[EtellaObtaite]

Why Is ESPN Ignoring Roethlisberger Sexual Assault Allegations?

ESPN Not Reporting Assault
Allegations Against Roethlisberger ESPN at presstime still had yet to acknowledge the civil lawsuit filed against Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger claiming sexual assault on any of its news outlets, including this morning’s editions of “SportsCenter" or ESPN.com. That contrasts with other major online outlets -- including SI.com, Yahoo Sports, FoxSports.com, CBSSports.com and SportingNews.com -- which all had the story as one of its news headlines this morning. The lack of coverage from ESPN comes after an spokesperson yesterday said ESPN is not currently reporting the story "because no criminal complaint has been filed." The spokesperson: "As far as we know, this is a civil lawsuit that Roethlisberger has yet to address publicly" (THE DAILY). FANHOUSE.com's Michael David Smith notes David Cornwell, Roethlisberger's attorney, "addressed the lawsuit publicly" yesterday, saying the QB will be "fully exonerated." However, ESPN Communications Manager Mac Nwulu indicated that the net "does not consider Cornwell's response enough to warrant ESPN reporting on the issue." Nwulu also "stressed that ESPN strives to be very cautious with civil suits that impugn a person's reputation or character." He added that the net "considers both the subject's track record and whether similar allegations might impact the subject's professional performance" (FANHOUSE.com, 7/22). While ESPN has yet to address the story, it was briefly covered on ABC's "GMA" this morning as well as "World News" last night. Other news shows to pick up the story include Fox Business' "Money For Breakfast" and NFL Net's "NFL Total Access" (THE DAILY).

http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/i...ticleID=131926

[Uvgsgssu]

I thought it was odd ESPN was ignoring it.

I debated in my mind whether it is news for a sports station and/or site.

But, divorce is civil too. Does espn report divorce cases of sports stars? If not, they may be right in not reporting this. If so, then this is newsworthy.

Edit: Does espn report other civil lawsuits - like debts - of sports stars? I think they do.

[laperuzdfhami]

She never went to the police, and waited over a year to file a civil lawsuit. Personally, I'm kind of glad that ESPN is showing some restraint.

[Uvgsgssu]

As for the case itself, it reads like a lifetime movie. Nine people acting in concert with each other. Getting into her home. Erasing her computer. Stealing evidence from her house. I guess it's going to come down to her credibility. But, versus 9 other people calling her crazy and with no other evidence...

[incimisiche]

It's kind of sad that....

ESPN not reporting the story is .....the story rather than the possibility of a sexual assault.

[EtellaObtaite]

Some more background...

RENO, Nev. — Law enforcement officials in Nevada have no intention of opening a criminal investigation into allegations Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger raped a woman at a Lake Tahoe hotel-casino a year ago, the sheriff's department said Wednesday.

Douglas County Sheriff's Deputy Teresa Duffy said the accuser would have to file a criminal complaint to trigger an investigation into the incident the woman says occurred during a celebrity golf tournament last July while she was working as an executive VIP casino host at Harrah's Lake Tahoe.

"The victim is the only one who can do that," Duffy told The Associated Press. "Unless there was a third party that actually witnessed the incident, which according to the civil case, was not the case here."

The 31-year-old Nevada woman has filed a lawsuit saying the Super Bowl winning quarterback raped her in a hotel penthouse across the street from the golf course, a claim his lawyer vehemently denies.

She also accuses Harrah's officials, including the casino's chief of security, of orchestrating a cover-up of the incident she says she reported to him the next day. The lawsuit alleges Harrah's officials worked to silence her and undermine her credibility rather than investigate her claims.

The woman, a native of Canada who had worked at Harrah's Lake Tahoe hotel-casino since 2003, never went to outside authorities with her story, and it's unclear why she decided to file the lawsuit seeking hundreds of thousands of dollars a year after the alleged incident.

Her lawsuit says she didn't file a criminal complaint because she feared Harrah's would side with Roethlisberger – a friend of the hotel-casino's regional president John Koster – and she would be fired.

