Ben Can't escape the deed(s)

[anger 82&95]

Re: Negative SI article about Ben

So how and when is redemption apparent to this forth-tier and inconsequential “reporter?” He’s done everything asked of him by our ridiculously fickle society and he’s made tremendous personal changes. And… he’s managed the simple little task of leading his team to the super bowl!

[Scarletfire1970]

Re: Negative SI article about Ben

It is a shame but Ben better get used to it. He is going to be hearing a lot of this crap. Innocent until proven guilty, yeah right. This just isn't the same America anymore.

And for her to suggest that he got off because he had cop friends is ridiculous. Why no mention of the accusers conflicting stories? Why no mention of the fact that she was so drunk and also acted irresponsibly that night by putting herself in that position and underage drinking. It is more likely she did something she later regretted or just flat our regretted her behaviour that night than it is that she was raped. I mean she said that night she wasn't raped.

[papillon]

Re: Negative SI article about Ben

Personally, I hope Ben reads more articles like this one. Publicly, he stays above the fray with his statements about the incident; privately, I think it drives him to rub it people's faces. The Steelers play well when Ben is motivated.

He's doing a great job by not saying anything to incite a verbal war of words with analysts and pundits, but carrying a big stick and helping the Steelers win games. One more win and he gets the ultimate "in your face" to anyone who doubts him, hates him or wants to continue the crusade.

I'm glad the mediot woman wrote the article.

Pappy

[SanAntonioSteelerFan]

Re: Negative SI article about Ben

As usual, the public gets the media it deserves.

The general public has the attention span of a Twittering gnat - the average depth of their understanding is about 20 words, and if a topic needs more than that to be understood, well cross that one off the list.

"Roethlisberger - rape - bad person" is about it. It's not worth anyone's time essentially to care to look into it more. And the media looks to sell more commercials, so they'll present it as salaciously as they can. Like the 10 PM news at home - "If it bleeds, it leads". Im just surprised that an outlet as "high class" as SI let this be published. SI's online division must be losing a lot of money.

I believe Ben understands he's pretty much hosed for an unspecified period of time, and that the best thing he can do is just do his best from here on in. He apparently was raised with the right values, and if that's the case, I'm betting he'll do just fine moving forward. Did I hear he's actually living with his parents this season? That's what I call recharging the moral batteries. The fact that he's stayed out of the news so far is very encouraging. This off-season will be another big test.

FWIW - If I thought he raped or sexually assaulted someone (meaning, non-consensual activity), I would want him off the Steelers. However, I do believe it was a DTF consensual sort of thing.

[snarky]

Re: Negative SI article about Ben

As some of you will remember, I never defended Ben regarding this incident in Georgia. My personal opinion is that it is possible there was substance to the allegation. However, without an alleged victim who is willing to follow through with a criminal case and without a DA who is willing to pursue the case we have no right damning Ben in the court of public opinion. We all have to make our own private decision about whether or not we care about the allegation and about the extent to which it matters to us.

All that is prologue to point out that what I am about to say is not some blind defense of Ben.

I looked through her past articles and I notice the bitch couldn't be arsed to write one word about this incident until nine months later when Ben is about to play in the Super Bowl. If he really is the monster she paints in that article why didn't she write an opinion piece months ago arguing for a longer suspension.

[Chachi]

Re: Negative SI article about Ben

Steelers fans just need to let it go.

Professional athletes do bad things. Not all of them, but there is a fair share. You can point to any team in the league and find a player, look at their current or past off the field behavior, and say, "How can you root for a team with THAT guy on it?!?!?!???"

Now, this statement isn't to pin any guilt/innocence on Ben. I am just relating the reality I share with anyone who brings Ben and his behavior up to me.

I don't care what pro athletes do on their spare time. I don't root for a team or person just because he does good things like donates to charity, or delivers Meals on Wheels. Why would I automatically root against someone because of the opposite behavior? I root for them because they are good at their job.

Nobody says, "Yea, he is slow as a turtle and has hands of clay, but, he visits sick children every weekend so he should make the team and be our #1 receiver."

I understand pro athletes live in a completely different world than the general public. I don't hold them to the same standards I hold the general public to. When you live in a magnified world your accomplishments and mistakes are magnified. It doesn't mean we as a general public need to magnify our praise/indignation....but we do anyway....it's how the media attempts to stay relevant....and it's how people are proven "guilty" in the eyes of the public before any trail goes before a court.

How does the old saying go........he may be a son of a b!tch, but he is OUR son of a b!tch......it's what makes the world go 'round.

