At best, Pig Ben's image is shot

[hawaiiansteel]

[img]http://steelershotline.com/pigben.jpg/[img]


At best, Big Ben's image is shot

Mark Kriegel is the national columnist for FOXSports.com
Updated Mar 9, 2010


Eighty-eight yards from the end zone, with two and a half minutes remaining in Super Bowl XLIII, Ben Roethlisberger led the Steelers on one of the great, game-winning drives in football history.

Of course, he had more than a little help from his receiver, Santonio Holmes, who accounted, quite acrobatically, for 73 of those yards. But in a larger sense, the game conferred a special -- potentially immortal -- status on a quarterback who had grown up idolizing John Elway. If Roethlisberger, who wears No. 7 in Elway's honor, was big, occasionally reckless, prone to both improvisational magnificence and mishaps, he was also, undoubtedly, a winner.

It's worth noting that Elway didn't win a Super Bowl until his fourth try, when he was 36. Roethlisberger, on the other hand, was 23 when he won his first, the youngest starting quarterback to win one. By 27, he added a game-winning drive to his Super Bowl resume.

But now, just a week removed from his 28th birthday, you are again reminded that all the winning bestows no special status beyond the white lines. The ability to maintain composure in those final, frantic seconds of a ballgame is, unfortunately, no harbinger of one's dignity as a man. With a civil lawsuit for sexual assault already pending, Roethlisberger finds himself the subject of a criminal investigation for the same alleged offense.

And the best thing you can say here is that Big Ben's a big dope, a jackass who has jeopardized his precious beef-jerky endorsement.

Next best? His conduct deserves the strictest scrutiny under commissioner Goodell's "zero-tolerance" policy.

But there's another possible outcome: indictment. Criminal charges might finally settle the debate as to whether white quarterbacks and black quarterbacks are held to different standards by the press and the public. (Hey, if there was evidence to believe Michael Vick was a thug -- even before the dog-fighting charges -- there's enough to consider Roethlisberger a lout).

Then again, it won't get to that point, at least not according to the assurances issued Monday by his lawyer, the inestimable Ed Garland. "No sexual assault occurred," said Garland. " . . . The truth of the events should cause this investigation to end without a criminal charge."

The NFL has been very good to Garland. His clients have included Ray Lewis (whose murder charge was busted down to a misdemeanor after he ratted out his friends), Jamal Lewis (who did a mere four months for his role in a major-weight federal drug case), and Pacman Jones (who received a suspended sentence and 200 hours of community service after being charged with two felonies for a strip-club altercation that left a man paralyzed).

That's good news for Roethlisberger, the defendant. But what of the Super Bowl hero?

I think that guy's done. Again, let's take the best-case scenario. I'm not saying Roethlisberger is a rapist. I just know that, at some level, he suffers from the same malady that affected Garland's other clients: a star ballplayer's sense of entitlement.

To this point, the most damning testimony to Roethlisberger's image has come from Amber Hanley, a 21-year-old student at Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville, Ga. She had the privilege of meeting him in the VIP area of Capital City, a local club, last Thursday night.

From the AP: "She said she asked the quarterback to take a photo with her friend, who was a fan, but he seemed disappointed that's all she wanted. Hanley said she rolled her eyes, and Roethlisberger called her an expletive and walked away. Later, Roethlisberger was aggressively hitting on another girl, Hanley said."

Doesn't take much to imagine what that expletive was. The story has a ring of truth, no?

Later still, a 20-year-old sophomore claimed she was assaulted by Roethlisberger, who had been to at least one other bar that night, in a bathroom at the club.

Again, as it's not my job to indict the guy, I'll assume the very best. So here's a guy who has been a full-blown celebrity for at least five years. The period of his fame coincides with the age of cell-phone cameras and the like.

But it seems to serve no warning. In fact, by now you may be acquainted with the candid shot of Roethlisberger with a T-shirt that reads: "DRINK LIKE A CHAMPION." The hottie next to him is smiling, but Big Ben can barely open his eyes. His is the unmistakable look of a slob.

Two Super Bowl rings. A $102 million contract. And he's still doing shots with college kids. Way to go, champ.

