Ben didn’t do anything wrong? Typical partisan fan that gets off trying put down fans from other teams. Oh, let me be more contemporary (I hate lingo), we’re the “haters” you team “rolls” on.

Why was he suspended then? Why did all your own faithful “Stiller” fans dump on your own man (and some still do)? Because he was getting drunk with the college chicks? You sound like someone who would have ben right there with Ben as he called all these women his “b*tches.” Have some class and a real argument next time you post.

I’ll never cry because of the Steelers. You all have more trophies for whining and crying than you have Lomdardi’s. You all have a good team. You all have won multiple championships. Still “having class” alludes the Steeler fans. Someday maybe!

Your crying because your team isn’t as good as the Steelers really does get old.

masteel, I don’t think you have the right to say what people blog on here about. If they want to get into why Ben’s is or isn’t guilty, so be it. Just don’t read it if you don’t like it. By the way, the court did not ever have an official say as you state. It did not go to trial. And the correct outcome I believe you were alluding to would have been “not guilty” as opposed to “innocent.” You’ll recall OJ was “not guilty.” Hardly innocent.

Mswravens and Deb, you two need something more in your life. You two really have this much time on your hands? Although, I do admit to finding your banter minimally amusing. I will say, that all the GA investigation proves is there was no sufficient evidence to proceed. That is not a necessarily at statement of innocence.

Anyway, can hardly wait for the next PFT story that you two battle it out on again. Thanks for the entertainment.

this is a public blog site intended for football chatter players, stats, games, etc. not a public blog litigation site ….the court and officials had their say – Ben has been found innocent.

AND winning does allow things to fade, SO I hope the Steelers & Ben keep on Winning!!

GO Steelers

The police never held Ray Lewis because they ever thought he was the murderer. They held him only because he was withholding information about who the murderer was. He was actually protecting a thug/clinger that jumped into his car. The police never said Ray could have been the murderer.

Contrast that with Roethlisberger…Remember the first incident? It went away pretty quickly. However, when it happens a second time…I would say that is pattern of behavior and it matches what his friends say about him. This wouldn’t be an issue either if it hadn’t been the second instance.

Ray never committed a crime and his friends have always spoken highly of him.

Roethlisberger committed something multiple times and his friends have spoken lowly of him.

Don’t compare Ray to Roethlisberger.

The Pittsburgh interview of Roethlisberger during his suspension tells you everything about him and the Pittsburgh Media. When he was asked if he is taking the time to reflect on what he had done…What did he say?
Yeah..I have been putting my past behind me and concentrating on football, staying in shape, etc. What a crappy answer. If I were the father of the girl involved, I wouldn’t want Roethlisberger to forget everything and concentrate on football. Yet to the Pittsburgh Media, that was the perfect answer.

No, of course I didn’t think the statements would be found online so anyone could challenge me!

Where do you think I got them, genius? ROFL

Although I got my copies from the Police Department releases and only picked up a couple of missing links from the Smoking Gun. So my stack is probably more complete than your stack. And the story does piece together exactly as I’ve posted.

You know what gives you your first hint that my version is accurate?

The fact that no arrest was made and no charges were filed.

Ba-dum-dum!

So what was it this morning … squat or stand?

My brother says he wouldn’t want me on a rape jury because my bias is for the victim. It took a long time to realize many women lie about rape. When McNulty made her accusation, I examined it closely and felt there were problems, but wasn’t comfortable until the text messages surfaced. Because there was so much evidence indicating he didn’t assault her, I was skeptical of the next accusation. I studied the files, researched DNA testing, and consulted with my brother and others. I have as good a handle on it as any reporter working the case.