[Mister Pittsburgh]

Re: Negative SI article about Ben

Why hasn't anyone written an article calling Michael Irvin of the HOF and NFL Network a rapist?

Legal troubles
In March 1996, Irvin was arrested on charges of cocaine possession at a hotel party celebrating his 30th birthday. After numerous court appearances amid a national media circus, which featured Irvin showing up to court in a full-length mink coat, he pled no contest to the charges and was sentenced to community service, ordered to pay a $10,000 fine, and put on 4-years probation. When drug-tested for illicit drugs, he tested negative. But the NFL suspended Irvin for the first five games of the 1996 season.

In Irvin's 1996 absence, the Cowboys struggled out of the gate and never recovered. Upon his return from suspension, Irvin tallied 962 receiving yards in only 11 games.

Irvin sustained further damage to his reputation in 1996 when controversy reared its head again as the Cowboys prepared to play the Carolina Panthers for their NFC Divisional Playoff game. Media reports stated that Irvin and teammate Erik Williams had sexually assaulted a Dallas woman, Nina Shahravan, and, with a gun to her head, videotaped the interaction.

Despite Williams' and Irvin's denials of the allegations, the story overshadowed the game, which the Cowboys lost. The accuser was later proven to have fabricated the entire incident. She recanted her story, pled guilty to perjury and filing a false police report and was sentenced to 90 days in prison and a fine.

In the first quarter of the playoff game with Carolina, with Shahravan's allegations under active investigation by Dallas police, Irvin suffered a broken collarbone, ending his 1996 season.

In 1998 Irvin was alleged to be involved in a bizarre incident during training camp when he allegedly inflicted a two-inch cut in the neck of Dallas guard Everett McIver while some team members were getting haircuts.[9] Whether it was battery or accidental McIver did not press charges, and rumors swirled that Irvin brokered a six-figure settlement with McIver to drop the matter. Accounts of this incident after the alleged settlement became difficult to find or research in the local Dallas press.

Arrests since retirement
A year following his retirement from the NFL, Irvin again was arrested on drug possession charges. In this case, Irvin was in a Dallas apartment with an unrelated woman. Neither answered the door when police drug task force agents arrived with a search warrant. Police entered the apartment forcibly, finding drugs. Irvin and the female were placed under arrest, though charges against Irvin were later dropped.

The promises of a new lifestyle in broadcasting appeared to be short-lived, with Irvin again arrested. In this instance Irvin was pulled over in Plano, Texas, for speeding on November 25, 2005. Irvin was arrested on an outstanding warrant on an unpaid speeding ticket in Irving, Texas, but was also cited for misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia after police searched his car and found a pipe, and plastic bags with marijuana residue.[13] Irvin was arrested for a Class C misdemeanor. He was later released on bond, with ESPN spokesman Josh Krulewitz saying only that: "We are reviewing the facts of the situation and have no comment at this time."

Two days after his arrest, Irvin appeared on ESPN's "Sunday NFL Countdown", as scheduled, on November 27, 2005. In his on-the-air comments that evening, he stated that he had taken the drug paraphernalia away from a longtime friend who was battling a drug addiction. Irvin told the Associated Press he was trying to help someone close to him get off drugs and cares more about that than his chances of being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The next day Irvin said the pipe was in fact his brother's and he (Irvin) was going to throw it out but had forgotten to do so.

On December 1, 2005, however, ESPN suspended Irvin for the Sunday and Monday night Countdown shows on December 4 and December 5, 2005. He returned to both shows with no mention or consequence of the past incident.

Another sexual assault allegation On July 4, 2007 Irvin was accused of sexual assault while he was at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, Florida. Charges were never filed, but a civil suit was filed against him in 2010.
Victim of alleged carjacking attemptIrvin claims that he was a victim of a possible carjacking attempt while stopped at a light in Dallas on January 12, 2009. He filed a police report claiming that two men flashed a gun at him, but eventually drove away after commenting that they were Cowboys fans.[16] Dallas police suspended their investigation two weeks later, stating that Irvin had not cooperated in the investigation and that without more information from him, they could not proceed.

[The Answer]

Ben Can't escape the deed(s)

Wins shouldn't make us forget about Roethlisberger's past actions

Ann Killion

[url]http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/ann_killion/01/28/ben.roethlisberger/index.html#ixzz1CXKGLZTs[/url]


Ben Roethlisberger has led the Steelers to a third Super Bowl, but it's not fair to call him a changed man.

What's the prism through which you view sports?

The prism of team colors and city name?

