Ben Roethlisberger Sexual Assault? Woman Accuses Steelers QB

A woman has accused Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger of sexual assault, TMZ Sports reports.

TMZ reports that the alleged assault took place early Friday morning at a club in Milledgeville, Georgia, and that the alleged victim has been treated and released.

A TMZ update says that the alleged assault took place in the bathroom at Capital City, a nightclub in Milledgeville.

Roethlisberger has been accused of sexual assault before: in 2009, a woman named Andrea McNulty accused Big Ben of a 2008 sexual assault that took place in Reno, Nevada. That case was never pursued criminally.

Developing...

Comments

[holyghostie]

11:19 PM on 03/07/2010

This is what happens when you coddle, spoil, and make excuses for a talented athlete from the age of 12 onward. They feel entitled and that if they get in trouble, someone will clean it up for them.

[fresno500]

09:27 PM on 03/07/2010

Lucky he is not black and named Mike Tyson.

[BruntLIVE]

07:56 PM on 03/07/2010

Nothing will happen, he's White.

[BikeFreak]

09:24 PM on 03/07/2010

...and rich...and a football player...and rich

[jalowe1957]

06:33 PM on 03/07/2010

Will somebody please hang up on his booty calls?

[BCAOL]

06:14 PM on 03/07/2010

Pitts old news..

Who won the Super Bowl last year?

[BikeFreak]

05:26 PM on 03/07/2010

OK...I can buy one false allegation, especially when there was no hospital report or no calls to the police before a civil lawsuit was brought.

However, a second allegation, one which does involve a hospital visit and police involvement, makes me think Big Benny has an issue.

[Gasparilla]

08:34 PM on 03/07/2010

So the first allegation seems pretty much off the wall, but that makes a "second" one more true? Interesting concept.

[BikeFreak]

09:24 PM on 03/07/2010

Did you read the post?

[Wood]

05:10 PM on 03/07/2010

Dude.. again?

Can .. you ...

say...

Predator??

[the964kid]

02:21 PM on 03/07/2010

I don't ever want to jump to conclusions before the legal process plays out BUT when a guy starts being accused of multiple incidents I have to wonder if there's some truth. The thing that is sad is that, because he can afford to pay accusers off, often the criminal case gets dropped when the alleged victim accepts a cash settlement. I hope, if this woman really is a victim, that she will stand up for justice and not accept a pay off.

[pureproductofamerica]

03:00 PM on 03/07/2010

Isn't the fact that he already paid off an accuser what makes the accusations that follow equally suspect? Right now, I wouldn't put undue faith in Ben's word or the woman's.

[SoftlyRaining]

03:39 PM on 03/07/2010

The first case hasn't even started up yet, the courts have been deciding where it should be held. So no payment has been made.

[iRock]

02:08 PM on 03/07/2010

Ladies, never go to a steelers game without steel panties.

[BrighterStar]

01:30 PM on 03/07/2010

I think people were willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for a single allegation, but there seems to be a pattern of activity here. And apparently there is substantial evidence in this case. I think Ben has played his last game in the NFL.

[water57]

12:13 PM on 03/07/2010

Ben has taken too many hits in the head. Regardless if it is proven he did nothing wrong, why did he put himself in compromising position.

[insaneclownboy21]

03:34 PM on 03/16/2010

you telling me that if you were rich that you would not go out for the fear that someone would say you touched them. come on now get real!!!!!!!! if i was rich i would still go out. if i did not do it i would go out every night to show you that you can not keep me down just because you thank you know what happin! why dont yall just stay out of it let the cops do there jobs

[healthnews]

12:11 PM on 03/07/2010

Tiger admitted to affairs and some of the women have evidence, making it more than speculation. Secondly, he is the most famous athlete in the world. I had no idea who this Ben Roethlisberger was before this article but I sure knew who Tiger was
http://fenerantalyajustintvizle.blogcu.com

[BrighterStar]

01:39 PM on 03/07/2010

The difference between Ben and Tiger is that Tiger had consensual affairs. That make him a cad. If the accusation against Ben is proven to be true that makes him a rapist.

