DA: No charges against Roethlisberger

[Dulcinea]

Source: ESPN

MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. -- Authorities announced Monday that they will not charge Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger after a college student accused him of sexually assaulting her at a nightclub last month.

Ocmulgee Circuit District Attorney Fred Bright said the 20-year-old student's accusations could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, and her lawyer said in a letter that she did not want to press charges. "Therefore there will be no arrests made nor criminal prosecution against Mr. Roethlisberger," Bright said.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has plans to meet this week with Roethlisberger, sources familiar with the situation have told ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen.

The woman told an officer Roethlisberger sexually assaulted her early in the morning of March 5 in a small bathroom at the Capital City night club, where he was drinking with friends shortly after his 28th birthday.


Read more: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=5078589

[NJmaverick]

1. It doesn't sound like he is innocent though

Roethlisberger hired the same lawyer that made Ray Lewis' murder charges go away. Looks like the lawyer has done it again.

[JonLP24]

35. His lawyer had nothing to do with it

It was the conclusion of a police investigation which the DA evaluated. It didn't even make it to the arraignment so his lawyer played little to no role in getting the charges dropped.

[panader0]

2. "he said, she said"?

Kobe bryant went to trial and spent a fortune, Mike Tyson went to jail, Ben walks?

[NJmaverick]

3. His victim no longer wants to pursue the matter

and the DA says he doesn't have enough evidence to win a conviction.

[wallwriter]

5. It makes sense:

Kobe is an upper middle class black man
Tyson is a lower class black man
Roethlisberger is a white guy

[Rebubula]

6. Or....

....Ben is innocent of all charges. I know....wacky idea...but not everything is race based.

[wisteria]

8. Or....

There was a quite settlement to the woman.

[RamboLiberal]

9. Or an honest DA that knew he didn't have enough evidence

for any chance at conviction. I listened to a good part of his press conference on my way to lunch. He sounded like an honest DA who knew something happened between Rothlisberger and the young woman but didn't have enough DNA or other physical evidence for conviction.

As a Steeler's fan I'm disgusted with his behavior. And there are race charges circulating with the Steelers since they sent Santonio Holmes packing last night while it looks like they will hang on to Ben. I don't see that with the Rooney's. But in the NFL easier to send a WR packing than your franchise QB.

Getting back to the GA incident it's past time for Ben to grow the hell up and clean up his stupid Big Man on Campus act. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Steeler's try to groom a replacement for him and kick his fat butt down the road in a season or two.

[Missy Vixen]

12. I'm sure it also had something to do with the fact the woman

in question requested not to press charges. After reading commentary online about Roethlisberger's former adventure, I can completely appreciate this. She has to be afraid for her safety.

I just had an online argument with an ESPN personality who claims that "nothing happened", therefore, poor Ben shouldn't suffer any suspension. The facts speak for themselves. The woman in question was too impaired to consent to any kind of sexual activity. His "bodyguards" were outside the bathroom door. The "security tape" was a DVD that was "accidentally erased".

He's a scum. He'll continue getting away with it. After all, any woman in a bar is a "slut" who "deserves it", according to the vast number of commenters I've read. The Steelers are also going to look the other way, based on their comments to this point.

[RamboLiberal]

14. Steelers Statement

Statement by Steelers President Art Rooney II

The investigation process in Georgia has been deliberate and the District Attorney’s decision regarding Ben Roethlisberger speaks for itself.

During the past few weeks I have met with Ben on a number of occasions, not only to discuss this incident, but also to discuss his commitment to making sure something like this never happens again. The Pittsburgh Steelers take the conduct of players and staff very seriously. Ben will now have to work hard to earn back the respect and trust of Steelers fans, and to live up to the leadership responsibilities we all expect of him.

In the coming days Ben will meet with Commissioner Goodell to discuss his resolve to abide by the league’s personal conduct standards. After consultation with the Commissioner, our organization will determine the next steps in this process.

http://www.steelers.com/news/article-1/Statement-by-Steelers-President-Art-Rooney-II/32a16d96-fc6c-42e5-a289-d8a3b289866d

Reading between the lines I think they told him this is it - one more incident and you're history.

Ben has blown it with a lot of Steeler's fans. Many have turned against him on this latest incident. Yeah they'll cheer him when he wins them games. That's the nature of a lot of football fans. But I also think there wouldn't be a whole lot of protest if and when the Steelers have a QB with potential if they traded Rothlisberger.

He's got a terrible rep of being an arrogant jerk around here. And from what I hear he doesn't get along with Coach Tomlin. And with Dan Rooney being ambassador to Ireland I think he better get his stupid act together or be gone.