She said the security chief, Guy Hyder, told her she was "over reacting," that "most girls would feel lucky to get to have sex with someone like Ben Roethlisberger" and that "Koster would love you even more if he knew about this."
(...)
She sought legal counsel in March after Harrah's officials told her Roethlisberger was invited to play in the 2009 celebrity golf tournament and ordered her to take a paid two-week leave during the event, the lawsuit said, "to accommodate her assailant." The tournament took place last week.

Cal Dunlap, the Reno lawyer who filed her lawsuit in Washoe County District Court on Friday, said neither he nor the woman will comment.

Roethlisberger lawyer David Cornwell said in a statement earlier this week that the quarterback has "never sexually assaulted anyone." He said timing of the lawsuit and absence of a criminal complaint proves his innocence.

Harrah's officials said they do not comment on pending legal matters.

The lawsuit seeks a minimum of $440,000 in damages from the quarterback, at least $50,000 in damages from eight Harrah's officials and an unspecified amount of punitive damages "sufficient to deter" Roethlisberger and the others "from engaging in such conduct in the future."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/0..._n_242955.html

[SiM7W2zi]

Roethlisberger Accuser Emerges, Cracks a Smile

http://www.tmz.com/2009/07/22/roethl...racks-a-smile/

[EtellaObtaite]

An update:

Ben Roethlisberger's bodyguards guarded the entrance to the bathroom where he allegedly sexually assaulted a 20-year-old college student, according to an eyewitness account at FanHouse. Another witness tells the web site that the Steelers quarterback looked "as surprised as anybody" when police arrived at the Milledgeville, Ga. bar later in the night.

A woman who claims to have partied with Roethlisberger the night of the alleged assault says the Steeler "was not nice." She tells WTAE Pittsburgh that he "bought a round of shots for girls and said, 'All you bitches, take my shots.'" The article reports that Roethlisberger "hit on her but she wasn't interested and didn't like the way he was acting, so she left."

The two-time Super Bowl champion, who last year was accused of rape in Nevada, reportedly admitted to having "sexual contact" with his most recent accuser in Georgia, but denies that an assault took place. While he initially refused to provide a DNA sample, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that he is arranging to submit one.

Possibly complicating matters is the fact that the initial investigating officer posed for pictures with Rothlisberger, who has since hired a private investigator to look into his accuser's claims. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/0..._n_498912.html

[incimisiche]

An update:



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/0..._n_498912.html

This is going to turn into one big he said / she said mess.

Anyhow, most serial attackers know by now that the easiest way out of a rape or assault charge is to admit to the sex and deny the assault unless there is proof otherwise.

Date rape is the hardest thing in the world to prove

[EtellaObtaite]

This is going to turn into one big he said / she said mess.

Anyhow, most serial attackers know by now that the easiest way out of a rape or assault charge is to admit to the sex and deny the assault unless there is proof otherwise.

Date rape is the hardest thing in the world to prove

And the rash of false reports doesn't make it any easier.

[incimisiche]

And the rash of false reports doesn't make it any easier.

I still remember Twanna Brawley.....what a mess that created.

[Hodstcopter]

Possibly complicating matters is the fact that the initial investigating officer posed for pictures with Rothlisberger oh lord

[EtellaObtaite]

OOPS! Did he do it again?

Roethlisberger accused of sexual assault
Ben Roethlisberger is being investigated by Georgia police
Saturday, March 06, 2010
By Jonathan D. Silver, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has been accused of sexually assaulting a Georgia college student at a dance club, marking the second such allegation in nine months against the superstar.

This time there is one key difference: The alleged victim went to the police.

Mr. Roethlisberger, 28, was not arrested or charged and, according to his agent, is cooperating with police. He already stood accused of raping a Nevada resort hostess in his hotel room during a July 2008 golf tournament at Lake Tahoe.

But the woman never went to the authorities. Instead she sued Mr. Roethlisberger in July in the absence of any police report or physical evidence.

