Sportscenter certainly didn’t cover the event like Roethlisberger’s sexual assault allegations or the ridiculous, around-the-clock DeflateGate coverage. He was charged with manslaughter and handed a 30-day jail sentence. In 2009, Donte Stallworth struck and killed a pedestrian on a Miami highway after a night of drinking. Think about it: if Ray Rice hand-delivered a box of chocolates to your front door, would you greet him with a joyous expression of friendship or slam the door in his face and mumble, “woman beater” to yourself as you walked back to the couch? People hate Ben Roethlisberger because they look at him and see a villain, some even see him as a criminal, and yet he keeps continuing to succeed.Īnd this is what Steelers fans don’t understand: there’s nothing Roethlisberger can do that will make him universally adored like Andrew Luck, Calvin Johnson or, more appropriately, Troy Polamalu. How could a Browns, Ravens, Bengals, Patriots or any other Pittsburgh rival not be unhappy with Roethlisberger’s life? He settled down and started a family with a local woman who works as a physician’s assistant. He’s considered among the league’s best quarterbacks and he’s now the second highest paid player in the NFL. Roethlisberger plays for one of the most popular sports organizations on earth. Instead, the duo have won four Super Bowls and have built a dynasty. 500 winning percentage and zero Super Bowls. If the Patriots had committed shady acts that rubbed people the wrong way, people would not have cared in Tom Brady and Bill Belichick had a. Several weeks ago, we discussed the perceived villainy of the New England Patriots. The point is, even though Roethlisberger wasn’t proven guilty of committing a crime, simply being associated with the act is a permanent and unredeeming black mark on his image. Heinous crimes committed by Jerry Sandusky and the alleged transgressions of Bill Cosby show how sensitive and emotional the topic of sex crimes are with the public and how seriously we as a society should be taking them. If over 80 percent of victims prefer to remain silent, people tend to take the issue extremely seriously when people do come forward. In the United States, sex crimes are reported only 16 percent of the time. But, you can’t tell a Ravens or Bengals fans, “the charges were dropped, forget about it,” just like you can’t tell a Steelers fan “Ray Lewis was acquitted of all wrongdoing.” When people hear “accused of sexual misconduct” they instantly think “rapist” and why shouldn’t they? With five years having passed and no legal ramifications plaguing Roethlisberger, it would seem as if the statute of limitations on hating the two-time Super Bowl champion have expired. Both cases were dismissed, Roethlisberger wasn’t charged with anything and all parties involved seem to have moved on from a 2008 incident in Nevada (a civil suit) and a 2010 incident in Georgia (where an investigation resulted in no charges being filed). Every Pittsburgh Steelers fan has heard the same, common rhetoric that’s been applied to Ben Roethlisberger since a 2010 suspension tied to a pair of sexual assault allegations.
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