[hawaiiansteel]

sorry, still haven't figured out how to post a pic without sending it as an attachment:

[Lebsteel]

Pig Ben, sadly it's kind of funny and appropriate. Living here in Bungal land....my Bungal friends are loving it! I bet his family in Findlay is really loving the exposure Ben is giving them now. Hopefully it will end soon and we can worry about free agent signings and the draft again, not whether or not our franchise QB will be suspended or jailed.

[Shawn]

I'm still unsure why people are so quick to believe these chicks are being honest. I'm of the belief that there are many people who have zero idea of the concept of truth. They can't seperate truth from fiction. They lie, slander and libel without remorse. They do not care who they hurt with their words.

With all of that said, I'm open to the fact that Ben might be a pig. But, that doesn't make him a criminal. And to live in a day where a man can't go into a bar and hit on a woman without getting sued is pretty sad. I really don't care if Ben's a pig. My concern is whether he can play ball. And ball he plays well.

[SteelAbility]

I'm still unsure why people are so quick to believe these chicks are being honest. I'm of the belief that there are many people who have zero idea of the concept of truth. They can't seperate truth from fiction. They lie, slander and libel without remorse. They do not care who they hurt with their words.

With all of that said, I'm open to the fact that Ben might be a pig. But, that doesn't make him a criminal. And to live in a day where a man can't go into a bar and hit on a woman without getting sued is pretty sad. I really don't care if Ben's a pig. My concern is whether he can play ball. And ball he plays well.

Yes, but it can make him UNBEARABLE.

Let's say Ben is a pig. Further let's say he's in Milledgeville regularly being a pig and humiliating girls (say verbally and possibly humiliating their boyfriends, especially given his entourage of beefy males to back him up). Don't you think that might eventually p*ss a person off to the point where they are willing to lie to get this monkey off their back? Some of these people might have only one night where they can go out and have fun at their favorite place. Now it's pissed all over.

[Dee Dub]

I'm still unsure why people are so quick to believe these chicks are being honest. I'm of the belief that there are many people who have zero idea of the concept of truth. They can't seperate truth from fiction. They lie, slander and libel without remorse. They do not care who they hurt with their words.

With all of that said, I'm open to the fact that Ben might be a pig. But, that doesn't make him a criminal. And to live in a day where a man can't go into a bar and hit on a woman without getting sued is pretty sad. I really don't care if Ben's a pig. My concern is whether he can play ball. And ball he plays well.

Shawn do you have a duaghter? If you do or if you had one would you say the same thing?
Would you feel the same way? And how many more of these for Ben would it take to think maybe there is a problem here?? 2 more? 3 more?

[RussBII]

I'm still unsure why people are so quick to believe these chicks are being honest. I'm of the belief that there are many people who have zero idea of the concept of truth. They can't seperate truth from fiction. They lie, slander and libel without remorse. They do not care who they hurt with their words.

With all of that said, I'm open to the fact that Ben might be a pig. But, that doesn't make him a criminal. And to live in a day where a man can't go into a bar and hit on a woman without getting sued is pretty sad. I really don't care if Ben's a pig. My concern is whether he can play ball. And ball he plays well.

Shawn do you have a duaghter? If you do or if you had one would you say the same thing?
Would you feel the same way? And how many more of these for Ben would it take to think maybe there is a problem here?? 2 more? 3 more?

I'm still dubious of his guilt. Nothing's been proven, right? I don't know if i can say the same about him being a giant wang in public. I always sorta suspected that the stories of him being a big ole entitled dingus were true... It's tough not to let this current incident sway me further.

Regardless, if he's innocent, he stays and plays. And i'll be happy to have him as a QB despite all the "rapistburger" crap I'll get from everyone else. If he's guilty... well then things get a little less clear...

[snarky]

I think it would be useful to differentiate between believing the accuser and taking her allegations seriously.

She should not be a automatically believed but her accusations should be taken seriously. And as has been brought up by a number of users, nobody on this forum has sufficient info to know what happened.

There have been some pretty ugly things said on the forum today about this woman. I have seen her called a skank. I've seen it suggested that she is doing this for the money etc. But nobody knows anything at this point. Unfortunately, Ben has put himself in a he-said, she-said situation. As I've said before, it's his life to mess up as he pleases. But just because he has brought us a few enjoyable moments watching football...well I fail to see why that merits people teeing off on a twenty year-old woman who claims she has been assaulted

On a side note, is there any way to confine all this to a single thread or move it to a sub-forum. Just a thought.

