Ben Roethlisberger (Allegedly) Did A Bad Bad Thing

So much for things happening in Vegas, staying in Vegas. Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger has been named in a lawsuit by an employee of Harrah’s Casino in Nevada. The lawsuit accuses Ben of sexual assault. Yeah, I can’t believe I’m typing these words either. A woman by the name of Andrea McNulty has filed a lawsuit naming Ben and nine (?) other men in an assault which allegedly occurred in July 2008. No details have been released so far but this sounds like something that should be starring Jodie Foster, not Ben Roethlisberger. The suit is civil litigation, which means it’s about money, as opposed to criminal charges which could carry jail time. In fact, no criminal charges were ever filed in conjunction with this alleged incident which is going to make a lot of people doubt the validity of the lawsuit. I’m not going to make any judgments until I hear the facts of the case. However, whenever a rich and famous athlete has a one nighter with some groupie he picked up at a bar this is the kind of risk they run. There are literally dozens and dozens of examples, from Kobe Bryant to Randy Moss, of athletes being accused of sexual assault. And in almost every one, the case magically goes away after the “victim” is written a big check for their mental anguish. What’s shocking about this is it’s Ben. I mean, the above photo aside, Ben’s never had a reputation for fast times or hard partying. He’s never made it rain at a strip club. He’s always been the big goofy jock who’d rather hang out with the boys. Of course, his national exposure has been increasing steadily the past year and there are always negatives which go along with it, as Ben is finding out now. After winning the Super Bowl in 2005, Ben obliterated his face in a motorcycle accident. Now in 2009, he’s accused of sexual assault. I just knew it would be something. But never in my wildest dreams did I think it would be this.