Big Ben stands tall

Big Ben Roethlisberger has been accused of sexual assault again. This time, a 20-year-old Georgia College and State University student has accused Roethlisberger of sexually assaulting her early last Friday morning at a club.

TMZ has reported that the woman has dropped out of school in lieu of the supposed incident. Her name has not been released (Georgia laws  state that no rape victim shall be publicized). TMZ also released pictures of Roethlisberger and a woman who they say is the accuser. ESPN reported on SportsCenter this morning that the name of the woman has not been confirmed, nor has the fact that the woman in the picture is the one who is accusing him.  TMZ has taken the photos off of their page.

Last summer Roethlisberger was accused by a woman in Lake Tahoe of sexual assault. Andrea McNulty claimed that Roethlisberger asked her to come into his hotel room to take a look at a faulty TV. Once she was in the room, she said, Roethlisberger started kissing her and refused to stop at that. 

Emails and text messages clearly showed that McNulty made up the allegations. She is currently suing.

This time, Big Ben has been accused of sexually assaulting the young college student in the women’s bathroom of Capital City bar in Georgia, about 84 miles from Atlanta. Roethlisberger owns a house in the area.

The only evidence anyone seems to have right now is these pictures TMZ has. The first issue with the pictures is the fact that we don’t even know if this is the right girl. No one has confirmed this. Second, the pictures are of Roethlisberger with his arm around a smiling blond. They weren’t cuddling, they weren’t close enough to warrant any type of relationship, there is no evidence of any type of force or unwillingness on the woman’s part. The pictures simply look like a Pro-Bowl quarterback with two Super Bowl rings taking pictures with adoring fans. The girl had a large smile on her face for goodness sakes.

Police are investigating the issue, but at the time being there is absolutely no evidence that Ben has sexually assaulted anyone. As for those that point to his prior discretions, such as the case with McNulty, Roethlisberger is a young bachelor who happens to be in the public eye. He is allowed to go out to bars and party on a Thursday night. Unfortunately for him, there are young woman in this world (as well as young men) who realize his celebrity and are willing to take advantage of that. There are those who say Ben should stay home and lay low because he is such a big name. But, honestly, how is he going to do that? If you were in his place, would you really just stay at home because there are those that can take advantage of you? And would you really deny a fan a picture because someone could come out and use it as evidence of rape?

Ben Roethlisberger is guilty of nothing at this point in time. It should stay that way until proper evidence surfaces that he did anything wrong. An allegation by some woman should not impede on a man’s reputation. It’s sad that it always turns out that it does.