Terrible Ben article by SI.com

http://www.si.com/nfl/2017/01/03/ben-roethlisberger-past-controversy-pittsburgh-steelers-findlay

way too long to post but what is this? Brings up all the rape controversy with ben again. Seems like this article should have came out years ago. Why now?

 

Psh. Read the whole thing. I take these points into consideration.

The writer doesn't write this for no reason. But for what reason I do not know.

A young man who feels unstoppable, greater than all, etc. etc. Those guys exist. Those guys are some of us at some point in our lives. A guy like that with full balls can do stupid stuff, and with the line of consent being hard to quantify, and the potential of gold-diggery and women who actually are untouchable, its hard to say what happened.

But two things I can confidently strike down, maybe wearing black and gold colored glasses. Is that there was any "assault" or "rape." And that Ben is walking around, airing a facade, and constantly resisting the urge to rape women. Both of those ideas were heavily offered up in no subtle way in that article there.

And I say that because thats the difference between a conviction and no conviction in my mind. The difference between a real crime and a dumb QB unaware of the eyes on him and the consequences of being a famous person have casual sex with strangers.

Only one possibility can be true. That all these football, basketball, and baseball stars just love them some raping.

Or that their fame effectively removes a particular benefit of infinite sex that they probably fully took advantage on college campuses, but becomes a very dangerous game when a famous individual is in a random community, where that individual is only known by their image, trying to excercise that. People talk, and things become bigger than ever were.


So was Big Ben stupid for not taking that into consideration? Maybe. But hes hardly walking around playing "good." Maybe he actually is now one thing that he wasnt when he was younger? An ideal person and role model?

 

I just think its pretty suspect timing to release an article like this. Why the week of playoffs instead of say weeks 1-17?

 

Personally it's a damn good article.

 

Dollars to donuts even if it had been released then people like yourself would find reason to whine about it. Damned if you do, damned if you dont

 

It is not an article most of us would be proud of if it were about us. Ben owns it and created these problems himself that will forever haunt him. Good news is he worships a God who forgives.

 

Because we're in the playoffs?

 

Write all you want to. Ben has changed. Early on he was more of punk like attitude, would wear his hat backwards etc. But ever since his 4 games suspension in 2010, he has been nothing short of a model citizen. Wears his ball cap forward, like normal. Once he got married and had kids he really changed, much more professional and proper, and he's still been a good quarterback.

 

Author is from Miami, lives in DC... more than likely Maryland. Possible Ravens fan?

I don't know, the end of the article gets better, but at first seemed like some smear article. Every writer has an agenda whether consciously or subconsciously.

Its important to separate players from people. I most likely wouldn't like half the Steelers over the years if I knew them in person. It takes certain type of ego to be a pro athlete, not to mention the destination they had to travel just to make it to the NFL.

 

Calling him the NFL's most polarizing player is a bit much. Maybe if you are a Bengals or Ravens fan. Those people are delusional. They've got no choice but to point a finger because their own teams are built on criminals and scum bags.

 

Every one make a note
If you ever see SL Price in a Bear Fight
Make sure you
HELP THE DAMN BEAR.

 

He should write about Pacman who is back in jail again.

Who-dey gonna arrest next? LOL.

 

Possible Dolphins fan?

 

This guys just writing to get attention.

 

That was a strange article. A large portion of it was a clear attempt to paint Ben as a real piece of garbage totally guilty of rape. Then it went on to tell a story that was interesting to read. It wasn't poorly written, but it did reek of "hit piece" for much of the article. The attempts to paint an ugly picture sounded personal. The attempt to explain he grew up and changed were sort of glossed over and skeptical.