In the latest incident, a 20-year-old woman attending Georgia College & State University in Milledgeville, near Mr. Roethlisberger's off-season home, is the alleged victim, according to Milledgeville police Deputy Chief Richard Malone.

"We had a sexual assault report," Deputy Chief Malone said during a news conference Friday night. "It is alleged that he was the perpetrator."

Mr. Roethlisberger and his legal team have emphatically denied the accusations in the Nevada case but have not come out as strongly in the latest incident.

Late Friday afternoon, the quarterback's agent, Ryan Tollner, issued a statement:

"Last night, Ben and his friends met a group of women and everyone mingled together throughout the evening. We have spoken to law enforcement.

"Based on information currently available, an allegation was made against Ben, which appeared to be dismissed after a preliminary investigation last night.

"Obviously, given the prior accusation against Ben, we are skeptical of motive, but we will continue to cooperate with everyone involved."

Contrary to Mr. Tollner's depiction of a dismissal of the allegation, Deputy Chief Malone indicated that the case is very much active, with additional evidence being collected and more than a dozen investigators involved throughout the course of the day.

Milledgeville is being assisted by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. Tom Davis, the special agent in charge of the Milledgeville field office, said investigators were in contact at least three times Friday with lawyers for Mr. Roethlisberger.

The incident was reported between 2 a.m. and 2:30 a.m. Friday to a Milledgeville police officer working in the college town's downtown area.

It allegedly occurred inside Capital City, a club in a bustling business strip populated by students, between 11 p.m. Thursday and 2:30 a.m. Friday, according to a police incident report.

The deputy chief would not say what allegedly occurred or exactly where.

Responding to reports that an incident might have taken place in a women's restroom, Deputy Chief Malone confirmed that there is a bathroom near the area where Mr. Roethlisberger, the woman and other people were socializing inside the club.

In a brief interview after the news conference, he said the entire area -- including the bathroom and other spots inside the club -- are considered possible parts of a crime scene.

"There were other areas beyond the restroom that were given to us as areas where they were together," he said. "We look at all the areas that our witnesses identify."

Members of the woman's party identified Mr. Roethlisberger as her assailant. The deputy chief did not say whether the woman herself identified Mr. Roethlisberger as the person who allegedly assaulted her.

"She approached the officer. The officer spoke with all members of her party, and then she was given the opportunity to go to the hospital, and that was our main concern at that point," Deputy Chief Malone said.

The alleged victim was treated and released at the Oconee Regional Medical Center in Milledgeville.

Investigators conducted initial interviews with the woman, Mr. Roethlisberger and everyone in their parties -- a total of seven to nine people -- between 2:30 a.m. and 3 a.m.

The incident report indicates that the victim was with two female friends, ages 19 and 20. Mr. Roethlisberger's name is obscured, but the "offender" is listed as 6-feet-5 and 241 pounds with brown hair and eyes.

A section of the report indicating whether the incident was "stranger to stranger" is checked "No."

"They had all been together earlier that evening in other establishments just as a group," the deputy chief said. "We've tried to identify as many people as possible, but Mr. Roethlisberger had a party with him. There was, I believe, himself and three other people, and there were other people in the party."

The deputy chief would not speculate on possible criminal charges that might apply based on the woman's allegations. He also declined to say whether drinking was a factor.

Investigators are in contact with the quarterback's lawyers to arrange another interview.

"He was initially interviewed by our officers. We had a situation where we weren't able to get hold of everybody at the same time. He was released with his party, and then we took care of our victim, who was at the hospital," Deputy Chief Malone said.

Proprietors at other establishments on the strip near Capital City said Mr. Roethlisberger had visited earlier in the evening.

Among his stops were Amici Italian Cafe, The Brick and The Velvet Elvis.

Deputy Chief Malone said he would confer with the Baldwin County district attorney, Frederic D. Bright, who could not be reached Friday night for comment.

Mr. Roethlisberger was "friendly, courteous, didn't cause any trouble here," said Phillip Joiner, marketing promotions director at the Amici cafe in Milledgeville and a city councilman.