The singular filter of athletic achievement?

A window on human interest, finding athletes you feel you can truly root for?

It's an interesting exploration. Why does one city cheer for its own accused steroid cheat yet degrade an accused visitor? Why do some stay loyal to a team even after it has moved and turned its back on its fan base? Why can you hate one player when he plays across the country and adore him as soon as he signs with your team?

And why does a person's vile behavior off the field become less relevant the more his team wins?

That brings us to Ben Roethlisberger, who is leading the Pittsburgh Steelers into the Super Bowl for the third time in his seven-year career. Roethlisberger is being lauded, standard procedure at this time of year for conference championship-winning quarterbacks.

We're hearing about the obstacles he has overcome, his resilience, his redemption.

And it's making some of us more than a tad nauseous.

In case you've forgotten, or would like to gloss it over lest it dampen your guacamole-and-chips plans, Roethlisberger was accused of sexually assaulting a 20-year old college student.

It's not like this is ancient history, when Roethlisberger was some foolish kid. It happened less than 11 months ago, in Milledgeville, Ga., when Roethlisberger was a 28-year old, two-time Super Bowl winner, who had been accused of rape just 20 months earlier in Nevada.

And while no charges were filed in either case, a look at the Milledgeville police report, physical evidence and an investigative story by Sports Illustrated leaves no doubt that something awfully repellent happened that night in Georgia.

The D.A. overseeing Milledgeville (population 18,000) opted not to file charges against Roethlisberger. And the accuser asked to drop charges because, according to her lawyer, "it would be a very intrusive personal experience" for her; the young woman's reputation was already in the process of being trashed.

OK. But that doesn't mean that something sordid and perhaps criminal didn't take place. The D.A. decided there wasn't enough evidence for an open-and-shut case: the operative word there is enough. The bar in Georgia is quite high in sexual assault cases. And nationally, superstar athletes -- superstar white athletes in particular -- have been given the legal and societal benefit of the doubt forever.

The justice system of the NFL worked more quickly. Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended Roethlisberger for more than a third of the regular season (and as a result caused him to lose several million dollars of salary), later reducing the suspension from six to four games after Roethlisberger underwent a "comprehensive behavioral evaluation."

Goodell wrote to Roethlisberger that while he recognized that "the allegations in Georgia were disputed and that they did not result in criminal charges being filed against you," his ruling was because "you are held to a higher standard as an NFL player, and there is nothing about your conduct in Milledgeville that can remotely be described as admirable, responsible or consistent with either the values of the league or the expectations of our fans."

Since last spring, much of the conversation surrounding the incident is the same deafening, reactive noise that always surrounds these types of accusation in the sports world: that it is simply he said, she said. The young woman is painted in terms of being a gold-digger or a drunken slut.

My personal observation after several years in the sports world is that grown men tend to be more infatuated with pro athletes than young women are, going to great lengths to protect, excuse and enable them.

Roethlisberger had a posse of the infatuated men: pals and off-duty police officers acting as bodyguards, who set up and enabled the encounter with the young woman. He also wasn't questioned immediately by police. One police officer later resigned after his unprofessional conduct in the case became public.

In the months since, the Roethlisberger incident has been casually spoken about in the same breath as the harassment of a female television personality in the Jets locker room and the sexting accusations surrounding Brett Favre. To be clear, sexual harassment shouldn't ever be excused. But neither should it be confused with sexual assault.

The outrage surrounding Michael Vick continues to be expressed at a higher volume than any talk about the Roethlisberger case. Yet Vick served almost two years in prison for his crimes, paid his dues to society (it should be noted that Vick was tried and convicted and Roethlisberger was not).

Resilient? That may be the Steelers, who had to play four games without their starting quarterback and went 3-1, but I don't know that it is a useful descriptor of Roethlisberger. A changed man? Who knows, but certainly the loss of millions of dollars is motivation to not act like a Neanderthal in public.

Redemption? Please. Success on the football field does not make you a better person, though some in the sports media try to frame it that way.

Roethlisberger's style of play is called "bruising." That is being celebrated by many this week. For others it conjures up details of the evidence -- "bruises, lacerations and bleeding" -- that was found on a 20-year-old, 5-foot-4 college girl last March, after she went to the police and then to the hospital.

Guess your perspective all depends on what prism you're looking through.

[calmkiller]

Re: Ben Can't escape the deed(s)

[url="http://www.planetsteelers.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=16262"]viewtopic.php?f=2&t=16262[/url]

2 threads below this post...

[frankthetank1]

Re: Negative SI article about Ben

Steelers fans just need to let it go.