Fred Bright’s an ethical, respected prosecutor, though he gets carried away around cameras. He has a large team of prosecutors. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation ran this case, and is one of the top agencies of its kind in the nation. The investigation wasn’t botched. Info re the security system was erroneously reported. There were no cameras in the VIP or bathroom areas. Investigators watched the footage, which showed only the parties entering the club separately. They chose not to download it because it wasn’t relevant. Later, the system reached capacity and overwrote, just as any DVR. Officer Jerry Blash’s mistake was to have a photo taken w/Ben hours earlier. When her sorority sisters kept shouting she’d been raped, he told them to shut up and let her talk, and he said she was too drunk to know what happened. That cost him his job. But he filed an incident report, sent her to the hospital, and dispatched a detective. Then there was the silliness about cleaning the bathroom. Dozens of people had been in that bathroom, and Ben never denied being there. But the woman alleged only vaginal rape, so the relevant fact was that not a pindrop of semen or one pubic hair was found on her.

You’re incorrect in insisting the DA said he didn’t have enough to prosecute. Networks ran excerpts, but I watched his entire 71-minute press conference at least five times. He began by saying his job is to win cases and he didn’t have enough to go forward. But then his tenor changed. He said he needed to prove penetration against her will and couldn’t prove either. The penetration comment was due to the medical exam. He talked about how she had been engaged in mutual sexual conversation w/Ben. He talked about how they had tried to get Ben to go home with them. He said not only didn’t he have enough to convict, he didn’t have enough for probable cause–the reasonable belief a crime has occurred. He said he’d never re-open this case regardless of future evidence. That’s because the medical exam shows she wasn’t raped.

Bright said the accusation was alcohol-fueled and he hoped the women learned their lesson. If Ben were one of his sons, he’d tell him to grow up and he’s welcome back in town if he behaves. Not the words of a vet prosecutor who thinks a rapist may be getting away for lack of evidence.

My extreme ire isn’t, as most think, about idolization of Roethlisberger. Don’t want to lose my Super Bowl-winning QB, but have wanted to kick Ben in the backside. I’m just so tired of stories about women who go out wearing t-shirts that say “In case of rape, this side up” or DTF pins, who deliberately get themselves blotto and crawl over anything that moves, and later decide it’s rape. In this case–believe it or not–the medical exam shows there was no sex. But even if there were, calling it rape trivializes all those women and girls I’ve known who really were violated against their will.. Ben’s no saint but no matter what rival football fans think, these women know what they did. And someday I hope the ones who cried wolf will regret playing this game. Back later to talk football …

You can take all the preparation in the world by top notch lawyers…and you can have the ice in veins demeanor of Nathan Jessup (you know the reference?)…it doesn’t matter. When you make statements that are contradicted by the evidence, it’s a field day for any attorney who has half a sense of what they’re doing. It doesn’t mean I’m g-d’s gift to trial lawyers, or possess any special talent. I would have a field day with you. The devil is always in the details…and the more detail you continue to provide, or create in your own mind…yes, the easier it would be for me to take you down. I don’t care if you visibly crumble or not. That’s the stuff of television dramas. You can be as firm in your convictions as you are on this board. It won’t matter. All that will matter is the impression that is left in the jurors minds. And with all respect, despite what you’ve been through, unless and until you’ve been on the stand, you have no idea what you’re dealing with.

Now, all that said, you obviously wouldn’t be a witness in the case…you are simply restating what you have gleaned from others. And you and I could obviously go round & round over all the he said-she said that is at the heart of this case. I’m not going to waste either of our time continuing to do so, but will simply sum up by again pointing out that you continue to say that the DA concluded no crime was committed. That is simply not true. He concluded that he did not have sufficient evidence to proceed. That is not affirmative proof of Ben’s innocence, as much as you want it to be…as much as in your own mind you have intepreted it to be. It’s not even proof that other prosecutors in other jurisdictions would have reached a different conclusion! I don’t know this prosecutor. He may be a wuss? He may be concerned about his career? Hell, maybe he’s a tough SOB and really believes nothing happened… Who knows! Your lawyer releatives should be the first to tell you that it’s an imperfect system.

You have played judge & jury & reached your conclusion…and that’s fine. I seriously commend you for having done so after the exhaustive research you have done. BUT, somewhere, somehow, you have to understand that a lot of other people…haven’t done polling, but I suspect it’s a majority of people… feel otherwise. That doesn’t make anyone who thinks Ben raped this girl, or sexually assaulted this girl, a jackass…and you shouldn’t blame those people for feeling that way. And you shouldn’t blame this girl for what happened either. You should blame Ben for misbehaving – whether criminally or not – and making people feel that way about him…and for putting you in the position of having to defend him.

