Get rid of Ben
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A close reading of the statements of participants in the shameful events involving Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in Milledgeville, Ga., last month, taken against a background of his role in Pittsburgh, make it clear to me that he must go.
I say that in full awareness of the importance of Mr. Roethlisberger to the performance of the Steelers, at least some of the time; the importance of the Steelers' performance to the morale of Pittsburgh; and of the pickle in which it will put the team -- and thus, the city, not to mention Steeler Nation -- if he is cut loose. Nonetheless, he has to go.
Mr. Roethlisberger's behavior toward a 20-year-old, apparently drunk college girl who apparently was confined with him in a bar bathroom with the help of his "crew," is disgusting. Coming on top of what he was accused of having done in Las Vegas, the Milledgeville events were clear evidence that he doesn't learn anything and might repeat such behavior, even though that isn't really relevant.
The Steelers' owners, including the Rooney family, may be thinking of an x-game suspension for Mr. Roethlisberger. If that's what they do, it will then be a question of waiting around until he does something comparable one more time. His experience with the Las Vegas accusations should have been more than sufficient to put him on the straight and narrow with respect to loutish behavior. It didn't.
It will be interesting if the Steelers put him on the market to see which teams might be willing to take him on, given his record of high-risk behavior that's just this side of earning an indictment on a career-ending felony charge. The Philadelphia Eagles hesitated to take Michael Vick after he had served time for a crime involving dogs, not women.
Did the Georgia authorities cut Mr. Roethlisberger a break?
Reading the account of what witnesses said he and his buddies, including two off-duty policemen, did, that is a good question. Enough of us have watched enough episodes of "Law and Order" to know that it isn't only what someone has done, it's whether evidence can convince a jury in a court of law that determines whether someone is indicted. Given that show's propensity to take stories out of the news to dramatize, it probably won't be that long before television audiences have the opportunity to view with fascination the case of a pro football star being investigated for possible rape.
First Published April 21, 2010 12:00 am
