Report: Ben Roethlisberger To Be Suspended By Roger Goodell This Week
From the beginning I thought the suspension for Roethlisberger would be 1-2 games (way too light in my opinion), but I have been told by various sources that events in the last week may have pushed that suspension to four or more games.
Most damaging to Roethlisberger were the words from the Georgia D.A., the subsequent release of the police report, and two other women claiming that Roethlisberger violated them (both decided not to press charges).
According to Yahoo Sports the decision on Roethlisberger will be coming on this week – here are the details:
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is expected to suspend Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger on Monday or Tuesday as a result of the recent sexual assault investigation in Milledgeville, Ga., multiple sources have indicated to Yahoo! Sports.
While NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said he has been given no timetable for a decision, the question remains whether Goodell will keep the suspension to one or two games or make it four games or longer. It is also unknown whether the Steelers will levy an additional penalty upon Roethlisberger or if a punishment will be factored into the league’s suspension. Over the weekend, two league sources said Goodell was growing angrier by the day as more information from the investigation became public.
I don’t agree with everything that Roger Goodell does in regard to player punishment, but since he has been in charge he has been consistently heavy handed with pretty much every player who has gotten in trouble.
The only player I thought got off “light” was former Jaguars wide receiver Matt Jones who only received a three-game suspension for getting busted cutting up cocaine.
It is extremely important that Goodell comes down hard on Roethlisberger, and the reason goes deeper than appeasing the public.
While the biased mainstream media that have been slurping Roethlisberger for so long considers a 1-2 game suspension fair, very quietly other NFL players are watching this situation very closely.
If it is perceived that Roethlisberger is getting off light because he is a white quarterback, regardless if that is the situation or not, it could be a problem within the NFL. With a very contentious labor negotiation on the horizon, Goodell needs to be very wary of how black players will take it if Roethlisberger gets a “slap on the wrist.”
While I don’t think it is a black and white issue, even I would have to wonder: say that Chris Johnson is in the same situation; would he get just a “couple” of games?
Goodell needs to send a strong message that he doesn’t play favorites and suspend Roethlisberger for eight games; that will reinforce to the league that no one is bigger than the shield.
idk man, Goodell suspending a guy during the NFL's biggest off season week, I can't see that happening. 8 games would work
Who ever wrote this article needs to get their facts straight, isn't that what you learn in journalism 101 these days, Ben was not accused or convicted of nothing. Eight games, get a grip, and if Goodell was a real man, he would tell the football public that, now he leaves each incident open to a sloppy decision making process, where the innocent are subject to prosecution.
8 games would be absurd. 4 is the correct length. He is innocent of any CHARGES, but the guy still violated the league's morality clauses. This isn't the first time Ben ahs caused trouble. Certainly all of these women may be lying, but he is still putting himself into those situations multiple times (See Pacman Jones). He didn't do anything illegal in Goodell's eyes, he is punishing him for continuing to make stupid choices over and over again.
Tommy – you're the one who needs to get his facts straight and get a grip. R-berger WAS accused; he was not indicted because the DA decided that he didn't have enough evidence to successfully prosecute the case, but based on what evidence he had was pretty certain R-berger had done something scuzzy. Further, Goodell has proven time and again that – indicted, convicted, accused, whatever – there will be sanctions to be paid for "being in the wrong place at the wrong time." The message is clear – you as an individual player – making a great deal of money – are a representative of the league; if your actions tarnish the league, you will pay a heavy price. Consider, R-berger's former team-mate, Santonio Holmes, Super Bowl Hero, violated the substance abuse policy and was in the wrong place at the wrong time and got suspended for four games. Even if R-berger's escapades were consensual, it is not the image the NFL/Goodell wants to put forth and they will likely punish him harshly for it. Having sex in a public restroom after giving minors alcohol and causing a big fracas versus toking up – you decide which one the league will tolerate more. Eight games seems pretty harsh, two is looking more and more ludicrous, I can see four and the Rooney's doing something addtional – like making him donate his paycheck for two additional games to a charity of their choice. Let's not forget – the Steelers are also a player in this, and an organization that prides itself on "class" and has no deep commitment to misbehaving players, thus Holmes is shipped out for a Round 5 draft choice; they will likely publically make their displeasure known as well.