By the way, 12 people after months of testimony found OJ innocent. A much larger and more informed sampling than your DA in Milledgville, GA. You think OJ was innocent???

Lastly – you’ll get a good close up look at Colt McCoy tomorrow. I hope he found an arm in the last week, but I doubt it, and will wonder what you see in him tomorrow. Here’s some excerpts from Kiper’s draft analysis:

“I really believe that his arm strength is under-rated. Granted, this past season, a decent percentage of McCoy’s throws were of the underneath variety…[then Kiper blames the o-line & a shoulder injury]…A question with him will be, can he power the ball down the field and stretch an NFL defense? For the most part I believe he can make the necessary throws, although wind and weather could cause some issues.”

So it seems the arm is a question, and I didn’t see much arm last week. Rookie wall, maybe? weather? I don’t know…I like Kiper a lot, and seems he had his questions. Then again, Kiper also insisted Jimmie Clausen would be a top notch NFL QB!!! I just think us Ravens & Steelers fans won’t have to worry too much about the Browns making any noise anytime soon…methinks they still need a QB!!!

Seriously, that’s just wrong.

I read Deb’s reply to you and decided to do a little searching. Guess what I found, 23 pages of statements made both that night and the next morning. These are scans of the original statements (even in their own handwriting from the victim, witnesses, even Ben’s very first statement to the police, as told by the officer). Imagine my reaction when they are substantially different than what Deb tries to claim. Guess she didn’t think the statements would be found online!

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/crime/ben-roethlisbergers-bad-play

Maybe this will shut her up once and for all, but somehow I doubt it. I’m thinking that she will claim the documents are forged! LOL

Happy new year!

Wow … you’d tear me a new one? Good luck with that. I know those case files like the back of my hand, and as I said, a good friend worked the investigation so my conclusions have been confirmed by someone even more familiar with the files than I am. My brother and sis-in-law are top-notch criminal defense attorneys who also teach law school, so I’d be well-prepped by people who do this every day.

You’re confusing details of the case and I am not the one who reached the conclusion that no crime occurred. The prosecutor reached that conclusion. He announced it months ago when he said that there was no evidence of penetration or that she was an unwilling participant in her behavior with Roethlisberger. He said he didn’t even have enough for probable cause–the reasonable belief that a crime occurred. The medical exam is as I described, and I’m not going to describe it again.

Ben’s brief statement to the police was, to paraphrase, Oh yeah, I remember that girl. I told her she was too drunk to be back there. I think she hit her head. At that point a member of his entourage told him to stop talking until he spoke with an attorney.

Yes, a woman was offended by the “bitches” remark and left. My altercation on PFT with her mother is what led me to blurt out my rape history. That has nothing to do with what I’m describing. I have no reason to believe that woman was one of the accuser’s sorority sisters.

The accuser and her sorority sisters remained at the VIP party where they continually asked Ben to accompany him back to their place. He refused, commenting to his buddies that was a lawsuit waiting to happen. One of the sorority sisters then began ragging him about the Nevada lawsuit. At that point, Ben personally threw her out of the party. Again, the DA went over this info, although he didn’t detail the reason the woman was thrown out of the party. That came out later. This woman and another sorority sister tried to get back into the party and the bodyguard refused to grant them admittance.

Later, those two women were the ones who dragged the accuser to the police and insisted she’d been raped while she said she had not even had sex (which was confirmed by her medical exam). Those two women went back with her to the police station the following morning when she changed her story to say she had been raped. Those two women are the only ones who told the story about the bodyguard blocking the bathroom door. The owner of the club said they came to him and expressed concern about their friend continuing to be in the VIP room and he personally showed them a way to get into the VIP room, bypassing the bodyguard. However, he said, they did not bother to go. The other witnesses refuted the story about the bodyguard blocking the door and it conflicts with the accuser’s own written statement. She claims she and Ben were rolling around on the floor in the hallway before getting up and going into the bathroom. So where was the bodyguard? Hanging from a light fixture above them? Of course, she also claims he entered her while she was sitting on a toilet. He’s 6’5″. The toilet is 14 inches from the ground.

