Last year, the woman who sued Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger for rape in Nevada made a settlement offer that, frankly, appeared to be nothing more than a P.R. ploy.
She offered to drop the case in exchange for an admission that Roethlisberger assaulted her, a letter of apology, and a $100,000 donation to an abused women’s shelter.
The offer, which Roethlisberger never would have accepted, has now been pulled.
“The deadline for that has passed,” lawyer Calvin R.X. Dunlap tells the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Indeed it has. Recent events have given the Nevada case more strength. Even though they don’t change the facts of the Nevada case (which has real flaws, thanks to contemporaneous e-mails written by the accuser), the Georgia allegations and the six-game suspension give Dunlap and his client leverage.
“The sanctions imposed by Commissioner Goodell are the business of the NFL, however, the behavior of Mr. Roethlisberger in Tahoe, in Georgia, in Las Vegas and elsewhere will be part of the business of our lawsuit,” Dunlap told the Post-Gazette.
The reference to Las Vegas relates to Boston lawyer Harry Manion’s recent radio allegation, from which he quickly backtracked. So look for Dunlap to continue to hammer away at all possible incidents and accidents, hints and allegations, until Roethlisberger decides to just write a check and be done with it.