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subject: Weighing In On The Roethlisberger Situation [print this page]

I listened to sports radio today and all the talk was about Big Ben

Roethlisberger, the quarterback of the Pittsburg Steelers, who in

the words of Country Joe and the Fish, "got himself in a terrible

jam." Big Ben would never be mistaken for a rocket scientist. But in

the NFL, you don't have to be and you can make an incredible amount

of money with "football skills." Football skills don't necessarily

transfer to life skills.

A few years ago, Big Ben almost killed himself on his motorcycle,

riding the city streets like a maniac. He apologized for his

behavior, saying he would behave himself. Then, he won a Super Bowl

and the motorcycle accident became just a memory for most Steelers

fans.

Then, he won another Super Bowl and not too many guys win two. In

the off season, he got into trouble with a woman in Nevada, but no

charges were ever filed. Then, a few weeks back, he got into the

same kind of situation in Georgia. He and his entourage were

partying in a college town and Big Ben ended up in a bathroom, with

a 20 year old college student.

From the reports, a number of strange things happened. His

bodyguards would not allow anyone to go in the bathroom. They tried

to get peoples' cell phones, to delete any pictures. The club's

security tapes disappeared. The story got bigger and bigger, as the

NFL got involved, along with the Rooney family, that owns the

Steelers.

After an investigation, the District Attorney declined to press

charges, but spent a lot of time talking to the media about the

investigation and evidence. Having some pretty good attorneys as

friends, I asked them about this. They were unanimous in their

opinion that the DA was grandstanding for the public. One of them

said, "If he had any credible evidence whatsoever, he could have

brought charges. What he had was a handful of nothing and he wanted

his 15 minutes."

That, however, doesn't mean nothing happened. When something happens

more than once, there is a good chance it isn't coincidence. Now,

reports of other incidents are coming to light. And then, there is a

lot of evidence that Big Ben has a drinking problem, which we all

know is the catalyst for any number of other problems, including the

mess he's currently in.

Should the NFL have suspended him?

If I was Roger Goodell (the Commish), I would have suspended him for

a year, not just six, or maybe four games. But then, Goodell's

record isn't spotless, either. He had a known pedophile (Pete

Townsend) play at halftime for the Super Bowl. How that happened is

beyond me, but Sir Pete wasn't charged in merry old England for his

"research."

It's pretty obvious that some of these folks have wires that aren't

connected and relay stations that certainly are sending out the

wrong messages.

by: Dr.Bill

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