Ben Roethlisberger, serial rapist?

[NewIdentity]

Colts president Bill Polian released a brief statement Wednesday,

“The alleged incident was investigated by law enforcement officials at the time the allegation was made," Polian said. "The appropriate authorities decided that there was no basis for charges to be filed.

“Based upon those facts, we have no reason to take any action, or to make any further comment on this matter. Eric Foster is a member of our squad and will participate in our off-season program.”

I still do not understand How an NFL team president make this statement with everything that is happening to Roethlisberger?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by NewIdentity

I still do not understand How an NFL team president make this statement with everything that is happening to Roethlisberger?

Could it be, just maybe, that both the team & the league have looked into the matter & determined that there's no basis for any action?

I know that's a wacky idea but just because Ben is a jackass doesn't mean that every player accused of something is a jackass too.

[Shepp]

At what point exactly is an accusation proven to be false? If the police investigate and aren't able to scrape together enough probable cause to at least make an arrest then the accusation is pretty flimsy. The fact that the case was sent over to the DA's office without an arrest having been made speaks volumes about how crappy it is. Yet people are still demanding Ben's head on a stick.

I get the whole smoke/ fire argument but can you really call that lawsuit in Nevada a credible accusation? I also understand the other woman coming forward but that just makes the crappiness of the case even more obvious. If you can't put enough probable cause together between two victim's there is something seriously wrong with the accusations.

[molson]

Originally Posted by Shepp

At what point exactly is an accusation proven to be false? If the police investigate and aren't able to scrape together enough probable cause to at least make an arrest then the accusation is pretty flimsy. The fact that the case was sent over to the DA's office without an arrest having been made speaks volumes about how crappy it is. Yet people are still demanding Ben's head on a stick.

I get the whole smoke/ fire argument but can you really call that lawsuit in Nevada a credible accusation? I also understand the other woman coming forward but that just makes the crappiness of the case even more obvious. If you can't put enough probable cause together between two victim's there is something seriously wrong with the accusations.

You're assuming that he's being suspended only for comitting a uncharged crime in Georgia or wheverer that was. I don't think that's it. I think he's being punished for embarassing the league and being a general douchebag (both with regards to the incidents we know about, and the ones we don't). Breaking the law isn't a prerequisite to being punished by the NFL under its conduct policies.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Shepp

If you can't put enough probable cause together between two victim's there is something seriously wrong with the accusations.

Or something seriously wrong with DA's who are reluctant to prosecute difficult cases. Or something seriously wrong with victims who aren't willing to cooperate or press charges (not the original GA victim, but the other one that was uncovered by the GBI investigation). Or something seriously wrong with a society will defend virtually any action by an athlete if they're successful enough, making cases like this one difficult propositions for prosecutors at best.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Or something seriously wrong with DA's who are reluctant to prosecute difficult cases. Or something seriously wrong with victims who aren't willing to cooperate or press charges (not the original GA victim, but the other one that was uncovered by the GBI investigation). Or something seriously wrong with a society will defend virtually any action by an athlete if they're successful enough, making cases like this one difficult propositions for prosecutors at best.

What he said.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by NewIdentity

Can I assume a 6 game suspension is on its way to Foster too?

You have to love this statement by the Colts GM
Just about the complete opposite of what the NFL and the Steelers did to Big Ben.

That would have been a great arguement if the league had suspened Ben after the first allegation (which seems almost the exact situation that Foster is facing). But they didn't. It was the second and worse allegation that caused further investigation by the league, and brought the suspension.

[GrantDawg]

Sorry, I guess my response wasn't needed because it was pretty much covered.

[Shepp]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Or something seriously wrong with DA's who are reluctant to prosecute difficult cases.

Someone can be arrested and the DA can still choose not to proceed with it. In fact the DA almost never gets a case without the suspect having first been arrested for the crime.

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Or something seriously wrong with a society will defend virtually any action by an athlete if they're successful enough, making cases like this one difficult propositions for prosecutors at best.

Tell that to Plaxico Burress. If the evidence is strong enough you can prosecute a celebrity and get a conviction. The fact here is that there just wasn't any evidence aside from the accusation.

I'm actually kind of sorry that he wasn't charged. If this had gone to trial then there would have been a verdict one way or the other. All there is now is the court of public opinion and, rightly or wrongly, he has definately been convicted there.

[Kodos]

My jury finds that you'll be serving your time when you go straight to hell.

[thesloppy]

I don't think this is anywhere near as nebulous or twisted as is being suggested in lots of places.

Goodell:

"As the District Attorney concluded, the extensive investigatory record shows that you contributed to the irresponsible consumption of alcohol by purchasing (or facilitating the purchase of) alcoholic beverages for underage college students, at least some of whom were likely already intoxicated. There is no question that the excessive consumption of alcohol that evening put the students and yourself at risk. The Personal Conduct Policy also states that discipline is appropriate for conduct that 'undermines or puts at risk the integrity and reputation of the NFL, NFL clubs, or NFL players.' By any measure, your conduct satisfies that standard."

