Ben Roethlisberger first decided to hire bodyguards after a man put a gun to his head outside a bar several years ago, according to ESPN's "Outside the Lines." The Steelers quarterback first told ESPN The Magazine about the claim, but "OTL" obtained additional details about the incident.
According to ProFootballTalk, a source told ESPN that Roethlisberger was speaking with a woman when her boyfriend drew his weapon.
Roethlisberger's bodyguards have received attention for their behavior on the night their boss was accused of sexual assaulting a 20-year-old in Milledgeville, Ga. One witness says that two guards blocked the door leading to the bathroom where the alleged assault occurred, and a friend of the accuser told police that the bodyguards "dragged" the victim while she "was extremely intoxicated and not aware of what was happening."
Ed Joyner, one of the men working for Roethlisberger that night, also works as a Pennsylvania state police officer. He is currently under investigation by his daytime employer to determine if he did anything "that could reasonably be expected to destroy public respect for the Pennsylvania State Police or confidence in the state police."
ESPN reported yesterday that the other bodyguard working for Roethlisberger that night, Anthony Barravecchio, may soon lose his day job as a police officer in Coraopolis, Pa.
Roethlisberger was not charged with any crime following the incident in Georgia, but he has been suspended six games by the NFL (it could drop to four).