Why Are We Talking About Tiger Woods But Not Ben Roethlisberger?
In one of two handwritten police statements, the woman recalled that she told Roethlisberger, “No, this is not OK, and he then had sex with me. He said it was OK. He then left without saying anything.” After the woman reconnected with friends, they left the club and “went to the first police car we saw,” according to one statement.
The alleged victim, in a second statement, told investigators that she met Roethlisberger at The Velvet Elvis, a Milledgeville bar where the athlete called her and her friends “a tease.” Later, at Capital City, the football star’s bodyguards “told my friends they couldn’t pass through to get to me,” she recalled. A Milledgeville Police Department incident report indicates that the woman, whose name was redacted from investigative reports, initially told a cop that she was “sexually assaulted or sexually manipulated” by Roethlisberger.
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One witness, Ann Marie Lubatti, told investigators that she saw one of Roethlisberger’s bodyguards guide the alleged victim to a side door. Lubatti said that she immediately approached another bodyguard and said, “This isn’t right. My friend is back there with Ben. She needs to come back right now.” Lubatti, who described Roethlisberger as “noticeably intoxicated,” said she was rebuffed by the bodyguard, who remarked, “I don’t know what you are talking about.”
Apparently the policeman who took the victim’s initial statement has now resigned. He made insulting remarks about the victim and posed for pictures with Roethlisberger. It’s now being reported that Roethlisberger will be benched for 2-4 games by the NFL. Is that all the punishment he’ll ever see? This is actually the second time that Roethlisberger has been accused of rape.
Tiger Woods was an arrogant, entitled prick who thought he could do anything he wanted without paying the consequences. Roethlisberger is the same – he saw something he wanted and he took it. Her feelings weren’t important. Now we’re going to see the victim smeared and Roethlisberger defended by too many people – all because he’s good at throwing a football.
Tags: Ben Roethlisberger, Rape, sports
I don’t understand why Ben Roethlisberger was not charged with rape.
The answers are in the police report itself – there isn’t enough evidence. Prosecutors don’t bring cases they can’t win. They couldn’t find one cell of Roethlisberger’s DNA on her, or any witnesses, so it is a “he said, she said” until something else turns up.
There’s a world of difference between a cad who can’t keep it in his pants with willing women and one who assaults them. Anyone rich or famous enough is much more likely to have this happen than you or I but twice? I’m starting to smell smoke here. I’d like to give him the benefit of the doubt but what I see is a guy who’s been told he’s wonderful his whole life and that if he has a problem someone else will clean it up. Add in money, tremendous physical strength and a healthy dose of entitlement and you’ve got a problem. The victim here didn’t help herself by wearing the name tag. That doesn’t make her any less of a victim but that just wasn’t smart. I wish she fought him. Scratched him. Maybe that would’ve made people stand up and take notice.
She has witnesses – her friends and I’d bet the bodyguards could be made to testify as well. That’s one thing that bothers me, his bodyguards wouldn’t let her friend come and get her. Right after it happened she said “he raped me.” This is not someone coming forward later, she reported it right then. The policeman didn’t take her very seriously so who knows what physical evidence was lost. Roethlisberger is not denying he was with her, he just denies it was rape.
It doesn’t matter what kind of nametag she had on or how many drinks she had bought for her. She said no, she tried to get away and he followed her into the bathroom while his guards kept her friends away.
Fine if he isn’t charged w/ rape–but isn’t there some other charge–that meets a criteria? Especially w/ girlfriends trying to get to her, and being blocked. Just great, another Mike Tyson in training. So now it’s men bring bodyguards, and the women have to also?
Joanne, I think the DA’s office is still looking at the case. The victim apparently asked them to drop the rape charge because she didn’t want to go through the media circus even more than she’s been subject to.
The difference between Tiger and Ben is that Tiger was having sex with women who apparently were willing participants. He violated the trust of his relationship with his wife, but that is pretty much it. Ben had sex with people that either were unwilling (as this story seems to indicate) or have had second thoughts in retrospect (although this perspective seems less unlikely every day).
In short, the Roethlisberger incident is potentially criminal, whereas the Woods story is only about morality. I wonder what the reporting would look like if their respective races were switched.
Exactly, lg.