[hawaiiansteel]

Roethlisberger investigation keeps moving

Posted by Mike Florio on March 10, 2010


The details continue to emerge in the Ben Roethlisberger sexual assault case, and in lieu of doing a post every time a new development occurs, we'll simply post an update once per day or two or whenever we think of it.

Our friends at TMZ report that police in Milledgeville have seized security camera footage from the nightclub where the sexual assault allegedly occurred.

Per the report, multiple cameras were placed in several locations throughout the club. Roethlisberger supposedly can be identified in some of the footage.

Meanwhile, TMZ also reports that some comments posted on Facebook and Twitter by the accuser's sorority sisters have been removed, at the direct instruction of the sorority to which the women belong. We'd heard, admittedly second hand, that some of the messages might have actually indicated that Roethlisberger didn't do what he allegedly did.

Finally, the second set of sexual assault allegations has created a critical mass of sorts regarding the perception that Roethlisberger is a jerk. Talk radio in Pittsburgh has been flooded with accounts of boorish behavior by Big Ben, and Colin Cowherd of ESPN Radio pointed out during his Tuesday show that there are many in the media who have stories to share about Roethlisberger being a butthole.

"Difficult, ego, likes to be a big fish in a small pond, treats people poorly," Cowherd said of the things he has heard from folks in the business about Ben Roethlisberger. "It's been eye-opening to me. Roethlisberger's made some enemies."

We've heard several of the same stories from media types we trust, making it hard to feel badly about any consequences that such behavior might trigger, regardless of whether a crime technically was or was not committed.

[Shawn]

I'm still unsure why people are so quick to believe these chicks are being honest. I'm of the belief that there are many people who have zero idea of the concept of truth. They can't seperate truth from fiction. They lie, slander and libel without remorse. They do not care who they hurt with their words.

With all of that said, I'm open to the fact that Ben might be a pig. But, that doesn't make him a criminal. And to live in a day where a man can't go into a bar and hit on a woman without getting sued is pretty sad. I really don't care if Ben's a pig. My concern is whether he can play ball. And ball he plays well.

Shawn do you have a duaghter? If you do or if you had one would you say the same thing?
Would you feel the same way? And how many more of these for Ben would it take to think maybe there is a problem here?? 2 more? 3 more?


I have two daughters...so yes I would say the same thing. If my underage daughter is in a club underage drinking that will be an issue. If my daughters put themselves in bad situations they will need to deal with bad results. If a man hits on them and they are not interested a simple no should suffice. I would be highly disappointed if they sued over something like that. I would also be very upset if they were engaging in consensual activities in a public bathroom. In that case, again I would not want them to sue for their own doing. Now if they were forced...they wouldn't have to sue because I have a shovel and a shotgun. If Ben forced himself on this girl...I will not only not support him but I will be first on the cut Ben petition.

And D it will only take one with some evidence for me to write the man off. Where was the evidence in the first case? If there wasn't any...why are we bringing it up? If there is sufficient evidence to convict Ben of a crime then I won't support him any longer. Until then...I'm rooting for him.

[BATMAN]

You might as well spell Ben M U D. The dudes name is mud right now innocent or not. Ben is going to be mud for a darn long time and especially if he is found guilty.

I remember a bunch of us had our cars at a car cruise and one of the single guys met a girl during the cruise and took her home that night. To this day, the girls/wives loath him because they think he's a pig. I on the other hand kind of missed being single at that time but non the less, Ben is going to have a bad reputation for a long time. I only hope the Rooney's can wait it out and allow him to stay on the team.

[hawaiiansteel]

You might as well spell Ben M U D. The dudes name is mud right now innocent or not. Ben is going to be mud for a darn long time and especially if he is found guilty.

I remember a bunch of us had our cars at a car cruise and one of the single guys met a girl during the cruise and took her home that night. To this day, the girls/wives loath him because they think he's a pig. I on the other hand kind of missed being single at that time but non the less, Ben is going to have a bad reputation for a long time. I only hope the Rooney's can wait it out and allow him to stay on the team.


i believe that Ben will be found innocent of all charges and that the Rooneys will let this all play out before making any rash decisions.

like Shawn, i'm rooting for Ben until proven to me otherwise.

what Ben is guilty of is being very, very naive when it comes to women...but that does not make him a criminal.

