As Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger faces a potentially significant distraction in Nevada, some of the folks who participate in the state’s primary industry don’t think that the situation will affect his performance -- or the team’s prospects -- in 2009.
Dan Majors of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette spoke with a sampling gamblers who believe that the pending sexual assault charges will have no affect on the player or the team.
But it’s hardly a scientific study; Majors’ article reflects interviews with only four gamblers, and he points out that none of them expressed concern that the allegations will affect Roethlisberger.
Frankly, given the paper’s reputation for periodically shaking the pom-poms for Pittsburgh’s pro football team, we can’t help but wonder whether this article is aimed at keeping the local fans from fretting about whether the looming civil case will undermine the team’s prospects.
If so, the logic is a little goofy: “Hey, folks. People who make their living betting on sports currently think that none of this will hurt the team. So that means you shouldn’t, either.”
Then again, there’s something to be said for having a stadium full of rabid fans who aren’t wondering whether there’s a connection between possible on-field wobbles and actual off-field worries.
Bottom line? At this point, no one knows how any of this will affect the player or the team. And if the four guys in Nevada were good enough to be able to predict the future with any real certainty, the casino goon squads would have run them out of town a long, long time ago.