So you’re going to break me? I’m a three-time cancer survivor, have been through 28 surgeries, am a rape survivor, and spent more than four years living in the projects in a guerilla war zone with freaking bombs going off around me. And I’m contracted to write books on medical and legal issues, so I’m pretty good at doing my homework and getting my facts straight. I don’t break that easily.

You’re not serious, are you, that’s what you get from this?

——–

I was being facetious/sarcastic

Ben supposedly did “nothing”, but Rooney wants to make sure that this doesn’t happen “again”.

Great job! My points exactly.

The physicians say there WERE signs of sexual activity, and the victim is claiming there was a sexual assault. Deb just tosses that evidence out saying that it doesn’t prove intercourse – which is not necessary for sexual assault – and which, IF it happened, she is sure was consensual sex, all while dismissing the victim’s claims of assault in favor of a TWICE accused sexual predator ……..

and she passes herself off as a rape victim’s advocate?!!!!

I wish I had time to re-print all of your posts and then discredit many of the statements you make as fact which are directly contradicted by the evidence during the investigation – which, let us not forget, was both wanting & botched in many respects. As someone who has cross-examined witnesses for almost 20 years, I would tear you a new one on the witness stand. I’ve done it to many a witness with a lot less ammunition than you have supplied. Just as a for example – your description of Ben’s limited statement to the police officer is flat out wrong. In fact, the officer reported that Ben denied knowing the woman he just hooked up with (whether that entailed actual intercourse or not), saying merely that he thought he remembered seeing her in the bar. hardly forthcoming…he then refused to make any further statement at that time. You also say that the accuser had only two corroborating witnesses, both of whom were pissed off because Ben or someone in his group, booted them from the VIP. Again, wrong! There was one “sister” who was offended when Ben made the “all my bitches do a shot” remark, and left on her own. She wasn’t there when IT went down, so she wasn’t one of the corroborating witnesses. Two other women did state that they tried to get into the back area to remove their friend, and Ben’s bodyguards blocked them from trying to help their clearly inebriated friend. Both of them, by the way, also went to the bar owner to try & get her out of there, but he refused to help…but did corroborate their story! And just because she was drinking on her own, doesn’t make it OK for Ben to later supply tray after tray of shots for the 19-20 year old girls. And another thing – the accused didn’t announce to the crowd what DTF meant, as you state. She was wearing a handwritten name tag with 3 lines of small text, the bottom line saying DTF (review the pictures…it’s barely legible)…described by her friends as an inside joke from a birthday party earlier that evening. Ben asked what DTF meant, and one of her friends told him AND added that it was an inside joke. I could go on & on with statement you make as fact, that just are not supported by the evidence.

What’s really disturbing though, is how you have singly concluded that the evidence is not only insufficient to charge a crime, but is definitive proof of innocence…you have judged the credibility of the witnesses and the parties on the basis of summary written statements, thereby discarding everything that does not fit your narrative and accepting all that does…and then twisted the story in your own mind to one of a college aged hussy in obsessed pursuit of a star athlete who just so happens to be a willing victim of her pursuit, so that she can later claim rape, seek to charge him with a crime, and then decide not to & disappear…forcing her to withdraw from school for at least a period of time, such that the conniving b*tch should herself be charged with a crime…and lets not forget her friends who were apparently willing participants in this charade.

You have somehow manipulated this whole sordid affair in your own mind to one in which Ben could not be guilty to the extent that you beleive there is no proof of guilt…and then raged against anyone who would say otherwise. I really think you need to try to step back and re-assess your assessment of this case. I don’t know if Ben raped her. I don’t know if they had sex. But I do know that you don’t know either, although you think you do!

Ben onkly had allegations! Never charged never arrested! Perrish Cox arrested ona Thursday and alowed to play following Sunday? Favre sending TEXT pictures of hsi junk and he only get $50,000 fine when he makes $20 mill this season?