[Shawn]

You might as well spell Ben M U D. The dudes name is mud right now innocent or not. Ben is going to be mud for a darn long time and especially if he is found guilty.

I remember a bunch of us had our cars at a car cruise and one of the single guys met a girl during the cruise and took her home that night. To this day, the girls/wives loath him because they think he's a pig. I on the other hand kind of missed being single at that time but non the less, Ben is going to have a bad reputation for a long time. I only hope the Rooney's can wait it out and allow him to stay on the team.


i believe that Ben will be found innocent of all charges and that the Rooneys will let this all play out before making any rash decisions.

like Shawn, i'm rooting for Ben until proven to me otherwise.

what Ben is guilty of is being very, very naive when it comes to women...but that does not make him a criminal.

I agree.

[feltdizz]

You might as well spell Ben M U D. The dudes name is mud right now innocent or not. Ben is going to be mud for a darn long time and especially if he is found guilty.

I remember a bunch of us had our cars at a car cruise and one of the single guys met a girl during the cruise and took her home that night. To this day, the girls/wives loath him because they think he's a pig. I on the other hand kind of missed being single at that time but non the less, Ben is going to have a bad reputation for a long time. I only hope the Rooney's can wait it out and allow him to stay on the team.


i believe that Ben will be found innocent of all charges and that the Rooneys will let this all play out before making any rash decisions.

like Shawn, i'm rooting for Ben until proven to me otherwise.

what Ben is guilty of is being very, very naive when it comes to women...but that does not make him a criminal.

I agree.

being naive has him 50/50 on a second accusation of sexual assault.

I want Ben to be innocent but dude is on his "second go round" :wft

In a public bathroom too? :wft

[papillon]

I'm still unsure why people are so quick to believe these chicks are being honest. I'm of the belief that there are many people who have zero idea of the concept of truth. They can't seperate truth from fiction. They lie, slander and libel without remorse. They do not care who they hurt with their words.

With all of that said, I'm open to the fact that Ben might be a pig. But, that doesn't make him a criminal. And to live in a day where a man can't go into a bar and hit on a woman without getting sued is pretty sad. I really don't care if Ben's a pig. My concern is whether he can play ball. And ball he plays well.

Shawn do you have a duaghter? If you do or if you had one would you say the same thing?
Would you feel the same way? And how many more of these for Ben would it take to think maybe there is a problem here?? 2 more? 3 more?


I have two daughters...so yes I would say the same thing. If my underage daughter is in a club underage drinking that will be an issue. If my daughters put themselves in bad situations they will need to deal with bad results. If a man hits on them and they are not interested a simple no should suffice. I would be highly disappointed if they sued over something like that. I would also be very upset if they were engaging in consensual activities in a public bathroom. In that case, again I would not want them to sue for their own doing. Now if they were forced...they wouldn't have to sue because I have a shovel and a shotgun. If Ben forced himself on this girl...I will not only not support him but I will be first on the cut Ben petition.

And D it will only take one with some evidence for me to write the man off. Where was the evidence in the first case? If there wasn't any...why are we bringing it up? If there is sufficient evidence to convict Ben of a crime then I won't support him any longer. Until then...I'm rooting for him.


Now if they were forced...they wouldn't have to sue because I have a shovel and a shotgun.

A backhoe is the t1ts; not even the dogs can sniff anything if you use a backhoe to dig the hole. Just sayin... :P

Pappy

[hawaiiansteel]

I'm still unsure why people are so quick to believe these chicks are being honest. I'm of the belief that there are many people who have zero idea of the concept of truth. They can't seperate truth from fiction. They lie, slander and libel without remorse. They do not care who they hurt with their words.

With all of that said, I'm open to the fact that Ben might be a pig. But, that doesn't make him a criminal. And to live in a day where a man can't go into a bar and hit on a woman without getting sued is pretty sad. I really don't care if Ben's a pig. My concern is whether he can play ball. And ball he plays well.

Shawn do you have a duaghter? If you do or if you had one would you say the same thing?
Would you feel the same way? And how many more of these for Ben would it take to think maybe there is a problem here?? 2 more? 3 more?


