*Puts on detective hat*
My general rule is that until someone is charged or exonerated, I don’t give my true feelings on what I believe happened in the case.
Since Ben Roethlisberger will not be charged with sexual assault, let me tell you what I have put together over the last two months as to what really happened in that bathroom.
The first thing you need to know is that Roethlisberger is an idiot. He simply isn’t a very bright individual. The reason he was even in this situation was because of his lack of common sense and judgment.
The second thing you need to know is that alcohol was heavily involved. The accuser was – for lack of a better term – “sloppy drunk.”
From what I can gather, the accuser was so drunk that her account of the incident is fuzzy at best. With that being said, I believe Roethlisberger did something. I cannot tell you the extent of what he did, but he did something that he shouldn’t have done. He did something that she didn’t want to do. How far did it go? Was it criminal? Hard to say, but he isn’t totally innocent in this. Considering his prior history it is a safe assumption that the reason he wasn’t charged had less to do with the police and D.A. believing him as opposed to they just didn’t have enough evidence to prove the case.
Roethlisberger gets off, but I think people shouldn’t ignore that he has a problem. What exactly is that problem? It can be that he is just a very dumb individual on the lower part of the scale, to him being a sexual predator on the higher part of the scale, or somewhere in the middle. The point is that he does have a problem that needs to be addressed and needs to be addressed immediately.
The accuser decided she didn’t want to help the investigation anymore. She hasn’t recanted her story, but says she doesn’t want to be hounded by the media any more.
In laymen’s terms:
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
I would imagine within the upcoming days, or weeks, news will trickle out about the “settlement” the accuser received for keeping her mouth shut.
Once again, by not helping police with the investigation and instead accepting a settlement, this will make it extremely difficult for true victims to come forward without fearing the public will brand them as gold diggers.
While I do believe Roethlisberger did something wrong, the accuser is totally innocent in this. She was underaged, drinking, and willingly went into a bathroom with a NFL Player. Even the D.A. admits that when first questioned, she said that Roethlisberger “did not rape her.”
Even later when she sobered up a bit she claimed Roethlisberger “kind of raped me.”
Sort of like being “kind of pregnant?”
What she really was saying was this:
“I was cool doing some of the stuff, but he wanted to do something I wasn’t cool with.”
Earlier in this article I spoke to how Roethlisberger had to be smarter. Let me speak to every woman in the world by saying you need to be smarter, too.
This isn’t a reality show. This isn’t the “Basketball Wives.” Watch your alcohol intake and realize that every athlete you meet isn’t a “nice guy.”
Now that the legal aspect of the case is over, the question becomes: what should happen to Roethlisberger in the Court of Roger Goodell and the NFL?
To be perfectly clear, the D.A. was very critical of the Roethlisberger and went out of his way not to say that the accuser was lying. He said several times they just didn’t have enough evidence. He never said that he thought Roethlisberger didn’t commit the crime.
To me, without a 100% exoneration, Roethlisberger needs to be suspended and suspended for a long period of time.
This is his second sexual assault accusation and the police admit the he was purchasing drinks for underaged women.
He has a third incident where he almost dies in a motorcycle accident because he was not wearing a helmet and having an expired license.
Roger Goodell has stressed that off the field incidents – regardless of charges – will be dealt with swiftly.
Remember, Pacman Jones has never spent a day in jail for anything he has been “accused” of and was suspended for an entire year.
Considering what Roethlisberger has been accused of, the information from the DA, and Goodell’s prior history, anything less than an eight-game suspension will be considered light in my opinion.
My personal thought is that no one should be suspended unless they are charged and convicted, but my personal opinion isn’t NFL policy and the history shows Roethlisberger needs to be dealt with harshly – or do we have to wait for a 3rd accusation?
In the end the case went the way I thought it would. Rape cases are incredibly hard to prove, especially when the person you are accusing is famous and waving his checkbook in your face to make it go away.
Now we will see if Roger Goodell puts his money where his mouth is.