Mr. Joiner said the quarterback's house is on nearby Lake Oconee. He is known as a low-key resident who poses for pictures -- as he did Thursday night -- and mingles with the locals both on land and water.

"He's thrown the football from boat to boat," Mr. Joiner said.

Mr. Joiner, who was not in the cafe Thursday night, described Mr. Roethlisberger as "affable and charming. We were happy to have a celebrity in our restaurant."

News of the allegation took the college town by surprise.

"We were all a little shocked," Mr. Joiner said. "That shook us a bit to see."

Frank Pendergast, owner of The Brick, said Mr. Roethlisberger came in about 11:30 p.m. Thursday and stayed for roughly two hours, which would put the timing right before a visit to Capital City.

He was with about eight "large" guys.

"I talked to him a little bit. I told him I appreciated him coming down and bringing the business. He said, 'Nice place,' and he went off to hang out with his friends. He was a typical customer. He was surrounded by people all the time taking pictures and asking for autographs," Mr. Pendergast said.

"He was polite. His buddies were kind of giving him his space and he was talking with my customers. They were talking about how they were golfing today. They looked like a bunch of college buddies hanging out. They just happened to be 250 pounds."

The Steelers said only that they were aware of the investigation.

"We're gathering information on the report and we will have no other comment at this time," a team spokesman said.

In the Nevada case, a 31-year-old woman accused Mr. Roethlisberger in a lawsuit of raping her in his hotel room at Harrah's Lake Tahoe in July 2008 while she worked as a VIP hostess during a celebrity golf tournament.

The woman also has sued several current or former Harrah's employees, alleging that they tried to cover up the incident.

Mr. Roethlisberger denied the charges, and his defense team has said the fact that she never filed a police report undermines her credibility. The lawsuit has been halted pending the outcome of an appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court seeking a change of venue by the Steelers quarterback and one of his co-defendants.

Calvin R.X. Dunlap, the attorney representing the Nevada woman, said, "We are aware of the incident in Georgia and we are aggressively looking into it." Jonathan D. Silver: jsilver@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1962. Staff writer Moriah Balingit contributed.



Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10065...#ixzz0hNf1y2TG

[incimisiche]

Wow.

He either needs to be in jail or he has the dammest luck selecting women. I guess they are all out to get him.....

Maybe Andrea had this woman follow Ben and his group and she set up the whole thing to trap him to boost Andrea's case......

And is ESPN reporting this assault?

[EtellaObtaite]

Missin' it's on their front page. If you get a chance listen to the comments by ESPN's Roger Cossack.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4970050

[AnetTeilor]

When this incident was first reported, I decided to do a little snooping on my own.
This is what I found:
===============

The news article you posted mentioned that Mr. Roethlisberger spends much of the off-season at a home he owns in a resort community in Greensboro, Ga., an hour north of Milledgeville.

Since I have nothing better to do at 2 AM this Saturday morning and because I had never heard of either Greensboro or Milledgeville, Ga., I decided to snoop around.

This is what I found:
(1) Milledgeville is a very small city of under 20,000. It had been the Capital of Georgia during the Civil War. Milledgeville is also home to three institutes of higher education:
• Georgia Military College (Junior College, offers Associate Degrees), Georgia Military College Website
• Georgia College & State University (formerly Georgia College) (offers Bachelors and graduate degrees), GCSU's Website
• Central Georgia Technical College, Central Georgia Technical College Website
OK, so Big Ben spends his off-season near a college town. That’s nice for him with so many available young ladies nearby. But so what, he could find that anywhere.
==========
So, per se, this didn’t explain to me why Big Ben lives in that area.
OK, what about Greensboro?
==========
(2) Wiki tells me:
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 3,238 people, 1,184 households, and 806 families residing in the city. The population density was 556.5 people per square mile (214.8/km²). There were 1,264 housing units at an average density of 217.2/sq mi (83.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 33.45% White, 62.01% African American, 0.40% Native American, 0.31% Asian, 0.28% Pacific Islander, 2.66% from other races, and 0.90% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.34% of the population.
There were 1,184 households out of which 35.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.3% were married couples living together, 29.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.9% were non-families. 28.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 3.22.
In the city the population was spread out with 29.3% under the age of 18, 11.2% from 18 to 24, 26.4% from 25 to 44, 18.7% from 45 to 64, and 14.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 83.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $24,250, and the median income for a family was $27,049. Males had a median income of $22,788 versus $15,720 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,494. About 26.4% of families and 31.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 46.2% of those under age 18 and 23.2% of those ages 65 or over.
==========