______________________

Ben has had multiple “allegations“, Favre had one. At this time, without an admission from Favre, there is no proof that HE in fact sent the pictures, plus there is nothing said (at least not publicly) that the gold digger did not in fact ask for the pics to be sent. Favre was fined for not cooperating with the league, not lying as certain people try to claim and not for sexting or sending pictures. Ben via witness accounts was actually in the situations that led to the allegations.

I won’t speak about Cox, I haven’t paid that much attention to the story at this point to be honest.

Spell check is your friend, might want to keep that in mind in the future

I know you said you’re a woman but you, um, stand up to pee (really, more than I needed to know). Anyway, I’m open-minded, but you should be careful about posting that stuff here … especially when you keep making all those passionate posts about Favre and your boy “Benji” (cute nickname, but I think he prefers “Big Ben”). Some people get bent out of shape over this stuff.

Yes, yes, we’re all accustomed to your passionate hatred for all things Steeler, including me, and your minimizing of my reality in favor of your hysterical ranting fictions. Got it. You’re an obsessed football nut who twists truths to fit the bizarre scenarios in your head.

But nothing you’ve quoted changes the forensic findings that the women didn’t have intercourse, which was reiterated by the prosecutor in his statement to the press when he said he could not prove there was any penetration and did not have even enough evidence to suggest that the crime in question ever took place. If the medical exam had indicated intercourse, he would have said he had evidence of rape, but not enough to point to Roethlisberger as the perpetrator.

And nothing in your post changes the statements of witnesses who refuted the two–and only two–sorority sisters who were barred from the party by the bodyguard and invented a story about him blocking the bathroom. Other witnesses, including the club owner said that dramatic tale you’re spinning about the dark hallway never happened and it even conflicts with the accuser’s written statement.

I never took Roethlisberger’s word for anything in either case. Unlike you, I don’t worship the football players on my team. I simply read the evidence files and consulted experts in the field–because as a writer who covers legal and medical issues, I have access to experts in the field.

Just as Andrea McNulty, who texted friends she couldn’t wait to see Roethlisberger again, was not a victim, this woman was not a victim. It’s insulting to victims to claim otherwise. You’ve cooked this whole thing up in your head because it’s what you desperately want to believe no matter what any authorities say to the contrary.

And no, I can’t imagine you being a woman who’d been raped. You are incapable of standing in the shoes of a real rape victim. You feel only for yourself and your selfish obsession with a football team. This post, like so many others, demonstrates that real-life issues are far beyond your intellectual and emotional capacity.

Deb says:
“The exam revealed slight vaginal bruising and a small bleeding cut–also consistent w/consensual sex, fondling, masturbation. ”

(So both a physician AND Deb admit that there were SOME physical signs of sexual activity!)

Deb says:
“In her condition, she could have easily scratched herself while wiping. My opinion is that they went to the bathroom with the intention of having sex, there was consensual fondling, but they were too drunk to do the deed, so he just dumped her.”

“But I will not sit here and let people paint that skank as a poor widdle innocent underage victim being plied with alcohol by the big bad wolf.”
————————————————-

I find it INCREDIBLEY SANCTAMONIOUS that someone who portrays herself as a “rape survivor” makes such a blatant assumption, given at least SOME indication of signs of a sexual assault and a victim who is claiming a sexual assault.

As a “rape survivor”, it would be reasonable to assume that you would take that physical evidence – however small it may seem to you- and the word of a victim, over that of someone you ADMIT should have known better than to place himself in that position having already been previously accused of sexual assault!

And who’s character is more credible here? Which of these two people has been involved in a previous sexual assault case, the victim or Roethlisberger???

I find it incredible that someone who claims to be a rape survivor, someone whho supposedly works dilligently for rape victim’s rights, would callously ignore even the smallest physical signs of a sexual assault, and the word of a victim, against that of a previously accused sexual offender who followed the victim down a dark hallway like a sexual predaor, and had his bodyguards block access to that area.

Incredible, Deb, incredible. I would hate to be a woman seeking help from you for a rape or sexual assault.

