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.