I have two daughters...so yes I would say the same thing. If my underage daughter is in a club underage drinking that will be an issue. If my daughters put themselves in bad situations they will need to deal with bad results. If a man hits on them and they are not interested a simple no should suffice. I would be highly disappointed if they sued over something like that. I would also be very upset if they were engaging in consensual activities in a public bathroom. In that case, again I would not want them to sue for their own doing. Now if they were forced...they wouldn't have to sue because I have a shovel and a shotgun. If Ben forced himself on this girl...I will not only not support him but I will be first on the cut Ben petition.

And D it will only take one with some evidence for me to write the man off. Where was the evidence in the first case? If there wasn't any...why are we bringing it up? If there is sufficient evidence to convict Ben of a crime then I won't support him any longer. Until then...I'm rooting for him.


Now if they were forced...they wouldn't have to sue because I have a shovel and a shotgun.

A backhoe is the t1ts; not even the dogs can sniff anything if you use a backhoe to dig the hole. Just sayin... :P

Pappy



i also have a daughter and that is very good information to have.

thanks Pappy! :Cheers :lol:

[papillon]

I'm still unsure why people are so quick to believe these chicks are being honest. I'm of the belief that there are many people who have zero idea of the concept of truth. They can't seperate truth from fiction. They lie, slander and libel without remorse. They do not care who they hurt with their words.

With all of that said, I'm open to the fact that Ben might be a pig. But, that doesn't make him a criminal. And to live in a day where a man can't go into a bar and hit on a woman without getting sued is pretty sad. I really don't care if Ben's a pig. My concern is whether he can play ball. And ball he plays well.

Shawn do you have a duaghter? If you do or if you had one would you say the same thing?
Would you feel the same way? And how many more of these for Ben would it take to think maybe there is a problem here?? 2 more? 3 more?


I have two daughters...so yes I would say the same thing. If my underage daughter is in a club underage drinking that will be an issue. If my daughters put themselves in bad situations they will need to deal with bad results. If a man hits on them and they are not interested a simple no should suffice. I would be highly disappointed if they sued over something like that. I would also be very upset if they were engaging in consensual activities in a public bathroom. In that case, again I would not want them to sue for their own doing. Now if they were forced...they wouldn't have to sue because I have a shovel and a shotgun. If Ben forced himself on this girl...I will not only not support him but I will be first on the cut Ben petition.

And D it will only take one with some evidence for me to write the man off. Where was the evidence in the first case? If there wasn't any...why are we bringing it up? If there is sufficient evidence to convict Ben of a crime then I won't support him any longer. Until then...I'm rooting for him.


Now if they were forced...they wouldn't have to sue because I have a shovel and a shotgun.

A backhoe is the t1ts; not even the dogs can sniff anything if you use a backhoe to dig the hole. Just sayin... :P

Pappy



i also have a daughter and that is very good information to have.

thanks Pappy! :Cheers :lol:

No problem, I'm always trying to help my Steeler brothers out when I can. :tt2

Pappy

[NJ-STEELER]

once again, shawn with some great points

[Ozey74]

If this matter goes away either by Ben settling or by no charges being filed, Ben's rep isn't necessarily soiled forever. Alot of people thought Kobe would never be viewed the same way after his mess, but that turned out to not be true.

[aggiebones]

MANY of the guys in the locker room are slobs. I'd say half the QBs in the leagues are not GQ material.
BUT why are people on THIS forum proliferating that VERY old stock photo of Ben in the Drink like a Champion shirt. It was after he won the first Super Bowl and I can image he went out drinking a few times after they won.
Lord knows I did and I wasn't playing!

Good grief, let's keep things as they are until some shred of proof comes in. There were police there that saw nothing and were with him all night.

At this point, he's kind of a big goob, much like Bradhaw was. It can be endearing as we all know how little we like Brady who seems a borish ass.

If he's guilty, then we'll deal with it, but let's not feed the fire.
He's said he didn't have intercourse with her and that's easy enough to prove. If he did, I doubt he had time to throw on a condom. Did she scream? Even in a dark corner, the cameras had audio, right?

There's little information out about this. Maybe she just wanted to get out of school and had some bad test scores. She figured she'd try to make some money out of it too. Or maybe he just grabbed her boob and she didn't like it. But from what I've gathered, it was not some throw her in a corner and rape her scenario.
If it was, there's plenty of time later to crush him.