a suspension. At some point in time, Ben has got to put himself in the right position and understand what it means to be a celebrity, a quarterback, a Steelers player."

Ballou has worked with many athletes as endorses, and told the Times he's never terminated an agreement before. He enjoys relationships with athletes such as Terrell Owens.

But Roethlisberger's controversy was too much for him. He said: "We've made a lot of money together. I'm leaving a lot on the table by terminating this contract. Even thought there were no criminal charges, there are just enough issues here that it's the best interests of PLB Sports to break ties."[/quote]

For those who are interested, here are Roethlisberger's remaining sponsors:

[u]Nationwide:[/u]
Nike
Dick's Sporting Goods

[u]Regional:[/u]
Cochrane Automotive
Roadside Ribs
Big Ben BBQ Sauce

If you think a company shouldn't sponsor an accused rapist, let them know.

[Jamie_B]

[quote name='Bengals1181' date='13 April 2010 - 03:47 PM' timestamp='1271188039' post='877405']
you mean with like phillip rivers? You think he'd be into that?




:1/2 ninja:
[/quote]


Son of a bitch.

That is funny though.

[CTA513]

The Steelers are going to have to start locking him up so he'll stop getting himself in these situations.

[claptonrocks]

[quote name='Jamie_B' date='13 April 2010 - 03:45 PM' timestamp='1271187955' post='877403']
They wont do anything to him without chargers......


[/quote]

putting the wood to a woman in a PUBLIC restroom with a bodyguard blocking the door isnt what I would term 'proper behavior"

the commish is not going to let him off with a warning this tiime....

motorcycles, women and his penchant for the booze have made him a public relations liability in Goodall's eyes.

time for Ben to sit for awhile ..

[AmishBengalFan]

The over/under on Roethlisberger's suspension appears to be 2 games:

Mark Kriegel at FOXsports.com is calling for a 2-game suspension for Roethlisberger:
Linky: [url]http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/roethlisberger-has-earned-suspension-kriegel-041210[/url]
[quote][b]Roethlisberger has earned punishment[/b]

Early Monday evening, after the world learned he would not be prosecuted for sexual assault, Ben Roethlisberger appeared in front of his locker and issued a statement that made Tiger Woods look like a master of humility and introspection.

He didn’t mention his conduct or his drinking.

He said he was “truly sorry,” but not for what.

He said he wanted to be a leader and a “role model to kids,” but didn’t say how.

And, of course, he didn’t take any questions.

It wasn’t the kind of performance that helps a man reclaim his reputation. Even after a month-plus investigation resulted in no charges, there remain only three reasonable ways to consider Roethlisberger.

One, he’s a bad guy.

Two, he’s a bad guy when drunk.

Three — and this really strains credulity — he’s as dumb as he looks.

Whichever position you take, he still deserves to be suspended. [b]I say two regular-season games. And it would be nice — not to mention useful — to see the Steelers themselves — read: those righteous Rooney heirs — mete out the punishment.[/b] If not, let that responsibility fall, as usual, to the NFL commissioner. [/quote]

Peter King is also calling for [b]at least[/b] 2 games, possibly more:
Linky: [url]http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/peter_king/04/13/mail/index.html?xid=cnnbin&hpt=Sbin[/url]
[quote][b]MMQB Mail: Big Ben deserves at least two-game suspension in 2010[/b]

There's dissatisfaction all over Steeler Nation, about Ben Roethlisberger's serial immaturity, Santonio Holmes' substance abuse and Jeff Reed's off-field antics. Right now, Roethlisberger is the target of most of the anger. I read it on Twitter and in direct e-mails to me and hear it from Steeler fans I've encountered in the past month. It's an epidemic. The good thing, I think, is that Steeler brass feels the same way. Ace beat man Ed Bouchette, in this morning's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, reports that Steelers president Art Rooney II was furious when he watched the Georgia district attorney detail Roethlisberger's sordid night of boozing with underage girls and the furtive dalliance that created the latest firestorm around the Steelers' franchise quarterback.