But then Ben probably doesn't give a damn since there will always be another NFL team to snatch him up. Bet the Raiders would love to have him. He'd fit in with their bad-boy image.

[wisteria]

18. You think? I live in Pittsburgh, but an not a great sports fan.

I will take you word for the fans and amend my comment about the fans.

[RamboLiberal]

26. I'm hearing it on the talk shows - not sports talk though

And also seeing it on local news, plus most of the sports writers are disgusted with him.

Be interesting to see how the season goes. Besides the women in these cases I feel sorry for Coach Mike Tomlin who seems to be a genuinely good guy who has to deal with this jerk.

Maybe there's a different opinion on the talk sports show.

[AtheistCrusader]

21. Fortunately he's not going to have to earn that respect back, since nothing happened!

:sarcasm:

[RamboLiberal]

15. And the woman was drunk

And I'm not excusing Ben. He's the adult. He needs to stop this crap of party boy inviting underage women in to his VIP area and giving them shots while asking for sexual favors.

[wisteria]

16. Yeah, as long as he is valuable to them.

He has had a couple of concussions, and I think he better start to grow up and consider another career choice.

[pattmarty]

19. I agree. It's funny though that they didn't "look the other way" when.............

....Michael Vick was involved in the dog fighting. I understand different crime with different evidence problems, but he was also BLACK. I ain't defending either of them, my opinion both are shitbags.

[wisteria]

20. There was a lot of evidence against Vick-a lot. n/t

[AtheistCrusader]

22. Apples and lug nuts.

The (alleged) crimes are incomparable.

I bet if you look you can find a black sports star accused in a similar 'he said-she said' situation that WOULD bear out your point though.

[pattmarty]

27. Off the top of my head, Kolbe Bryant for one, or hell, even Tiger Woods.............

...........He was severely chastised for what was actually his and his wife's personal business. I ain't excusing it, just sayin'.

[MellowDem]

32. He admitted to it...

and it wasn't a crime, so it's not a good comparison.

[unabelladonna]

25. big difference

vick was actually proud of the way he tortured the dogs, this was more of a drunken "he says" "she says" issue. she didn't want to press charges...whether she got a payoff or because it was borderline.

[awoke_in_2003]

13. I am saying this as a lifelong

Steeler fan- the Steelers need to get rid of him. He is becoming a huge distraction. It is possible he did nothing wrong, and it is true that there are women out there looking for money. IF he is truly innocent, then he is stupid. After the allegations out of Vegas surfaced, he should have never allowed himself to get in a situation where the accusations MIGHT be true. Locking yourself in the VIP room and stationing your guys outside the door to turn people away is not the way he should have done things- leaves too many questions. With that possibility is the possibility that he is guilty, but threw a bunch of money at the problem. Either way, he needs to go- hell, Al Davis will pick him up. I don't want him associated with my team. I just hope I don't have to put up with 20 more years of bad Steeler quarterbacking.

[Missy Vixen]

23. Here are facts

>It is possible he did nothing wrong, and it is true that there are women out there looking for money.<

Oh, yeah. The woman involved wants her entire life and sexual history dragged through court for money. If you read any of the comments at NFL sites online, you'd be sick to your stomach. Good for her family that they could afford a lawyer to keep her identity a secret.

First of all, he wasn't in a "VIP room" during this incident. His "bodyguard" walked the woman to the bathroom, and Big Ben followed her in. A five-foot, one toilet bathroom. The "bodyguards" stationed themselves outside of the bathroom door. Listening to the press conference, it's fairly obvious what happened, and it should be obvious to the Steelers leadership that they have more than a small problem.

Forty percent of women who are raped never report the crime. Fifteen out of sixteen prosecuted rapists walk without doing one day in jail. I am furious at the "wink, wink" "awww, he did nothing wrong" going on via male sportswriters and sportscasters I've read already. What was a 28-year-old multi-millionaire doing in a college bar? The short answer, at least to me: He can't find female companionship unless they're too drunk to resist him. A woman too impaired to give informed consent isn't participating in consensual sex.

He just got away with it. It's going to happen again, and the Steelers will have yet another excuse. IMHO.

[awoke_in_2003]

28. I am not excusing him

I want him gone, and jailed if guilty. But this won't happen, as he has money to make it go away. I may have messed up the VIP/bathroom thing, but I got the part right about him stationing his guys at the door. I am not condoning him in any way. I am not a jury, but if I had to make a gut call I would say he is guilty. Please re-read what I said- I said there was a possibility he is innocent, but I don't believe he is. The Steeler leadership need to axe him like they axed Bam Morris when he got caught with a trunk full of pot.

