Ben Roethlisberger's Bodyguards Blocked Bathroom Door: Witness

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.

Comments

[al92lt1]

03:30 PM on 04/12/2010

Was it a unisex bathroom or was someone not where they were supposed to be?

[Anne7]

02:21 PM on 03/18/2010

Why do these women who he admits to having "sexual contact" with accuse him of rape? Has he been hit on the head one too many times? Does he need a "dating coach"? With all of the money that he has, couldn't he just pay someone to have sex with him? If he is actually committing felony sexual assault then he needs to be thrown in jail!

[TheFabOne]

03:35 PM on 03/17/2010

Rape in progress. Keep it moving. Nothing to see here.

[skippy20008]

04:04 PM on 03/17/2010

I guess it's not as big a story as consensual sex outside the marriage.

[WrongApeture]

01:07 PM on 03/17/2010

If this were Kobe Bryant, the networks would be all over this day in day out.

[SharonaMonk]

04:50 PM on 03/17/2010

Yup. If it was Kobe or Tiger or any other brown superstar. But, there will be people here who will deny this.

[jessicadevyn]

09:14 PM on 03/17/2010

Very true. I am no fan of Tiger and don't believe golf is a sport but the coverage is ridiculous.

[Altoids]

10:57 AM on 03/17/2010

He claims she fell and hit her head in the bathroom? That is VERY suspect.

[Wide Stance]

11:27 AM on 03/17/2010

It's the Drew Peterson defense. (She fell in an empty bathtub, hit her head.) Not good company to be in. Bottom line, anytime a millionaire is still chasing women at college bars, you have to question their character.

[Leto II]

09:55 AM on 03/17/2010

"All you bitches, take my shots". This sounds like a verse from every rap song that's being played today. Rapistberger belongs in prison. But I need him to win my fantasy league before he goes.

[natturnerx]

08:33 PM on 03/16/2010

"all you b*tches take my shots."

lol - ben is ushering in the era of the "urban" white athlete.

[clen]

02:43 PM on 03/16/2010

Roid rage. We all look forward to the NFLs review of drug abuse since, after 20 years of news coverage, they seemed to be completely unaware of any possible problem when they testified before congress a few months ago. I'm sure their commission will take years to issue a report and then the results will be "inconclusive." Business as usual.

[peskime]

01:15 PM on 03/16/2010

I had a run in with a NFL player when I was 18. at a restaurant. I was not assaulted but this man who was three times my small 98 pound body would not keep his huge hands off of me. I switched seats with my cousin because of the mauling. These type of men are nothing but neanderthals.

[al92lt1]

03:28 PM on 04/12/2010

But did it bother you enough to report it?

[Justin Cedar]

10:55 AM on 03/16/2010

Ben Roethlisberger has been accused of raping a girl and also that Ben’s bodyguards blocked the bathroom door when he did it. I think Ben should be arrested for doing so. He also bought the girl a drink to drink and he followed her to the bathroom.

[avocats]

03:36 PM on 04/12/2010

"I think Ben should be arrested." Well, thanks for your jurisprudential opinion. Unfortunately, the DA has to follow the law and the facts.

[PennLawyer]

10:00 AM on 03/16/2010

The Rooneys/Steelerowners are a straight-laced, community-oriented family. They and the Steeler organization were quite disapproving of Ben's irresponsible behavior - first his near fatal motorcycle accident resulting from wreckless daytime driving in downtown Pgh with expired license and no helmet; then the mess with the civil rape suit from a "hospitality hostess" in Nevada. Ben was read the riot act to clean up his act. Steeler fans are used to the like of Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier, who made their year-round homes in Pittsburgh, retired there and do all kinds of community service. They never needed bodyguards.
Did he buy a summer home in a gated community in a one-horse town (population under 20,000) in the middle of Georgia so he could party unobserved and uncriticized, with only star struck, good ole boy cops around? Why does he need a gaggle of bodyguards in a gated community? He has no family there. This hamlet is over a hundred miles from Atlanta. Entertainment - well, there is a six screen movie theater at the mall. No restaurants worth mentioning.
And it's Georgia in the summertime! We're talking 100+ degree weather as a matter of course. I spent a week in hotlanta for the Olympic games - it was brutal just walking around. There were mist tents and free water everywhere to keep people from passing out. So how did Milledgevile get so "lucky"?

[jukesgrrl]

12:32 AM on 03/18/2010

I've also been curious about this choice of a rural Georgia home. It's a free country and he can go where he wants to, but it's an off choice for an Ohio native -- especially when he still imports his friends from Pittsburgh.

He has an estate in Wexford, PA, north of Pittsburgh where he lives alone with several huge dogs. He is worshiped by the locals who give him his privacy. He has garnered huge support from the law enforcement community because he created a foundation to "disperse grants to police and fire departments' canine units throughout the US" for the purchase of service dogs and related safety equipment, hence a lot of the free rein he's been afforded beyond just what being a Steeler QB gets you.

Why the hide-out?

[skippy20008]

09:55 AM on 03/16/2010

If Roethlisberger is charged, this story will be SIGNIFICANTLY bigger than the Tiger story. Will it get 1/10 the coverage?

[mbroo]

08:18 PM on 03/16/2010

Nope, I don't think it will.

[Jazmo]

10:02 PM on 03/16/2010

It should be, but Ben is not nearly as famous as Tiger, nor is he as marketable.

[mbroo]

04:20 PM on 03/17/2010

It has nothing to do with fame or marketability.

[Pod-gers]

07:27 AM on 03/16/2010

Unfortunately, many women make false charges. This damages the chances for women who have been assaulted because people don't believe them. Wealthy athletes are targets. There is almost no way they can protect therselves from false allegations.

[qdog112]

08:55 AM on 03/16/2010

OK, that's two. At what point do we lend credence to the accusers? 3, 4, 5 ....how many? Why are they picking on poor Ben? Are there more that haven't come forward? At some point is fire where there's so much smoke?

[ltcaffey]

09:29 AM on 03/16/2010

Well maybe I can think of a least one way right off the top of my head. This might sound crazy but how about not going into the bathroom at a bar with a 20 year old girl.

[avocats]

03:34 PM on 04/12/2010

And how about not getting crazy drunk with your friends (underage, too) and volunteering to enter a VIP area? If this were rape, BR should go to jail. If not, the girl should be charged. BUt in any case, can't the young women of this country stop drinking themselves into oblivion, and in public places?

[Donald]

06:09 AM on 03/16/2010

The Pittsburgh Steelers better step up here, and either set their franchise player straight, or else cut him loose. Ben Roethlisberger is hardly the indispensable man, and I seriously doubt that he's of much good for anything else besides football. His breed is purely ornamental.

[Z2a]

04:16 AM on 03/16/2010

I hope this A-Hole goes down if this is true.