I'm not sure who's going to suspend Roethlisberger to start his NFL season -- I suspect it will be the Steelers who will sit him for conduct detrimental to the team for a game or two -- but [b]there's no question he needs to be suspended[/b], though he's been formally charged with nothing. Make no mistake -- he's done plenty wrong, even if it's just as the prosecutor detailed Monday: drinking way too much, then [b]plying underage girls with alcohol until one of them was overly intoxicated and he followed her down a dark hall, and bodyguards got in the way[/b], and no one but the two participants is certain what happened next. Whatever it is, it's beyond bad judgment.

The Steelers, rightfully, are ashamed. Roethlisberger over the past nine months has brought that shame on the team himself, twice, and he deserves to pay for it with two games off. Without pay. Or, better yet, with the pay donated to Pittsburgh-area women's shelters.[/quote]

And Jason Canfora (NFL.com) thinks 1-2 games, or more, is inevitable:
Linky: [url]http://blogs.nfl.com/2010/04/13/suspension-seems-likely-for-roethlisberger/[/url]
[quote][b]Suspension seems likely for Roethlisberger[/b]

Having taken the temperature of members of the Steelers’ organization, I am more convinced than ever that Ben Roethlisberger will miss at least a game or two of the 2010 NFL season for his actions this offseason.

Roethlisberger was joined by his agents and lawyer in New York on Tuesday afternoon to meet with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell at league headquarters. Roethlisberger has wounded his reputation in the Pittsburgh community and nationwide, and the events of Monday likely eliminated any doubt about a possible suspension from the league or the team.

At a news conference Monday, the district attorney gave a detailed account of the investigation into what took place between the franchise quarterback and a 20-year-old female student in a small bathroom of a nightclub in a rural Georgia college town. The lurid nature of that encounter, when coupled with a current sexual assault civil suit pending against Roethlisberger in Nevada, and other nightlife behavior that Steelers officials believe could be problematic, has created a situation that both the league and the team seek to avoid again.

When asked if he foresaw a suspension of at least a few games as the outcome of Roethlisberger’s meeting with the commissioner, a team source said, “Definitely. Especially after the (D.A.’s) press conference Monday.”

Roethlisberger’s meeting in New York was scheduled to last roughly three hours — he arrived at league headquarters around 2 p.m. ET — but no decision on discipline is expected for a few weeks. When that decision does come, however, given the stance of the Rooney family and Goodell’s commitment to player conduct, I can’t imagine it not involving a suspension of some sort (it could end up being discipline handed down by the team, not necessarily the league). A component of counseling also could be involved.

[b]As I have reported for several weeks, regardless of Roethlisberger’s legal culpability in any of these cases, should his nighttime or leisure-time decisions result in allegations or situations like this again, many people in the Steelers’ organization believe that would be the end of the quarterback’s tenure with the team, regardless of financial or salary-cap ramifications.[/b][/quote]Emphais on that final paragraph, which in light of today's THIRD allegation is particularly damaging for Roethlisberger.

[scharm]

[quote name='AmishBengalFan' date='13 April 2010 - 03:47 PM' timestamp='1271188055' post='877407']
[img]http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2010/04/14/alg_roethlisberger.jpg[/img]
If I were Carey Davis (Steelers #38) I would be embarassed that Roethlisberger was using my locker for his apology.
[/quote]

I'm not trying to be judgemental but the picture basically says "If you drink alot and I'm around, I'm going to rape you"

Is it even possible to fit more dirt ball in that picture?

[ChicagoBengal]

[quote name='Jamie_B' date='13 April 2010 - 02:45 PM' timestamp='1271187955' post='877403']
They wont do anything to him without chargers.


[/quote]
In your defense, the charger is just Big Ben's version of "the shocker".