I was fine with most of the article but the clear desire to paint Ben guilty of rape was a bit much. For example were did this come from? Police Bias? I'd love to hear evidence of this. Because I don't recall that at all. I recall a situation that the alleged victim and friends were totally drunk and telling different stories. No police dept or DA on earth could have charged or convicted anyone of anything given the evidence and words by actual witnesses. The author made this up to paint an uglier picture then what is known as fact. I don't know of any parent who would not go after the rapist of their daughter if they actually thought he was guilty of rape. I'm confident Ben was guilty of being an entitled A hole with little to no regard to anyone but him self... I'm not convinced he's a rapist. I think he was a stupid arrogant jerk who thought he'd pressure a girl to give it up and it didn't work out because all involved were really drunk and all involved were guilty of poor behavior. IT was Ben's stature that made him to be the guilty one and her to be the victim. If he's guilty, he should be sent to prison. There's just zero evidence he was, an fair author points that out.

That case soon fell apart due to a lack of physical evidence, a reportedly biased stance by Milledgeville law enforcement against the alleged victim in the immediate aftermath, and the decision by the accuser not to press charges. “They made it very clear—her lawyer, her father, her—that they did not want the case prosecuted,” says Bright, who spent 21 years as a Georgia DA before retiring in 2015. “But even without that, we didn’t have a case. And we knew it pretty much from the beginning.”


Ben was an out of control douche. Sounds like it all went to his head in his early 20's. The adults that surrounded him did nothing to help him. He was encouraged to act like an entitled ass and he did just that. IMO the adults around Ben failed him. Ben failed to be a strong enough person to resist the temptations of fame, fortune, and freebies. I also think Ben, like many others, did finally grow up when he had no choice but to look in the mirror. That point comes in many people's lives. I can't imagine having to grow up and find your self with a spot light on you 24/7. I'm glad he did become a man. Too bad it took so long but it's not surprising. People do deserve a chance to earn forgiveness. I think Ben has done that. Unless of course you think he's a predator and a rapist. It would be nice if someone actually reported facts in regards to both accusations. They don't point to rape. Especially the lake tahoe incident.

 

I also thought it was funny that Brady and Elway were mentioned as good examples. Those 2 guys were also notorious A-holes and as arrogant as they come. Most athletes of Ben's caliber are. I'm confident I would be personally repulsed by the vast majority of NFL players no matter what team they are on. Brett Farve is maybe one of the worst examples of this yet he somehow got a free pass. I'm guessing it's because Brett maintained his good ole white guy personality, while Ben kind of took on the urban culture after moving away from small town America.

Our old back up QB Charlie Batch actually has a worse story involving rape in his college days but was largely ignored. From what I've heard it was a total cover up and Batch walked away innocent but wasn't. One of the other people involved went to my HS so I got a lot of details after the fact. I don't repeat it because I don't want a lawyer at my doorstep. So while there is a "hero" mentality that allows some to get a free pass... it also works the other way and I think Ben is an example of that. His fame actually created a bigger problem for him.

 

Written by Andrea McNutty

 

I don't think how someone wears their ball cap has any bearing on what type of person they are... Model citizen or punk. You have some valid points, but the ball cap reference is a bit silly.

 

There's a lot of that on this board LOL

 

Of coarse they don't mention anything good that he does.

Gives money to Police Departments to supply them with Canines.
Donates proceeds from his Big Bens Hot wing sauce to charities.
Donated a million dollars to Miami University athletic centers.
Has PFJ written on his shoes which they scolded him over.

I'm sure there are many more also.

Haters are gonna hate. That's all the article is.

 

I didn't know our old Tee Martin experiment has become quite the recruiter and a damn good OC for USC.

 

I saw that too.. That was some game ,that USC QB is unflappable ,what a performance. I'm already calling for us to win the next couple SBs then tank when that kid is coming out. Maybe T will replace Haley if he leaves.

 

USC QB's are scary brother

 

I'm assuming you mean they don't usually pan out but this kid is a Freshman and it really seems like he has his head on straight too....it will be interesting to follow his career.

 

Dude I can not tell you how many times I've enjoyed telling "Colts fans" around here that if they really wanted to win a Super Bowl they'd get Tee Martin and let Peyton go. The reason for that is because the year after Peyton left Tee took over and UT won the National Championship. The look of scorn was always amazing. LOL!