Now, I’m more confused. I’m looking for context to understand what might have happened and I discover Big Ben buys a home outside of a poor, mostly black town in rural Georgia.
WTH is that all about?
Then I remembered his motorcycle accident. So, back to Wiki where I found the following excerpt:
==========
(3) “The most serious injuries to Roethlisberger were a broken upper and lower jaw and a broken nose. Roethlisberger was expected to make a full recovery in time for the opening game of the season.
In the wake of Kellen Winslow II's crashing of his motorcycle in May 2005, Roethlisberger had been criticized by various NFL members and the media for not wearing a helmet while riding. Even Roethlisberger's coach, Bill Cowher, lectured him about motorcycle safety. Former Steeler Terry Bradshaw warned Roethlisberger personally when he visited the Steelers' training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, and on television, saying, "Ride it when you retire."[81] In a segment put together by ESPN following Winslow's accident, Roethlisberger had said he didn't wear a helmet because it was not required by law, adding, "You're just more free when you're out there and there's no helmet on." Transcripts of the interview recall Roethlisberger telling Suzy Kolber that he only rides a Harley, or his chopper with friends, not a sport bike (like the one Winslow was on). He also claimed to have his license. Both statements have been proven false since the accident.”
==========
Finally, it hit me to check whether there is a “Biker Community” in either Milledgeville or Greensboro?
BINGO!
==========
(4) Well, sure enough, there’s one in Greensboro that hosted Round 2 of something called the National Enduro Series:
http://totalmotorcycle.com/BBS/viewt...=36691&start=0
As a matter of fact, further research indicated that this race takes place on 100% private property. You think maybe some of that land is owned by Big Ben?

And Milledgeville is Hog Heaven:
http://www.milledgevillethunderrally.com/

OK, I found the context.

I then checked to see whether there were any more updates to the article you posted. I found this in today’s Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. If the facts are straight, it appears that Big Ben and his Boys and the Young Lady & Her Crew were bar hopping at three other places for a good long time before they arrived at the “alleged crime scene” which appears to be the Women’s Bathroom [that damn alcohol makes some very horny, so that venue is not that unusual; any port in a storm as they say].

The details of what happened will hopefully come out soon.
Not to make light of what happened, but I would love to know whether these characters were riding sports bikes on their midnight ride. With Helmets? With Licenses? Actually, it doesn’t matter; I’m sure Rooney & Goodell are going to give Big Ben two earfuls worth of WTH are you doing.

[incimisiche]

Really Mike...all that doesn't matter if Ben sexually assaulted the woman.

[AnetTeilor]

Really Missinandre ... but it does if he didn't.

[incimisiche]

Really Missinandre ... but it does if he didn't.

Actually, it doesn't. If he didn't do it....then nothing else matters.

Are you suggesting that...he didn't do it cuz the lady is a biker and they were in a bar?

[EtellaObtaite]

I wasn't quite sure what MikeG1224 was implying with his post. Unfortunately there's been a rash of false rape claims lately which makes it that much harder for women to have real assaults prosecuted.

Unfortunately in this case I think that the NFL/Steelers will make sure all of this goes away. I hope that while they do this they make sure Ben gets the counseling he apparently needs. We've all been raised with the "where there's smoke there's fire" attitude and regardless of the outcome the fact that he's been cited in two episodes in as many years means he needs to change his friends and/or attitudes towards women.