[AmishBengalFan]

It's still not too late to go to Facebook and become a Fan Of Not Being Raped By Ben Roethlisberger...
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Not-being-raped-by-Ben-Roethlisberger/351702442630

[img]http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs428.snc3/24679_113667551993148_100000497105764_206215_5860191_n.jpg[/img]

[Bengals1181]

[quote]He said he wanted to be a leader and a “role model to kids,” but didn’t say how. [/quote]


ha, hell no.


I heard the suggestion this morning that he should be suspended with his salary going to charity and that he should be sentenced to community service at the Boys and Girls Club. Who in the hell would let him around kids? Not for anything he'd do to the kids (let's not go there) but for the immoral, sleaziness factor. I wouldn't want a creep like that anywhere around my kids.

[oldschooler]

Posted by [email="montreatman@aol.com"]pdaugherty[/email] April 13th, 2010, 9:41 am


[b]A tip of the TML soap-on-a-rope[/b] to Big Ben. After reading/listening to the accounts of his bathroom encounter, I had to shower twice.

Sorry, but what gives these guys the right? Just because charges weren't filed doesnt mean nothing happened. It means, in this instance, that the prosecution couldnt prove its case because the defendant declined to move forward with the charges. In other words, [b]she just wanted the whole thing to go away.[/b]

Meantime, BR reads a statement containing his version of [b]I'm-determined-to-do-better-and I wanna-be-a-role-mode[/b]l. He ended with "God bless." Shameless.

I love it how ESPN also made sure we knew the woman was "heavily intoxicated." Yeah, so?

I think [b]women who chase jocks like BR are fools.[/b] Especially when they've been drinking enough to impair what good sense they might possess. But [b]that doesnt mean they deserve to be cornered in a tiny restroom[/b] by a 6-foot-5 football star with testosterone issues.

Lots of women decide that prosecuting high profile rape cases is not worth the attendant publicity. Especially when they are [b]portrayed as morally challenged and confronted with a she-wanted-it mentality.[/b] So lots of guys who do lots of bad things are never prosecuted. Whether that describes this case or not, we dont know. What we know is, once might be an aberration; twice in 8 months suggests a pattern. BR is[b] just another entitled athlete who thinks the world should revolve around him. [/b]

We must really love sports, to put up with all the nonsense that surrounds them.

I don't feel better now. Tired of all the BS.






[url="http://cincinnati.com/blogs/daugherty/2010/04/13/the-morning-line-413/"]http://cincinnati.co...rning-line-413/[/url]

[Jamie_B]

[quote name='ChicagoBengal' date='13 April 2010 - 04:18 PM' timestamp='1271189904' post='877429']
In your defense, the charger is just Big Ben's version of "the shocker".
[/quote]

[AmishBengalFan]

[img]http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs408.snc3/24671_10150162829470437_688145436_11708811_7177124_n.jpg[/img]

[CTBengalsFan]

Kirwan and Tim Ryan were trashing him pretty hard today on Sirius NFL Radio, and they're usually big teddy bears about EVERYONE.

[oldschooler]

[size="5"][b]Roethlisberger has earned punishment[/b][/size]

[i] Mark Kriegel is the national columnist for FOXSports.com. He is the author of two New York Times best sellers, Namath: A Biography and Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich, which Sports Illustrated called "the best sports biography of the year." [/i]

Updated Apr 13, 2010 12:28 PM ET



Early Monday evening, after the world learned he would not be prosecuted for sexual assault, Ben Roethlisberger appeared in front of his locker and issued a statement that made Tiger Woods look like a master of humility and introspection.


He didn’t mention his conduct or his drinking.

He said he was “truly sorry,” but not for what.

He said he wanted to be a leader and a “role model to kids,” but didn’t say how.

And, of course, he didn’t take any questions.

It wasn’t the kind of performance that helps a man reclaim his reputation. Even after a month-plus investigation resulted in no charges, there remain only three reasonable ways to consider Roethlisberger.

One, he’s a bad guy.

Two, he’s a bad guy when drunk.

Three — and this really strains credulity — he’s as dumb as he looks.

