The story that has dominated the NFL off-season has been the negative extracurricular activities of Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
I am not going to retell the story because of its graphic nature of the tale (I try to keep my blog a hard PG-13/soft R), but I will provide a link to the expanded story as reported on DeadSpin.com if you care to read it.
The story in the Georgia nightclub almost sounds like a brainstorming idea for an episode in the Law and Order franchise (DISCLAIMER: “Although inspired in part by a true incident, the following story is fictional and does not depict any actual person or event”), and I bet good money that Dick Wolf is busy typing such an episode for revolving around this story. The problem is which program to put it under: Los Angeles or SVU? Both are worthy candidates.
I can see it now…. A promo for the NFL on CBS…. “Big Ben in an exclusive interview about his offseason! Watch The NFL Today on CBS this Sunday.” Followed by (ominous voice)…. “A pro football star is charged with a crime as the CSI: Miami team huddles up to solve the case.”
Sgt. Tripp: “I don’t understand H. The girl was having a good time; maybe looking to make a play.”
Horatio Caine: “It seems like the killer audibled (Pause, puts on the Sunglasses of Justice) to murder.”
YEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh………………….. “Watch CSI: Miami this Monday.”
This is not the first instance that Roethlisberger has had off the field transgressions. In June 2006, he nearly DIED after wrecking his motorcycle in downtown Pittsburgh at the intersection of 10th Street and 2nd Ave (intersection is underneath Westbound I-376). He was lucky that he escaped with fractures to his jaw and sinus cavity, a nine-inch laceration to the back of his head, and two teeth lost. His injuries would have been less severe if he was WEARING A HELMET! Also, he was driving on an expired temporary permit (Even better…). On top of that, he suffered a case of appendicitis right before the season started. Not his fault, but his body would have recovered quicker if he wasn’t recovering from injuries sustained in the motorcycle accident. Clearly something was off when he returned to play in the second week of the 2006 season at Jacksonville. He would not regain his playing form until the middle of the season.
And yes, let me reiterate the main point of this story: HE COULD HAVE DIED!
Then there are the sexual assault allegations. The first allegation involved a woman at a hotel in Lake Tahoe during a golf tournament in the summer of 2008. A friend of the victim testified to the grand jury in Nevada that her friend’s allegation of assault was false. Then, this last March it was reported that Roethlisberger attacked and raped a 20 year old woman in the bathroom of a Milledgeville, GA nightclub. A month later, the district attorney said that there would be no criminal charges filed against the Steelers quarterback. Included in this allegation were members of the Milledgeville Police appearing in a picture with the player before the incident and one officer making grossly inappropriate comments towards the victim. The officer was forced to resign. A third allegation (it’s on the second page) from Boston surfaced on the same day that Roethlisberger met with the league commissioner.
Even though criminal charges were not filed there is the matter of a civil case.
And then there is his employer: the Pittsburgh Steelers, which come under the employment of the National Football League.
When Roger Goodell assumed the role of league commissioner in 2006, he has taken a hard stance on player behavior off the field. Here is a list of players suspended under the League’s Personal Conduct Policy. Roethlisberger was suspended for the Steelers first six games of the 2010 NFL Season and is ordered to seek some form of counseling. He is expected to return to the field in a game at New Orleans in Week 8. Commissioner Goodell expressed his concerns in a letter to the player.
Now, Roethlisberger was not the only Steelers player to have problems this offseason. Super Bowl XLIII MVP wide receiver Santonio Holmes is facing a lawsuit from a woman in Orlando that the player threw a drink in her face and the glass caused a cut below her eye. Holmes was traded to the Jets for a fifth round pick and upon arrival to his new team he was suspended for the first four games of the upcoming season. As the NFL Draft was slowly approaching, there were rumors that Roethlisberger was going to be sent packing, but due to his salary and the suspension length a trade was highly unlikely.
Former Steelers quarterback and current NFL on Fox analyst Terry Bradshaw offered his opinion to Roethlisberger. Now, the man couldn’t spell CAT if you spotted him the letters “C” and “A”, but it is some pretty sound advice: “Quit putting yourself in those situations. Just stay the HELL out the bars!”
This story has shaken the Steeler nation to its core. Based on postings I have seen NFL.com and ESPN.com a lot of their fans are disgusted and heartbroken over this story taking place regarding one of their favorite and valued players. Some have advocated burning their beloved Roethlisberger jerseys.
Now I can relate to something similar to this. I know the feelings of being burned by a player due to his off the field actions.
Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin had a career year in 1995. The Cowboys won the Super Bowl at the end of that season. Could another Dallas dynasty been in the making?
That championship was later proven to be the team’s last hurrah.
On March 3, 1996, a phone call was made from an Irving hotel at 11:45 PM to the local police department to register a complaint about certain guests visiting the hotel as such a late hour.
OPERATOR: “Irving Police Department. This is Laura….”
CALLER: “We have two individuals that keep checking into our hotel and…. the better word is, they’re prostitutes. They’ve been running the rooms and when we have to clean up after them we have been finding cocaine and crack and marijuana. Well, they’re back…”
Ten minutes later, Irving police responded to the disturbance in the hotel room. When the officer walked into the room a cloud of marijuana smoke escaped from the room. Once the smoke left, there were four adults: two females who worked as “models” at the Men’s Club of Dallas and two males. The items found in the room by the police were 10.3 ounces of cocaine, more than an ounce of marijuana, rolling papers, a 6-inch tube for snorting cocaine, and two vibrators.
Everyone in the room was silent except for ONE person:
“Hey, can I tell you who I am?”
That one person was Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin.
He was in the hotel room celebrating his 30th birthday.
