Also: If you have a crazy woman who has accused you of rape from an incidence like this and the whole world finds out about it and you go into a bathroom 6 months later with another girl at a bar, you better believe you will have 8 sorority girls screaming that you are raping her. You also better believe that when that girl was making out with Ben, that 4 of those sorority girls yelled at her because he rapes women. You better believe that the 20 year old girl started crying when she said that. You also better believe that when that 20 year old girl admitted she blacked out from being too drunk and can’t remember much, you better believe those sorority girls told her it was okay because he makes more than 100 million dollars and he will pay.

Is Ben a rapist? Extremely doubtful. Is he still a stupid frat boy? Yes. There’s a difference. He is a dumb idiot who should have never hooked up with a chick from Tahoe that he didn’t know very well and after all that he should have never went into a bathroom to try to makeout with a chick when everyone at the bar thinks you might be a rapist.

I agree. The evidence does not support that he was a sex offender. I also agree that “None of us will ever know what happened”.

None of us will ever know what happened in the intimate moments between Ben and those two women. But that’s also the case when you serve on a jury. You have to look at the evidence and strive to make a wise judgment based on available facts.

As a rape survivor, it was important for me to research the cases and draw my own conclusions. And as a writer who’s covered medical and legal issues for years, I was well able to find the documents and review the material. I went over McNulty’s account line by line, and have read the e-mails and texts. Her backstory is actually quite complicated, but the expressed desire to see Ben again is not. That speaks for itself. So do the results of the forensic exam in Georgia.

The witness statements completely unraveled the stories about the cop guarding the bathroom door. That tale didn’t even match the accuser’s written account of events. I spent a lot of time reviewing DNA findings, and her test results show plainly that she did not have intercourse with anyone during the time period of the alleged rape. Some have speculated about oral sex, etc. But she has steadfastly maintained that it was intercourse, and that simply could not have happened with these forensic results. Bear in mind, too, that she initially said no sex occurred, but changed her story at the insistence of her friend–a woman Ben personally threw out of the party for ragging him about the Nevada lawsuit. The DA didn’t say he had insufficient evidence against Ben. He said he didn’t have enough evidence to show any crime had occurred and that they would never reopen this issue. Nevada police made the same statement. Those are very pointed comments if people were paying attention.

Every other story about Roethlisberger and women showed him to be boorish but nonviolent. Stories that were meant to bolster the Georgia claim did just the opposite–they showed that he was a jerk to women but never did them any physical harm, even when they were alone and he could have done whatever he wanted.

People pay a big price for fame–and foolishness. Ben thought he could treat groupies like throwaway tissues and it would never come back to haunt him. He’s not the first celebrity to discover that’s not always the case. I have no doubt he’s a jerk, but there’s a big difference between beinga jerk and a sex offender. The evidence simply doesn’t support that.

There is ALWAYS going to be a group of people that think that Ben raped her, no matter what happened. Even if the lady came out tomorrow and said there was no rape and this was a scam, people will still think he raped her.

If anyone cared to actually read the lawsuit, it reads like a horrible novel where EVERYONE in the hotel was covering up and leaving her out to dry.

Lets also forget about the witness statements where she said told co-workers “I hope I have a Little Ben”, she was looking to get pregnant.

It was also amazing how there was no criminal complaint AND it took her a year to even file a lawsuit.

Does not matter, wouldn’t want facts to get in the way of people thinking that Ben actually raped her. That would be too inconvenient .

__________________________________

The fact is none of these things are facts. They are allegations. None of these claims by either side have been scrutinized in a court so they may or may not be legitimate.

The fact is: we don’t know if he raped her or not.

@gimmeabruschi …

Instead of celebrating your team’s return to the Super Bowl, you’re still obsessing over your desperate need for for the Steelers QB to be a sex offender despite all evidence to the contrary. Rivalry is one thing, but this is sad. Bless your heart.

__________________________________

I think you are off base here ma’am. I certainly am not obsessed with BR’s troubles. I have said before I hope he has turned around what can only be described as unsavory behavior at best and downright criminal behavior at worst. There is just no good reason whatsoever for him to have put himself in the positions he has. I am pulling for him to be a changed man.

My issue is with Steeler fans or non Steeler fans drawing a clear conclusion from the facts when there is no such conclusion proven.

I think if you were being fair to my take on this you would have to say I’ve been pretty neutral considering I am a fan of a rival team.

The only reason I speak to you on this is because you have a brain and are sincere, despite the understandable homerism. Most of the rest of the commenters can’t be taken seriously. God bless you Deb.

I don’t celebrate returns to the Super Bowl. I celebrate Super Bowl victories.

If anyone cared to actually read the lawsuit, it reads like a horrible novel where EVERYONE in the hotel was covering up and leaving her out to dry.

Lets also forget about the witness statements where she said told co-workers “I hope I have a Little Ben”, she was looking to get pregnant.

It was also amazing how there was no criminal complaint AND it took her a year to even file a lawsuit.

Does not matter, wouldn’t want facts to get in the way of people thinking that Ben actually raped her. That would be too inconvenient .

To sum up, Ray Lewis is in fact still guilty of a crime but Big Ben is not.
———

Easy to do when you have the cops working in cahoots to cover up what you did. AND THAT was proven.