Whichever position you take, he still deserves to be suspended. I say two regular-season games. And it would be nice — not to mention useful — to see the Steelers themselves — read: those righteous Rooney heirs — mete out the punishment. If not, let that responsibility fall, as usual, to the NFL commissioner.

“We do not prosecute morals,” Fred Bright, district attorney for Georgia’s Ocmulgee judicial district, said Monday afternoon. “We prosecute crimes.”

It’s a good thing, too. But Roger Goodell’s NFL fancies itself much like a kosher hot dog, subject to loftier codes. From the 2009 Personal Conduct Policy:

“It is not enough simply to avoid being found guilty of a crime. … You are held to a higher standard and expected to conduct yourself in a way that is responsible, promotes the values upon which the league is based, and is lawful.

“Persons who fail to live up to this standard of conduct are guilty of conduct detrimental and subject to discipline."


Hence, the DA's decision not to prosecute Ben Roethlisberger for sexual assault isn’t cause for the black and gold to rejoice. There wasn’t much in the DA’s news conference that came as a surprise. No one acquainted with Roethlisberger via Google images would be shocked to find the Steelers’ team MVP with a young woman in what Bright termed the “small, dingy bathroom” of a college bar. The inquiry by local police and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation has produced a narrative that was basically everything you expected.

On the evening of March 4 and into the wee hours of March 5, Roethlisberger was out bar hopping with his entourage. The 20-year-old “victim” — Bright’s word, not mine — was doing with the same with her sorority sisters. The two parties met at various establishments along the way, where the quarterback and the co-ed made small talk.

“Some of a sexual nature,” Bright said.

Finally, at Capital City’s VIP room — not for nothing, but how many VIPs can there be in the metropolis of Milledgeville? — Roethlisberger summoned the sorority girls and “provided shots of alcohol.” Bright’s account fits nicely with an earlier report quoting the two-time Super Bowl winner as saying: “All you bitches, take my shots.”

“Everyone agrees,” Bright said, “that the victim was highly intoxicated.”

Again, I’m shocked.

Next, the prosecutor said, “one of the bodyguards guided the victim down a back hallway. Mr. Roethlisberger followed her down the hallway into a small bathroom.”

She sustained a “superficial laceration and slight bleeding in the genital area.” A test performed at the hospital indicated the presence of male DNA.

That’s not evidence of criminal conduct, or, rather, not nearly enough evidence to prove it. And so there’s no reason not to accept Bright’s representation — what happened in that dingy bathroom cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

However, the same cannot be said for Roethlisberger’s behavior. Under the Personal Conduct Policy, he can be disciplined for “conduct that undermines or puts at risk the integrity and reputation of the NFL, NFL clubs or NFL players.” Roethlisberger, who signed a $102 million contract in 2008, falls squarely in that unfortunate realm.


He’d have been better off in a standard-issue strip joint. Instead, the league has a two-time Super Bowl winner raising hell in a college town. Hustling sorority girls with tequila? And that bodyguard escort to the bathroom? Sorry, but the picture that emerges from all this is that of a sexual bully. All you bitches, take my shots! That’s the face of a franchise talking, and not just any franchise, but pious Art Rooney’s Steelers.

Roethlisberger’s escapades might not rise to the level of criminal conduct, but beyond any reasonable doubt, they injure the integrity and reputation of the NFL and its Pittsburgh franchise. What’s more, they are proof — again, beyond any doubt — of invincible stupidity. Remember, this is a guy who’s already being sued for alleged sexual assault in Nevada.

Over the weekend, the Steelers traded Santonio Holmes to the Jets, a Super Bowl MVP for a fifth-round pick. It was seen as a “statement,” proof Pittsburgh wouldn’t stand for recurring incidents of bad behavior among its players. Holmes, who had a domestic violence charge dropped a few years back, now seems like a recalcitrant pot smoker. His career with the Jets will begin with a mandatory four-game suspension, meaning he’s been caught violating the league’s substance abuse policy three times.