[the964kid]

02:24 PM on 03/07/2010

Are you a foo*? There's a huge difference between consensual affairs on one hand and a sexual assault on the other hand. Why are you even bringing up Tiger Woods?

[golden01]

02:08 AM on 03/13/2010

Sure when your bodyguards are with you to say it was consenual of course.

[ElCapitan]

10:43 AM on 03/07/2010

All right, time for some sanity here.

For all you little Nancy Grace's who are ready to throw him in jail for rape, I got two words for you.... DUKE LACROSSE!
Now shut up, and wait to see if anything comes from this investigation then make a judgement, you know they way you're supposed to.

Next for all you who think he's innocent but are saying that he never should have "put himself in a position for this to have happened" congratulations, you managed to flip the script and still blame the victim (if he is being falsely accused then he by definition is the "victim"). This attitude is no different then when a woman get rapes and saying "well looked how she was dressed, she was asking for it".

[lioness39]

11:16 AM on 03/07/2010

Just for the record, I am a Pats fan but you are spot on in holding back the tide until it is known for sure whether this actually took place. Duke's team is an example of justice run amuck.

[smartin82]

01:44 PM on 03/07/2010

First, I would hardly equate a "victim" of being wrongfully accused of a crime with being a rape victim. One involves a possible damage to one's reputation, which may be accompanied by monetary damages, but rape involves an actual physical invasion of one's health and safety. While a wrongful accusal can be accompanied by a wrongful conviction, this is highly, highly unlikely with DNA evidence, and as I understand it, the woman here did have tests done. Furthermore, someone with millions of dollars to spend on a legal team will most assuredly get a fair trial if it comes to that.

Secondly, as I pointed out, monetary damages to one's reputation can be recovered, once a rape has occurred, there really is no going back. So I would hardly say that the attitude is no different. A millionaire athlete should be expected to protect his reputation, thereby protecting his monetary stake, by avoiding such situations. He was putting his financial interest at risk by putting himself in these kinds of situations. By saying someone shouldn't be putting their financial stake at risk is much different than saying someone shouldn't put themselves at risk for being raped. He has much more control over his finances, image, etc. than a woman has over another person's decision to forcefully rape her.

[smartin82]

02:56 PM on 03/07/2010

I meant being a victim of being wrongfully accused of sexual assault where DNA evidence is available...it is quite different in other contexts.

[ElCapitan]

05:28 PM on 03/07/2010

Well there are different degrees of a crime, but just because a crime in not as serious as another does not make blaming the victim of either crime acceptable. And we don’t know what the situation was. How can you say that it’s his fault for putting himself in that situation when we are still unsure on what that situation was? Anyone who goes out in public puts themselves into a “situation” where they can be falsely accused of something. Are you suggesting that athletes (or the wealthy) should have to sequester themselves off from the general public at all times?

[Seppuku]

09:37 AM on 03/07/2010

Gee Ben...bad luck that the whores of the world have decided to persecute you. Tthere but for the grace of God go all of us! SORRY, there's something wrong here...at the very least Ben putting himself in a position to have these kinds of allegations made. He needs to be a little more careful where he goes and who he's with...especially since the first matter is still pending in civil court. I don't buy the "he's a male celebrity so he's a target" thing. There are a lot of richer and more famous celebrities out there that have none of these incidents in their backgrounds. Once, sure. Twice?!? Something's wrong, even if just poor judgment.

[Puller58]

07:38 AM on 03/07/2010

I'm of the opinion that our justice system can never rise to the ideals the country supposedly holds it to. We can say innocent till proven guilty, but with the newscycle churning, we get a lot of information that may or may not shed light on the situation. That leaves people free to either conclude the person is guilty or decide the media is railroading them.