Big Ben in Big Trouble

I have to admit, I was initially very worried about today’s column. Without The Bachelor to make fun of and dissect, was there enough going on the world of sports to write an interesting column?

My fears were assuaged once I found out that Ben Roethlisberger, quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers, never got the memo that ‘No means No’. For those of you not up to speed on the trials and tribulations of Big Ben, allow me to summarize:

Ben is currently being sued by a woman who claims he raped her in Lake Tahoe in 2008. Apparently, she worked at a resort in guest services, Ben invited her up to his room and then, according to the woman, raped her.

Some of you may be wondering why Roethlisberger is only being sued for the alleged rape and not facing criminal charges; I believe there was not enough evidence to file a conviction.

In this recent case, a 20 year old college coed accused Big Ben of sexually assaulting her in a Georgia nightclub, a charge which Roethlisberger vehemently denies. As we found with the Eric Tillman story, there are many definitions of sexual assault (Tillman was charged after grabbing a teenage girl’s clothed hips).

So, we don’t know exactly what Big Ben did to constitute the sexual assault. Interestingly, the police force in charge of the investigation said they have yet to take a DNA sample from Roethlisberger, but probably will.

Now, I have some questions.

I assume that the request for DNA means it is thought that Benny made a romance explosion somewhere near the vicinity of the supposed victim. How did said explosion take place inside the bar? For this to happen, that means that Roethlisberger’s Big Ben must have been out and ready for action.

No one else saw that? In a crowded nightclub? I could see if the sexual assault was just a question of Ben grabbing either the woman’s T or A, but for a specimen of Big Ben’s seed to be requested adds another layer entirely to this sordid affair.

There are usually two schools of thought when it comes to such accusations against high profile athletes and celebrities:

1. These guys are just assholes who think the rules don’t apply to them and they deserve any woman they want, regardless if she’s interested or not.

2. The women are nothing more than groupies looking to extort money from professional athletes. They hop into bed with these guys at the first sign of cash or fame and make up wild accusations when the guy in question wants nothing to do with them afterward.

Personally, I think it’s a mix between the two. Look at Big Ben. In his first case, the woman went to visit Roethlisberger in his suite to see if “he needed anything.” Seriously? We’re expected to believe this woman went up to Ben’s room with pure intentions?

If it was indeed rape, wouldn’t Roethlisberger be in jail right now? My feeling is that the sex, or whatever took place, was consensual and this woman decided to make up a story.

There’s a very good chance that this new case is the exact same scenario. The coed is looking for money or notoriety, so she makes up some untrue story about Big Ben.

The problem is that the stories are not mutually exclusive and the common thread is Ben Roethlisberger. One story, the media and public can dismiss it as nonsense. Two stories and then people start asking questions.

Typically, when there’s smoke, there’s fire.

It’s too much of a coincidence that Ben is not at fault both times. Something is definitely amiss. Maybe all Roethlisberger is at fault for is bad judgement. Or maybe he needs to realize that just because he plays in the NFL does not mean that every woman he meets can be his sexual plaything.