It’s worth noting Roethlisberger’s misdeeds were more widely covered, and therefore, as the league might argue, more injurious to its reputation. So you can’t help but ask: Is Holmes that much worse than Roethlisberger? Or is it just easier to replace a black receiver than a white franchise quarterback?

I’ll concede those aren’t entirely fair questions. But like the league’s conduct policy, they are rooted in perception. By the way, whose misdeeds have received more coverage? Perception is reputation. And reputation is more than a man’s deed. It’s what he has gotten away with.

On Monday afternoon, Steelers President Art Rooney II issued a statement, saying: “During the past few weeks, I have met with Ben on a number of occasions, not only to discuss this incident, but also to discuss his commitment to making sure something like this never happens again.”

A two-game suspension would be a good place to start.




http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/roethlisberger-has-earned-suspension-kriegel-041210

[Le Tigre]

I wouldn't be surprised if there is no suspension. But if there is, St. Roger is probably already rearranging the schedule so that Benny's out games will be against the Chiefs, the Browns, or the Lions. And, of course, both games will be played at Heinz.

NFL's gotta have that Comeback Stealers Year for marketing sales.

[AmishBengalFan]

Even the asswipes in Pittsburgh are getting fed up. Here are some snippets of an online chat with Steeler apologist Ed Bouchette on the Post-Gazette's website:
Linky: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10103/1050080-66.stm

[b]Atlanta Dan[/b]: Ed - With last evening's less than totally contrite and rote locker room statement being the latest example, are your sources telling you that absolutely nobody (ownership, coaches, players, agents/attorneys, any close friends he may have) is getting through to Mr. Roethlisberger that his conduct and attitude are jeopardizing not only his career but all aspects of his life?
[b]Ed Bouchette[/b]: They are hoping he will come to that conclusion, particularly after meeting with Roger Goodell today.

[b]Screenwriter[/b]: Ed, Do players typically have conduct codes outlined in their contracts or only for players with a history of misconduct such as PacMan Jones, Terrell Owens, etc?
[b]Ed Bouchette[/b]: They all have a code of conduct in their contracts, as well as the very public one that is available for all to read by the league.

[b]bda[/b]: Before yesterday, I thought a small discipline should have been taken against Ben, but now, I think it would be best for both ben and the Steelers to go their separate ways, they should get what they can, and try to tke back the organization, everyone knows Ben had a whole lot of power there.
[b]Ed Bouchette[/b]: Yours is one of many similar suggestions I have received in my email box, which has overflowed the past two days. I do not believe the Steelers have reached the point, though, where they want to part ways with their quarterback.

[b]Goldstar[/b]: Ed, Any advice on what to tell my 9 year old about why we are supposed to root for an arrogant predator?
[b]Ed Bouchette[/b]: That is one of the problems when you have these things, trying to explain it to the kids. It is one reason the Steelers are taking this so seriously. You might start by telling them athletes should not be their role models or "heroes,'' as we often throw that word around willy-nilly to describe them. They are athletes playing games and many of them have human failings.

[b]JJtheSteelersfan[/b]: Ed, has this been the worst offseason for the Steelers since you been covering them?
[b]Ed Bouchette[/b]: Someone asked me that on Monday too while we were in the press room. Ben's motorcycle accident ranked right up there too.

[b]midas1212[/b]: You live in the Pittsburgh are, I'm from Altoona. Are the fans in the burgh as disgusted with this as many around here?
[b]Ed Bouchette[/b]: From the reaction I've gotten, yes.

[b]Dave In Pgh[/b]: Ed- in your opinion, why didn't Ben present himself in a better environment (behind a podium, in a suit, more contrite, etc.) last night?
[b]Ed Bouchette[/b]: He was behind a podium in the Steelers locker room with about 50 members of the media gathered around behind a roped-off area. I cannot tell you about his choice of clothes, although I thought he wore a nice Nike shirt and slacks and a pair of black loafers.