Oh, and a ps- rape isn't about female companionship, it is about power- the sex is secondary. Anyone with his money can get female companionship as the snap of a finger. He gets off on power and getting away with it.

[pattmarty]

17. I don't think so. This is the THIRD assault I have heard about on............

............him. It's like Bill Clinton, you hear enough times of a man sexually assaulting/harassing women and SOME of it has to be true.

[awoke_in_2003]

38. Yep. A pattern. nt

[MellowDem]

31. And Duke LaCross Players?

Oh... right.

[paulsby]

37. good point. duke players were vilified by duke faculty, the press, nancy grace

and everybody w/o a brain (hint: the case facts were WEAK as fuck from the beginning). they bent over backwards to COOPERATE with the police and prosecutors (another strong sign of innocence), etc. etc.

and in websites like feministing, and yes DU, their case was looked at with the assumption they MUST be guilty

it pushed all the right buttons

[paulsby]

36. ever hear of case facts?

are you implying the case facts are all the same and thus ben is getting special treatment?

get real

[daylan b]

40. Kobe

Never went to trial.

[Faygo Kid]

4. Stay away from picking up college students, Ben.

He is lucky. So far.

[Elwood P Dowd]

10. I like your Al Kaline pic.

He and The Mick were my favorite MLB players as a young kid playing Little League about 1959-1960.

[Faygo Kid]

11. Thank you.

I grew up without a Dad, and Al Kaline was my role model. He was too young to be my Dad, but he never let me down.

Ever.

[wisteria]

7. These charges are getting to be a habit with him, I would suggest he stay out of bars.

And,this looks like a payoff to me. She files charges and then didn't want to pursue them?

[Missy Vixen]

24. Would you?

Would you want an entire city of people after you because after all, you were "drunk" and a "slut", and "asking for it"?

If I was her family, I'd be terrified for her safety. She also observed what happened to the career and reputation of the woman he attacked in Reno that spoke up about it. Why should she ruin the rest of her life, when the county in question would never have the funds or quality of prosecutors to fight the legal firepower he can afford to assemble?

I'm just pissed.

[wisteria]

29. I heard that after my post. But, living in Pittsburgh, I can see some of the fans behaving that way.

I really meant nothing degrogatory towards the woman.

[tonysam]

33. Unlike Andrea McNulty, who has the civil suit against Ben,

this Georgia woman doesn't have Calvin R.X. Dunlap as her lawyer. He's something else and a damned good writer for an attorney.

Dunlap also has represented Dawn Gibbons in her divorce against Nevada governor Jim Gibbons.

[RamboLiberal]

30. Roethlisberger expresses thanks and sorrow in statement

Ben Roethlisberger expressed his "gratitude" to Georgia prosecutors for not bringing charges against him and sorrow for the "disappointment and negative attention" he brought to his family, teammates and employers.

Dressed in a long-sleeve maroon button-down shirt with a white Nike Swoosh on its left wrist, Roethlisberger read a prepared statement this evening in the Steelers locker room:

"I'd like to begin by expressing gratitude for the thorough investigation process in Georgia and the Prosecutor's decision not to bring charges. I know without a doubt it is the right conclusion. I don't intend to discuss any details related to the events in Georgia. I am happy to put this behind me and move forward.

"I am truly sorry for the disappointment and negative attention I have brought to my family, my teammates and coaches, the Rooneys and the NFL. I understand that the opportunities I have been blessed with are a privilege, and that much is expected of me as the quarterback of Pittsburgh Steelers. I absolutely want to be the leader this team deserves, valued in the community and a role model to kids. I have much work to do to earn this trust, and I am committed to improving and showing everyone my true values.

"I am excited to get back to work with my teammates, and I am more determined than ever to have a great season. I intend to make my family, friends and the Steeler Nation proud on all fronts.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10102/1049839-66.stm

[Missy Vixen]

34. Maybe he should start with an apology to the woman in question

Oh. I forgot. He doesn't have to do that. After all, she was drunk, and she was alone in a bathroom with him. She was asking for it.

:sarcasm:

I'll bet he thought the prosecutor made the "right decision", especially since the security recording equipment and multiple other evidence was either missing or compromised.

I asked a male sportswriter today if he would allow his daughter to date Roethlisberger. He still hasn't answered.

:eyes:

[AtheistCrusader]

39. NEVER MIND THE WOMAN

To hell with her, right?

What an asshole.