Another one bites the dust

My readers have been asking me when I'll discuss my feelings about Ben Roethlisberger and his antics off the field (okay I made that up, but a serious blogger has readers and I aspire to one day have readers who write me about such situations...thus the practice). Since the news hit this week that he won't be charged in the accused rape in Georgia and the prosecutors have closed the case all of the material has been released for public consumption. I spent a good part of yesterday reading most of the material. It sickened me.

Here we go again. Yet another athlete/public figure has committed yet another offense (for lack of a better word since there were no charges in this case). While he was never arrested nor charged of a crime, Ben Roethlisberger did wrong. We will never know what really happened that night in the bathroom of a night club. But the fact remains that Big Ben's judgment and clarity off the field is nothing like what it is on the field.

First of all, the man is involved in a civil suit brought against him by a woman who accuses him of raping her in a Lake Tahoo casino. With this $440,000 civil suit hanging over your head would you really throw caution to the wind and go bar hopping, picking up young women you've never met? His parents must be so proud.

Secondly, Ben plays for the Rooney family and the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Rooney's do not tolerate bad behavior. They expect everyone who plays for them to live up to the standards they have set. While they are all for redemption they will only put up with so much. Santonio Holmes, MVP of the Super Bowl? Failed his drug test for what is now the third strike against him. The Rooney family chucked his butt to the Jets. This is now Ben's second offense. He had better take a long look inside himself and recognize that he has a problem and then get some help. Otherwise he too will no longer be a Pittsburgh Steeler.

Thirdly, I'm tired of the apology statement. Why is it that everyone parades these athletes and politicians and rich idiots before the public to let us see them read from a paper that wasn't even written by them in the first place? Yes, yes, I know that they have to watch what they say or it can be held against them in this "suing" society, but just once I want to see someone get up and say, "I was a dickhead and an asshole, and boy, did I just f**k up." Clearly they are only sorry that they got caught. Do us a favor and keep them away from the microphones and television cameras. And while you are at it keep them out of rehab. Until these men admit they have a real problem, rehab is another grandstand "for show" way of cheating the public.

I admire the things Ben does on the field. He has overcome naysayers and a small college background to become a two time Super Bowl champion leader and quarterback. But he has a long way to go to fill the shoes of those leaders and quarterbacks before him. He has to stop his drinking, stop his partying, and stop sticking his penis into places it doesn't belong. Football is only one aspect of his life and football doesn't last forever. He has got to get his head out of his ass, chuck the pompous I'm-a-Super-Bowl-winner-and therefore-unstoppable attitude, and get some help. Until then he is just another rich, spoiled athlete whose name is talked about for all the wrong reasons.