Didn’t Mike Vick get suspended for 4 games after prison resulting from a crime against a dog? Ben appears to have attacked a human female against her will, if the new NFL rules for discipline does not need a court ruling to issue discipline…then I wonder how Commissioner Goodell values a woman’s body compared to a dog?
Disclaimer: My belief that violating a woman is worse than killing dogs in no way should be taken to mean that I do not value dogs. I love dogs and abhor what Vick did to them…I just find these cases (Ben v. Mike) a curious juxtaposition about what we value as a society….
I await the commissioner’s decision….
I’m not saying this is right, but Vick served time for a felony, and Roethlisberger has not even been charged with a crime. There are many out there who believe the NFL has no right suspending a person who has not done anything wrong in the eyes of the law. The truth is that the NFL is a private business and the CEO, commissioner Roger Goodell, is sick of the black eyes from players’ indiscretions and doesn’t need to wait for legal action.
The NFL is lucky Ben doesn’t sue them, considering he has not been charged with a crime.
Mothers, don’t let your daughters grow up to be involved with sport’s stars.
I can only imagine what would have happened to him if he was a black athlete and the story was the same. Would NOT have been pretty given the location of the alleged crime.
Oh, Em, Gee! What is with all the race talk? Why do we always go back to that? Don’t assume anything would be different because you just don’t know for sure.
The reason no charges have been filed *yet* is because there is no evidence that she was raped. You can’t charge him with rape unless you have evidence to do so. She most likely regretted the decision to have sex in a public bathroom iwth “Big Ben” after the deed was done. Maybe Ben’s not so big afterall. This sentence explains it all: “He then left without saying anything.” She probably was hurt and embarrassed because she thought he liked her for more than just sex.
If evidence proves otherwise then he should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law but not until.
This took place in the deep south. It is naive to say that things wouldn’t be different if a black athlete allegedly raped a white woman in a small town in the South. The situation would then be “guilty until proven innocent” instead of the opposite. I’m not making comparisons to Tiger, as that was a wholly different situation.
Aw c’mom Pandora, I can’t imagine Martina and Billie Jean ever behaving this way:).
Interesting comparison.
For some “interesting” reason, the viewing public seems to think that Tiger “affirmatively” misrepresented himself as some squeaky clean, goody two shoes, and profited from it financially. Apparently Ben never represented himself as such, only that he was a professional athlete.
Is that fair? Does the fact that Tiger was married justify the differences in treatment of the two?
Check out sports-talk radio: Tiger is OUT. Big Ben is top of the list.
Three reasons.
1) Public image — the Tiger brand has been squeaky-clean, while Big Ben’s hasn’t.
2) Relative prominence — let’s be honest, Tiger outstrips Big Ben.
3) Relative salaciousness — had the mistresses not scrambled like roaches when the light is turned on, the Tiger scandal would have died down quickly. If Big Ben’s accusers went public and appeared on all the television shows, the matter would become much more notorious.
All of you forgot the Kobe Bryant story. He was married and forceful too.
Amping up the emotionalism and standing up taller on the women’s rights soapbox is fine but does not shed any light on guilt or innocence. Nancy Grace was ready to execute the entire Duke lacrosse team and anybody who looked like them. Don’t be Nancy Grace.
Roethlisberger is getting hammered nonstop on ESPN and such. There is no doubt that the NFL is about to bring the hammer down, especially since the QB has run afoul of the league’s personal conduct policy in the past.
Pittsburgh fans, who love their Steelers, have basically en masse turned against this slimeball.
Let’s not forget that, post-Michael Jordan, Woods has become the world’s most recognized athlete, so the over-the-top response is/was commensurate with his status.
But Roethlisberger is hardly getting a free pass. Even team ownership has basically made clear that, if they could, they’d get rid of his sorry ass.
BTW, just because I can’t resist reminding everyone, Roethlisberger is a God Squadder who used his Super Bowl victories as a forum to testify for Jesus. I think you can see how his ‘recovery’ is gonna go down…
I’m sure Roethlisberger is lawyered up too, The NFL better be standing on firm legal ground and be careful what punishment they levy for “personal conduct.” Duke had to pay out an undisclosed settlement to three of its lacrosse players.