NOTE: That is NOT how I plan to celebrate my 30th.
What followed was a drama fit for the city of Dallas. The women were brought up on charges after they claimed that the drugs were theirs. The local media had a field day with the story. Michael Irvin skipped one grand jury appearance and showed up to another in his infamous full dark coat wearing designer sunglasses on a 75 degree day in April in Dallas. Irvin did not wear the coat because he was cold but because he was playing to the media. There was an alleged murder for hire plot on the player by a local cop. All the misdeeds of the 90s Cowboys came to light. The women, the drugs, the drinking, the “White House”, all the dirty laundry was exposed.
Because of that act of disrespect to the court, Irvin was brought up on charges. Not only was he facing the end of his NFL career, but also a lengthy prison term.
What was the "White House?" It was a house where Cowboys players such as Michael Irvin, Nate Newton, and Erik Williams would go to in order to partake in negative off the field activities during the Barry Switzer era. It was known as far back as 1994, but it was kept under the lid. Kind of like Fight Club. The team officials denied that such a house existed, but if a player was late to a meeting, take a good guess where he was passed out at?
The book, Boys Will Be Boys, describes the details of what took place at 115 Dorsett Drive in Valley Ranch. Cleaning ladies described that it was a nightmare having to straighten up the house discovering items such as used condoms, an assortment of weird sex toys, drug paraphernalia, and the worst of all: crusty carpet stains.
A friend of Irvin's had hidden video cameras hooked up all over the place. I would not be surprised if there is a tape out there documenting the activities, and it has already circulated around the internet.
In the end, Michael Irvin pleaded no contest. He was placed on probation for 4 years, preformed community service, and paid a $10,000 fine. The NFL suspended him for the first 5 games of the 1996 season where the Cowboys went 2-3 during his suspension. Even though Dallas would claim the NFC East crown with a 10-6 record and win a playoff game, their season came to an abrupt end in Charlotte against the Panthers losing 26-17. A combination of the Irvin suspension and injuries to key players gravely hindered the offense. Irvin's off the field activities cost the Cowboys a chance to effectively defend their championship.
All this took place when I was the tender age of 12. It taught me a valuable lesson about who I look up to. Don't get me wrong, Michael Irvin does belong in the Hall for his on the field activities, but clearly he needed help with his off the field activities.
We regularly hear stories about professional athletes behaving badly: various domestic disputes, paternity issues, soliciting an undercover cop for oral sex the night before a Super Bowl after receiving a humanitarian award for his charitable work, "making it rain" in a Vegas strip club, and any other deviant activities that I can't think up of right now.
Rarely the good stories show up. Cowboys LB Brady James taking up the cause of breast cancer because the disease touched him personally. Saints LB Scott Fujita and Ravens LB Brendon Ayanbadejo speaking out in favor of marriage equality. Most of the time professional athletes don't want the attention of the good stuff they do coming out because they aren't doing it for the media attention, but rather it is the right thing to do.
However, if we heard of the good things that athletes do when it is NOT for a PR appearance it may change people's opinions of how athletes behave off the field.
Of course we live in the age of "If it bleeds, it leads."
"Kick 'em when they're up. Kick 'em when they're down. Kick 'em where they sit. Kick 'em all around." (Cue teletypes)
- Don Henley, Dirty Laundry
In conclusion, Ben Roethlisberger needs to exercise better judgment in what he does off the field. On the field, if I needed a QB to win me a game in the final 2:00 minutes, he's in my top five among active QBs (Brady, Peyton, Eli, Brees). However (comma) his off the field judgments will cause the franchise to question his on the field abilities.
First, heed the advice of Terry Bradshaw. I am not against going to a bar and having a couple beers and checking out some of the ladies. However given his current track record, it would probably be best that he doesn't go to a bar for a while (like for the rest of his life). South Park aired an episode
(picture) where male celebrities are randomly diagnosed with sexual addiction for no reason. Clearly, Roethlisberger and the other men portrayed in the episode don't have a pussy problem, but a stupid problem. They know that women are going to be attracted to their kind based on their fame, fortune, and prestige. Just be careful not to let that stuff go to your head (not just the one on your shoulders…), or your wife will discover your phone one evening; and see text messages from a number/person she does not recognize, come after you with a golf club, chase you down the street, and you crash your Escalade into a fire hydrant and a tree.
Like I said before about Bradshaw's advice, he may not be sharpest spoon in the drawer, but he shared some pretty good words of wisdom. He recognized that he was part of those Steelers Super Bowl teams in the 70s and he did not want to screw that up by putting himself in a situation that would jeopardize not only himself but his team.
"Oh, but Michael his stats… 212 TDs to 210 INTs, 27989 yards passing, 70.9 QB rating, often injured, only seven 300 yard passing games in his career…"
And when were three of those passing games? When it mattered most in the postseason. Two occurred in Super Bowls (XIII and XIV, which he was named MVP of BOTH those games). How many rings are on his right hand? Joe Montana and he are the only starting Super Bowl QBs to have FOUR rings in their possession.
In my book, I think the advice that Bradshaw gave is very credible considering what he has done on the field.
Second, you are a recognizable public figure on one of the league's most followed teams (maybe a close second behind Dallas). Let's take a look at their 2010 NFL Schedule. The Steelers are slated to play 5 prime time games and one 3 PM nationally televised double header game. That's pretty damn good for a team that failed to qualify for the playoffs last year.
The actions that Roethlisberger displayed in the bar are unacceptable for any person, be they an NFL quarterback making millions of dollars or a college student living on a fixed income. I am not saying that wearing my Cowboys hat; I am saying that as an observer of current events as they take place.
Finally my third solution:
Castration.
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