Does anybody see the words rape or sexual assault anywhere in Goodell's statement? Think that's coincidence? He just forgot to mention it? It certainly may be the unspoken, moral basis for this suspension, but the legal basis is obviously being placed on supplying the alcohol to a minor, of which there is plenty of proof, the DA referenced, and Ben himself has admitted. It's a misdemeanor, and perhaps a small crime out of context, but also a crime involving alcohol, and a "victim", both of which are very important and clear distinctions, in terms of personal conduct.

[Shepp]

Originally Posted by Kodos

My jury finds that you'll be serving your time when you go straight to hell.

Are you talking about me or Ben?

[Kodos]

I was talking about Roethlisberger. And quoting a Tesla song to see if anyone would pick up on it.

FWIW, I do think Big Ben is a tool.

Also, I don't actually believe in hell.

[Shepp]

Originally Posted by Kodos

I was talking about Roethlisberger. And quoting a Tesla song.

No prob, I never was much of a Tesla fan so I didn't catch the reference.

[JonInMiddleGA]

QB’s case in trouble from the start *| ajc.com

MILLEDGEVILLE -- Shielded by two police buddies during an evening of bar-hopping in a Georgia college town, Ben Roethlisberger would acquire a third ally in blue after a college sophomore claimed that she was raped by the Pittsburgh Steelers star that night.

According to witnesses aligned with both the accuser and accused, Milledgeville police Sgt. Jerry Blash demonstrated little patience with the alleged victim, a 20-year-old Georgia College & State University student, or her claims that she was assaulted at a nightclub early on the morning of March 5 by the NFL star.

Roethlisberger, meanwhile, was barely pressed by Blash, the night commander, who had his picture taken with the two-time Super Bowl champ earlier that evening.

Vivid details of the encounter between Blash and the accuser emerge from an examination of a 500-plus-page case file on the incident compiled by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The report and interviews with attorneys for Roethlisberger and the accuser, the district attorney for the Milledgeville area and other legal experts show that the investigation into the woman’s claim of sexual assault was compromised from the start.

“We’ve got a big problem. We’ve got a big problem. We’ve got a big problem!” Blash, 35, told fellow Officers Richard Davidson and Jason Lopez during a hastily arranged huddle at the Capital City club ...

After hearing the young woman’s story, Blash quickly notified Roethlisberger and his group of her allegation. The sergeant, who has since resigned amid an internal investigation into his behavior, approached two of the quarterback’s associates, Pennsylvania lawmen Anthony Barravecchio and Edward Joyner, and told them what had transpired.

Barravecchio, a Coraopolis, Pa., officer assigned to a federal Drug Enforcement Administration task force, said Blash told them: “We have a problem, this drunken [expletive], drunk off her ass, is accusing Ben of rape.”

In a separate interview with the GBI, Joyner, a veteran Pennsylvania state police officer and a friend and “assistant” to Roethlisberger, confirmed Barravecchio’s account. ...

The accuser’s encounter with the Milledgeville lawmen occurred moments after she and her two Zeta Tau Alpha sisters left the Capital City club looking to make a report. An officer they found directed them to Blash. What followed was a tense, sometimes confrontational exchange, according to all the parties involved.

To Blash, the accuser was heavily intoxicated and uncertain what had happened. Her friends, Nicole Biancofiore and Ann Marie Lubatti, “got on his nerves.”

The disdain was mutual. Biancofiore and Lubatti told the GBI that Blash never took their friend’s accusation seriously.

According to Biancofiore, the sergeant told them he would file a report but warned them they were wasting their time. Lubatti told the GBI that Blash advised, “You can file a statement but this man has a lot of money and good attorneys.”

That angered the accuser, her friends said. She asked, in a raised voice, whether she should just forget she was raped and not file charges. The sergeant became defensive, Lubatti said, accusing the alleged victim of trying to put words in his mouth.

The brief exchange ended on a sour note, and two days later, the alleged victim’s attorney, Lee Parks, told a GBI agent the woman’s family didn’t want “anyone from the Milledgeville police coming to their residence for any reason.”

Former DeKalb County District Attorney J. Tom Morgan reviewed the GBI documents at the request of the AJC.

“With that kind of attitude, what victim would want to go through with a prosecution?” Morgan said. “After the way she was treated, it was going to be hard to move forward with this case.” ...

[NorvTurnerOverdrive]

anyone see his otl on espn?

when peezy's calling you out you got problems.

[molson]

Well that explains why that officer resigned so quickly.....I was wondernig that.

[Swaggs]

Wedding bells for Big Ben?

As a Steelers' fan, I'm hoping that he is/has turned his life in the right direction.

As a skeptic, the timeline on this suggests arranged marriage.

[stevew]

Ben's hitting them up in my back yard I see.

[SteveMax58]

As long as Ben stays the fuck away from my King Vitamin...all is good.