Instead of celebrating your team’s return to the Super Bowl, you’re still obsessing over your desperate need for for the Steelers QB to be a sex offender despite all evidence to the contrary. Rivalry is one thing, but this is sad. Bless your heart.

Filing e-mails and text messages with the court means nothing until they are scrutinized by the Plaintiff and the court. Obviously the court didn’t dismiss the case when BR’s attorneys requested it.

The fact remains…. we don’t know what happened. All we do know is he paid her off.

There have been two incidents: this one, for which there are e-mails and texts the accuser sent the next day saying she couldn’t wait to see him again. And the one in Georgia, for which a medical exam showed no intercourse occurred. No other accusations have been made by anyone except rival fans on PFT.

__________________

I love how Squealer fans can’t see that this 15th f’n incident isn’t enough to assume it’s NOT a money grab.

“Well since according to most Steeler’s fans Ray Lewis pleading down means that he’s guilty then Big Ben must be guilty as well.”

Incorrect. Lewis plead down to a criminal charge, and thus has a criminal conviction for his criminal actions. Ben has not been found criminally guilty of anything – this is a civil court here.

To sum up, Ray Lewis is in fact still guilty of a crime but Big Ben is not.

Her own account of the alleged incident was riddled with inconsistencies. Her e-mails and text messages were filed with the court and state plainly that she wanted to see him again. That’s one reason local police issued a statement saying they had no evidence an assault had occurred, and would never open a criminal investigation.

Although there was no jail risk, proceeding with this suit–which has now dragged on two years–would have meant Ben would miss camp and/or playing time sitting in a courtroom continuing to pay hefty legal bills and watching his name dragged through the mud. That’s why my brother and other competent attorneys advise settling these nuisance cases. The idea that no innocent person ever settles these cases sounds lovely, but it’s naive and simply untrue.

I hope she has the courage to turn it down.

In the meantime, innocent people do not settle. EVER.

@barneyfifeactionfigure …

When the suit was first filed, the complaint was available online and I downloaded a copy. Nowhere in her account of events does she say Roethlisberger got angry with her and threatened her job over the TV set. I don’t know where you got your information, but that was not her story. She said he was friendly and nonthreatening when she went to his room.

She also sent texts and e-mails to friends the following day saying she couldn’t wait to see him again. That’s not typical behavior of a rape victim. I’m glad you’re not a Steelers fan, too. You’re not very bright.

____________________________________

Sorry Deb, but acting as though allegations of these e-mails is confirmed fact is no better than accepting the allegations about BR as facts.

Those claims have not withstood scrutiny in a court so they are moot to the discussion.

We don’t know what happened that night. So saying we do is errant.

All we do know is he that paid her off.

Brilliant post from a wise woman!

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
One of those two had 21 total tds (rush & pass)and 19 total turnovers (Int & fumbles). The other one had 21 total TDs and 18 turnovers. They both had mediocre years.

Mere words will never suffice to explain how much I DESPISE BR, but never for one minute do I believe that either of these two incidents are anything but his being a boor with how he treats groupies so the groupies get offended and seeks to embarrass him publicly. Like that dude says further up, if he knew how to BS his one nighters and groupies, none of this ever happens. He probably just acts like they should be glad to be in the room with him, so they get all bent out of shape.

There’s a certain hypocrisy about women who are willing to sleep with/throw themselves at a famous guy they just met getting offended over being treated like the groupies they are, but that’s a dissertation, not a message board post.

When the suit was first filed, the complaint was available online and I downloaded a copy. Nowhere in her account of events does she say Roethlisberger got angry with her and threatened her job over the TV set. I don’t know where you got your information, but that was not her story. She said he was friendly and nonthreatening when she went to his room.

She also sent texts and e-mails to friends the following day saying she couldn’t wait to see him again. That’s not typical behavior of a rape victim. I’m glad you’re not a Steelers fan, too. You’re not very bright.

To me, If I didn’t do it, then I would fight tooth and nail to prove I was innocent. I certainly wouldn’t pay, because that is just basically saying your guilty.

————————————————-

I have the same attitude, but the reality is that celebrities settle these nuisance suits every day and you hear nothing about them. It costs a pittance of their income or insurance, gets out of the public eye, and they go on with their lives. If he’d done that, the Georgia thing would never have happened. That all started when a woman at the party started ragging him about this lawsuit. He threw her out of the party. She later dragged her friend, the accuser, to a cop and claimed she’d been raped while the friend insisted nothing had happened. She changed her story later when the one thrown out of the party dragged her to the police station. The medical exam showed nothing had happened. The other witnesses in the bar refuted that story about the bodyguard at the door and it didn’t even match the accuser’s statement. The only one telling that story was the girl thrown out of the party … for ragging Ben about this lawsuit.

He was an idiot to put himself in that situation in Georgia. But if he’d settled this to begin with, it wouldn’t have snowballed like it did. And despite what people post, there haven’t been any other accusations.

We can only hope Ben has grown up at least a little bit and finally learned celebrity QBs with big bank accounts are big targets. So people in his position have to act like they have some brains … even if they don’t.