No charges, no trial. Not even an arrest. The NFL shouldn't even touch this one. Being accused of a crime isn't enough to punish someone. Race should play no role in this. His actions didn't tarnish the image of the NFL. The NFL's image could really never be tarnished by the actions of 1 individual outside of the NFL. It takes something like a massive steroids scandal to tarnish a sport's image, not 1 stupid player doing naughty things to drunk women. We expect that.
Dude, He's done this every off season for 3 years. It's time the guy learned a lesson. Pacman, and Michael Vick were both given indefinite suspensions before they were convicted of a crime. Goodell has to take action to remain consistent. And he won;t be punishing him for just that. This isn't the image the league wants their star players or their bench players portraying.
"Who ever wrote this article needs to get their facts straight, isn't that what you learn in journalism 101 these days"
Tommy, Robert isn't a journalist. He's a blogger. Don't hold them to the same standards, they are very different creatures… one has a set of established professional best practices and ethics to follow in order to establish and retain credibility, while the other can do and say just about whatever they want to and no-one really gives a damn about their cred. (least of which they themselves) as long as people click on their links.
[...] If you haven’t seen Ben Roethlisberger’s penis yet, you’re in the minority. Apparently, Roger Goodell is either not in the minority, or he is jealous that he hasn’t been deemed worthy of a glance at ‘Lil’ Ben’. Either way, he’s planning to suspend the Steelers QB this week. That sounds like a good idea because clearly Ben won’t get into trouble if he only had more free time to do his own thing. Note: his own thing is showing his penis to people. <blacksportsonline> [...]
kid from oregon got booted for a pansy punch. ben should sit out the
season.
how much smoke must appear before "fire" is shouted. Ben should be suspended by the league and the team should fine him. He is a pig and would screw your 14 year old daughter.
please,all yall need to grow upand understand this.i am a fan of pittsurgh steelers for over 35 years.they need to suspend big ben four games the max and pay a fine. that it no more than that.there is a lot of hater out there that dont like the steelers period.they will love to see big ben to get suspended the whole season or traded,so we can't we superbowl no more for a long time.
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I am a steeler fan and female. Years ago I tended bar and would watch the little chickies through themselves at guys. Why is it the guys have to take the rap. All these women are doing now is jumping on the bandwagon. The whole thing is a bunch of bull to me.
There aren't any winners in situations like this. Everyone loses. Ben loses money, respect, and trust; the team loses their starting QB for a number of weeks (not to mention the trust factor and angst in the locker room); fans get tired of hearing the controversy and hype; and young kids lose the image of a sports hero. Ben needs to understand the importance of his position off the field even more so than his position on the field. Bottom line…? Grow up Ben and look around, there's more important things in this world than you.
i BELIEVE ENOUGH SH IS ENOUGH, LET BEN ROELHLISBERGER SERVED HIS PUNISHMENT & GO ON. YES HE MADE A MISTAKE, HE IS AN ADULT WHO SH HAVE KNOWN BETTER BUT THE WOMEN INVOLVED IS NOT BLAMELESS. AS. WHAT IN THE WORLD WAS SHE & HER FRIENDS DOING AT THIS BAR, THE BAR IS ALSO TO BLAME FOR ALLOWING HER TO STAY IN THE BAR. SHE WAS UNDERAGE & BROKE THE LAW. sHE IS NOT BLAMELESS IN HER ACTIONS. tHEY ALL WERE LOOKING FOR TROUBLE. i tTHEY HAD NO BUSINESS AT BEING IN THAT BA R AT THAT WEE HOUR OF THE MORING.i FIND TOO MANY INCONTANCY IN HER STORY. HER FRIENDS COULD OF DONE MORE JUST BY LEAVING THE BAR.