Funny how your change your “facts” to fit what is brought up AFTER you make your claims.

One thing that stands out above all else, despite your continued claims that absolutely no rape occurred –
“A doctor who examined her at a nearby emergency room discovered a cut, bruises and vaginal bleeding but could not say if she was raped. And while some DNA was found, there was not enough to determine whom it belonged to, Bright said.”

In other words, it could not be concluded if a rape DID or DID NOT not occur.

Further, it doesn’t matter if she said she was DTF all night, followed him around trying to get into his pants, if she willingly went to that bathroom later that night or as you say ““obsessed” with the QB, who dogged him all night, did everything but dance naked on the table“. Once she said no, your boy should have maned up and walked out. By all accounts, he didn’t do that.

If you are being truthful in your claims of rape, you of all people should be totally PO’ed that he wasn’t charged with anything!

99.5% of people know what he did, sad that there are some like you who refuse to believe the evidence put in front of you!

When the Milledgeville story broke, so many of you came on here with your “I saw Ben Roethlisberger behave like a jacka$$” stories, and the Pittsburgh media was rife with “Roethlisberger is jerk” reports.

So now someone without YOUR bias calls Roethlisberger a douche, and I’m the douche for reminding you all of what an a$$clown so many of you said he was six months ago?

Bunch of morons. You people are dumber than rocks to believe this “I’m a new man” crap.

If you re-read all the witness statements, then you know witnesses at other clubs said the accuser was buying her own drinks at other establishments while following Roethlisberger from club to club. And you know that at CapCity he was buying rounds for the room that the waitress said she deposited on the table and the accuser helped herself. She also has a history of drinking in that club with a fake ID. So he was not plying her with alcohol. As for her age, the DA described her as being a few months shy of her 21st birthday. So you can stop describing her as though she was a 16-year-old ingenue.

Personally, I think Ben needed to be kicked up and down the streets of Milledgeville. What kind of nut, with a civil suit for rape pending, goes out and plays–as you said–king of the court with a bunch of drunken sorority sisters? Any man with half a brain in that situation seeing a woman advertising herself as “Down to F***”–which was on her pin and which she verbally translated for the crowd should have made him run like heck the other way. But nooo! Our QB thinks he’s made of Teflon. Jackass … definitely.

But I will not sit here and let people paint that skank as a poor widdle innocent underage victim being plied with alcohol by the big bad wolf. If anyone was a predator that night, it was the woman Sports Illustrated described in its investigative report as “obsessed” with the QB, who dogged him all night, did everything but dance naked on the table, then cried rape when he didn’t screw her, just because her sorority sisters told her to. She should have been prosecuted … and her little friends, too.

You’re quoting from a news account, not the actual report.

The exam revealed slight vaginal bruising and a small bleeding cut–also consistent w/consensual sex, fondling, masturbation. In her condition, she could have easily scratched herself while wiping. In one of the many versions of the story she told police, she lamented that Ben just dumped her in the bathroom and left without a word. In his only brief statement to police, he said he told her she was too drunk to be back there. My opinion is that they went to the bathroom with the intention of having sex, there was consensual fondling, but they were too drunk to do the deed, so he just dumped her. (I’m not arguing that he’s a good guy–only that he didn’t rape anyone.) Multiple witnesses put her out of sight for about 10 minutes; he was alone with her for less than 10 minutes.

Two flecks of male DNA (not semen or sperm) also were found. Since they used the PCR testing method which can amplify the most miniscule samples for identity testing but they still couldn’t increase these samples to the necessary size, they had to be unbelievably small and degraded–which means they were not recent and probably were residue following showering from an earlier sexual encounter. The DA was asked at the press conference if she’d had sex with anyone else that day. He declined to comment. No semen, sperm, pubic hair, or chemicals from a condom were found. Even withdrawal would have left enough semen/sperm for PCR testing.

It’s impossible to have sex and not leave even a pindrop of semen or a single pubic hair, fleck of skin, etc. But none was found … which means she didn’t have intercourse with anyone that evening.