Professional athletes do bad things. Not all of them, but there is a fair share. You can point to any team in the league and find a player, look at their current or past off the field behavior, and say, "How can you root for a team with THAT guy on it?!?!?!???"

Now, this statement isn't to pin any guilt/innocence on Ben. I am just relating the reality I share with anyone who brings Ben and his behavior up to me.

I don't care what pro athletes do on their spare time. I don't root for a team or person just because he does good things like donates to charity, or delivers Meals on Wheels. Why would I automatically root against someone because of the opposite behavior? I root for them because they are good at their job.

Nobody says, "Yea, he is slow as a turtle and has hands of clay, but, he visits sick children every weekend so he should make the team and be our #1 receiver."

I understand pro athletes live in a completely different world than the general public. I don't hold them to the same standards I hold the general public to. When you live in a magnified world your accomplishments and mistakes are magnified. It doesn't mean we as a general public need to magnify our praise/indignation....but we do anyway....it's how the media attempts to stay relevant....and it's how people are proven "guilty" in the eyes of the public before any trail goes before a court.

How does the old saying go........he may be a son of a b!tch, but he is OUR son of a b!tch......it's what makes the world go 'round.

i think everyone needs to just let it go

[Wolfhound45]

Re: Negative SI article about Ben

I could care less what this reporter says. She is paid to have an opinion and she expressed it. SI is paid to report sporting news and they reported it. Fair enough.

I am more concerned that our quarterback learns from his latest series of misfortunes and grows as a person from it. Hopefully he will. No one is guaranteed another day.

[Crash]

Re: Negative SI article about Ben

And Irvin just settled the latest civil suit this week.

The NFL should remove him from the broadcast.

[Mister Pittsburgh]

Re: Negative SI article about Ben

And Irvin just settled the latest civil suit this week.

The NFL should remove him from the broadcast.

Yeah. Goodell should suspend him for 6 games. I would like to see this blond man-hater write up an article on Irvin. That crazy bastage would probably invite her on air to tell her off.

[RuthlessBurgher]

Re: Negative SI article about Ben

Check out this piece of garbage scribbled in crayon by Buzz Bissinger.

"May the Packers break your legs on the first series of downs."

[url="http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-01-26/ben-roethlisberger-and-the-nfls-silly-redemption-debate/"]http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and- ... on-debate/[/url]

It is just me, or does Buzz's face kinda look like Ben Lovejoy on the plane to Washington after getting hit in the face with the puck on Pens/Caps 24/7?

[hawaiiansteel]

Re: Ben Can't escape the deed(s)

Cook: A better version of Steelers Roethlisberger

Sunday, January 30, 2011
By Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



Lake Fong/Post-Gazette
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.


There's not much doubt about how Ben Roethlisberger will perform on Super Bowl Sunday. He almost always is at his best in the big games. He's one of the great clutch players in NFL history, 10-2 as a starting quarterback in the postseason with two championship rings. No one should be surprised if he leads the Steelers past the Green Bay Packers and is the Most Valuable Player of Super Bowl XLV.

The big question is how Roethlisberger will act after the confetti has stopped falling in Cowboys Stadium and the bright lights have been turned out. Win or lose the game, the Big Ben persona will be back, bigger and stronger than ever. From coast to coast -- OK, from Ambridge to Zelienople, at least -- people will be telling Roethlisberger how terrific he is. That's often been a curse for him, not a blessing. It created an ugly sense of entitlement in him. Actually, by his admission, it created something of a monster.

So will the new Big Ben be a kinder, gentler human being after this Super Bowl?

"Absolutely," Roethlisberger said, firmly. "I feel like I've grown up a lot."

This was during a quiet moment in the locker room after practice last week. Roethlisberger talked openly for the first time this season about the old Big Ben and the Big Ben he anticipates being in the weeks, months and years ahead.

"I don't know how to say this without it sounding really bad, but I used to tell my dad and my agent and my closest friends, 'If I can win a Super Bowl or two or three, nobody can say anything to me. I can do anything I want,' " Roethlisberger said. "That's just stupid. I know that now. That's what I mean about growing up. I realize now that I can use the platform I'll have for something good. If I can win a third Super Bowl with this team, can you imagine the possibilities? That's what I'm excited about."

Roethlisberger admitted he had doubts about being in this position again, in another Super Bowl, leading the Steelers to what he hopes is a third title in six seasons. He said it took losing nearly everything to find his "inner peace" at 28. You know the sorry story. Roethlisberger was accused -- but not charged -- in March of sexual assault by a 20-year-old college student in a college bar bathroom in Milledgeville, Ga. His reputation took a beating. He was suspended for the first four games of the season by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell for conduct detrimental to the league.

