We mentioned earlier today the existence of rumors that Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was peeing at a Columbus, Ohio golf course recently, that a woman witnessed it, that she complained about it, and that she wanted to press charges.
We were told by a source close to Roethlisberger that another member of his foursome was the one who made No. 1, and that Roethlisberger ultimately helped persuade the woman not to pursue the matter.
Multiple reports are now emerging that, indeed, police in Dublin, Ohio investigated a complaint regarding urination on the course. Carl Prine of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that Roethlisberger did not do the public peeing, that the woman (who owns property along the course) ultimately decided against pressing charges, and that the proprietors of the Muirfield Village Golf Club agreed to handle the situation by reminding golfers to use the available restrooms.
Prine reports that police did not interview the golfers. (There also presumably was no Porky’s-style line up.)
TMZ has some slightly different details, which suggest that perhaps Roethlisberger isn’t innocent of watering the grass. Per TMZ, the woman initially called the golf club’s pro shop and described the perpetrator of the peeing. She was told that the person fitting the description provided was Roethlisberger. The woman then called police and reported that Roethlisberger was peeing in public.
According to TMZ, police arrived at the club and determined that no crime had been committed. By the time the police showed up, Roethlisberger and the rest of his foursome were “long gone.” Based on the one-page report obtained by TMZ, the incident occurred between the 17th green and the 18th tee.
Though Roethlisberger’s camp maintains that Ben didn’t do the peeing, the information obtained by TMZ suggests that maybe he did, and that perhaps one of the other guys in the pee party will take the fall if this incident should grow legs, as far as the NFL is concerned.
Is it a big deal? No. Is it newsworthy in light of Roethlisberger’s potential involvement, given his recent history? Hell yes.
Maybe, in the end, we’ll learn that he was merely leaving his autograph in the sand pit. Then again, with a name like Roethlisberger, he would have had to first drink a 64-ounce soda from the nearest Kwik-E-Mart.