I am a Steelers fan and I hear ya. Ray Lewis wasn’t convicted and none of us will really know what happened there. Did something happen? Maybe, but it’s history and the book is closed. I don’t feel sorry for these guys who are making a boatload of cash at a very young age, but it can be a bad combination (obviously) if they aren’t mature enough and able to handle it. Although there are legitimate criminals in all professional sports, I think alot of it has to do with them being with the wrong people, in the wrong place, at the wrong time that hurts their cause. As long as we all keep buying tickets and lining their pockets, none of it is going to change.

I re-read all the witness statements this morning. Sorry, but even if he didn’t rape this girl, the whole scene he was running – and yes, Ben was king of the court & running the show – was sleazy. A 28yo high profile pro athelete plying underage college girls in a small college town with alcohol in a cordoned off section of a dingy bar…then disappearing into the bathroom with one of them who was essentially falling down drunk while his bodyguards secured the area from anyone else entering, including said drunken girls friends who wanted to extract her from the situation. Sorry, no defense for this guy. He shoulda been at the Playboy mansion with a whole bunch of DTF girls who are hotter and, more importantly, of age…and of his age!

People seem to have forgotten rape is about more than a woman getting drunk, climbing all over a guy, then crying rape. I was sober and asleep in my bed when someone I’d just met gained access to my room in the middle of the night. And I fought. The rape victims I’ve known–aged 5 to mid-80s–were victims of violence, not women declaring themselves “Down to F***.”

If you read the police files, you didn’t read far enough. I have an advantage in that–by funky coincidence–an old friend worked that investigation. He couldn’t comment on an open case, but I’m confident now that Ben was falsely accused. For one thing, her medical exam showed she could not possibly have been raped. Multiple witnesses heard her propositioning Ben and trying to get him back to her place. And even the club owner disputed the sorority sisters’ story about the bodyguard blocking the door. That’s why the DA said he couldn’t prove penetration or that anything occurred against her will.

Ben has been an ass and behaved like a raging egomaniac. The suspension–wrong as it was from in terms of NFL precedent–was the best thing that could have happened to him. He needed a big kick in the head. But there is a huge difference between being an ass and being a predator. As a society, we need to be mature enough to understand what a predator is. Guys who sext can end up in the national sex offender registry. So can 19-year-olds who have consensual sex with their 16-year-old girlfriends. And so can college kids who have sloppy drunk sex with consenting drunk women who later say they were too drunk to consent so that means it was rape. Since when is a drunk guy responsible for taking care of your body? Idiots on PFT are even calling Favre a predator for propositioning a woman who collects junk shots. So he should be in the registry, too?

While Ms. DTF was, by all accounts chasing Roethlisberger from bar to bar, then falsely accusing him of rape, a registered sex offender in California was raping and murdering two teenagers. Authorities had lost track of him after his release from prison. Given how many names are clogging the registry … no wonder.

How can you keep saying nothing could have possibly happened in Midgeville? Here is the report:

A doctor who examined her at a nearby emergency room discovered a cut, bruises and vaginal bleeding but could not say if she was raped. And while some DNA was found, there was not enough to determine whom it belonged to, Bright said.

That doesn’t sound like nothing could have possibly happened. That sounds like something definitely happened but could prove it. Big difference.

Suffice to say that both Ben and Ray are part of that group of successful young pro athletes that often make terrible decisions. As they mature and learn to handle money, fame and 24/7 scrutiny they seem to behave better. Do they become better people or do they just learn to keep things out of the public eye? I think it takes years to know the answer to this.

As a Ravens fan, I have enough respect for the game to be objective when I say that Ben is a hell of a player. And after several years proving he has become a changed person I have no issue giving Ben a pass for his stupidity when younger.

I believe enough time has passed that anyone could objectively say Ray has proven he has changed. There is little doubt in my mind Ray learned his lessons. Yet I have never seen a Pittsburgh fan objective enough to say such a thing.

I understand fandom though. And there will be many that will continue to say Ray is a murderer, just as there will be Ravens fans (and others) that will call Ben a rapist. No facts. Just stupid statements. In time, maybe even these people are capable of change (but I sincerely doubt it).