It's a relatively short plane flight from Milledgeville to Dallas, but it must seem like a million miles to Roethlisberger.

"Did I think I might be done playing football? A slight chance," he said. "Did I think I might be done playing here? A slight chance. But I knew it was going to be up to me how I came out of all this. I was going to be the one who determined if I played football again. I never doubted myself. If I changed as a person and became a better person, I thought I'd get another chance. I would have played in the UFL or the Arena League if I had to."

It didn't come to that. The Rooneys stood behind the disgraced Roethlisberger even though their franchise's image also took a big hit. "I just believed that if he got back to being the type of person he really is deep down inside, he is still the type of person we want to be around," team president Art Rooney II said last week. "He hasn't disappointed us."

That trust wasn't lost on Roethlisberger.

"I felt horrible that [the Rooneys] were criticized because of me. That killed me. I know they didn't have to keep me. I've told them many times, 'You stood by me. I appreciate it. I'll always appreciate it.' I've said all along I want to be a Steeler my whole career. I want to retire as a Steeler. I want to go into the Hall of Fame one day as a Steeler ...

"But that's the family side of this organization. It all starts at the top. It's like when you do something wrong and your grandfather tells you, 'I'm so disappointed in you, but I still believe in you and I'm still here for you. I know you're better than this.' That's what families do. They don't give up on each other."

Roethlisberger said he wouldn't have made it back to another Super Bowl if his teammates also hadn't been there to pick him up after he fell. They always liked and respected him on the field. They knew he put a lot of money in their pockets and two championship rings on their fingers. But, off the field, he could be aloof even with them. Big Ben? No, sorry. Big Jerk.

Not anymore.

When the Steelers talk about their veteran leaders, they mention James Farrior, Aaron Smith, Hines Ward and Flozell Adams. They also mention Roethlisberger.

"I love playing with these guys," he said. "That's why I can break my foot and have my nose broken and plastered against my cheek and I'm still going to be out there with them. I don't want to miss a snap. I think maybe that's why I sometimes hold on to the ball too long and take a sack. I don't ever want to give up on a play for those guys."

Winning with and for his teammates and the Rooneys is powerful motivation, Roethlisberger said. But it might not be exactly as you think.

"It would be amazing to win another Super Bowl, but it won't be like I'll say, 'Do you forgive me now?' " Roethlisberger said. "It'll just be another step in earning back everything I lost."

The process has gone a little smoother because Roethlisberger had another fine season. He looked every bit the part of a $102 million franchise quarterback when he came back from his suspension. In the playoffs, he did what he does best -- find a way for the Steelers to win. He completed a 58-yard pass to rookie wide receiver Antonio Brown on third-and-19 to set up the winning touchdown against the Baltimore Ravens. He completed late passes to tight end Heath Miller and Brown to run out the clock against the New York Jets.

You might want to send a thank-you note to Ray Lewis.

Yes, that Ray Lewis.

One of the people Roethlisberger turned to for advice after the Milledgeville incident was the Ravens' great linebacker. Lewis knows something about rebuilding an image. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of obstruction of justice in a double-murder case after Super Bowl XXXIV in Atlanta. That was 11 years ago. Now, Lewis, who just finished his 15th NFL season, isn't just the face of the Baltimore franchise. He's doing national television commercials for a body-wash company.

"He just told me to stay focused on the task at hand," Roethlisberger said.

Here's how Lewis remembered their text exchange: "All you can do is move on. Don't let nobody pull you back into [Milledgeville]. Don't let nobody make you keep talking about it. Once it's done, it's done."

Roethlisberger is expected to follow that advice when he meets the national media this week. He's expected to answer football-related questions and deflect all others. "I'm just going to take it in stride and see what happens."

The scrutiny won't stop for Roethlisberger after the Super Bowl, of course. It's been on him since the Milledgeville incident. It will be on him the rest of his career.

"That's OK. I welcome that," Roethlisberger said. "I want people to see the person I am. I want to earn their trust back. I want kids to wear my jersey. I want to be a role model. I hear guys say they don't care about that stuff, but I do. I want people to like me."

Maybe you're thinking what I'm thinking.

The new Big Ben is off to a pretty good start.

Read more: [url="http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11030/1121338-66.stm#ixzz1CXiUoU1o"]http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11030/11 ... z1CXiUoU1o[/url]