I’m getting an uneasy feeling about the latest allegations of sexual assault against Steeler’s quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. As my momma used to say, once is a coincidence, twice is a trend.
What’s known right now is that police in Milledgeville, GA are investigating a complaint from a female college student, who claims Roethlisberger sexually assaulted her. Witness reports place Roethlisberger in the same club as the woman and claim that he appeared to be inviting females into a private VIP area of the club.
Unfortunately for Roethlisberger, this news comes while he’s facing a civil charge of sexual assault in Nevada.
Sports Hypocrites
This is hard for me cause I’m a huge Steelers and Roethlisberger fan, but I can’t be a sports hypocrite.
I hate when sports fans cast aspersions on rival teams or players when questionable behavior surfaces, but justify, downplay or outright defend similar behavior from their own team. Roethlisberger’s track record and actions demonstrate a pattern of reckless behavior and poor decision making, making it hard for me to believe in him.
Emotional Investment in Athletes
Like most sports fans I really want to believe that the guys who play for my favorite teams are beyond reproach; it’s not realistic but it’s a fact. Like it or not, we emotionally invest in the teams and athletes we pull for, it’s not the right thing to do but it happens. Anyone who says they can completely separate the two is a straight-up liar.
I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt until they’ve proven themselves to be less than trustworthy or credible, and for me there’s a level of disappointment involved when I realize someone I’ve emotionally invested in no longer deserves the benefit of doubt. That’s where I am with Roethlisberger.
Roethlisberger’s WTF Moment
So in an attempt to separate my emotions from the story, I have to ask myself how would I react if the quarterback of my most-hated rival was facing charges of sexual assault. I’d like to believe that although I hate the Cowboys and Crimson Tide, if Dallas QB Tony Romo or Alabama QB Greg McElroy were facing a single sexual assault allegation, I would give them the benefit of the doubt.
However, if either Romo or McElroy put themselves in the same situation Roethlisberger did — going out to clubs, drinking and inviting girls back to a VIP area, all while facing allegations of sexual assault in Nevada — I wouldn’t hold back much. If this had been any other quarterback without Auburn or Pittsburgh ties, I’m certain I would begin associating their poor decision making with a lack of self control which could easily lead to something like this.
I’m not making a call on his guilt or innocence, yet, in my opinion, Roethlisberger no longer deserves the benefit of the doubt, and we must now seriously question his maturity and intelligence. Although the Steelers won’t say it publicly, Roethlisberger’s stupid-ass decisions will force the organization to consider the franchise risk Roethlisberger brings to the Steelers.
The Ohio State Buckeye head football coach became the first FBS coach to ever grant an interview to a member of the GLBT press. Kudos to Tressel, who’s labeled a conservative, both on and off the field, for being open minded enough to give a shout out to us gays!
You can catch the entire Tressel interview here at outlookcolumbus.com page 32.
Tebow's vertical leap His vertical jump of 38½ inches tied for best of any quarterback in combine history.
For a multitude of reasons, including but not limited to his faith, his style of play, his skills, his good looks, his accomplishments, etc…, you either like or dislike Tim Tebow; very few people are indifferent on the subject. I can’t recall an athlete who generated as much emotion in people as he does.
So as the NFL’s 2010 combine shut down, we were bombarded with a wide range of opinions on when, where and if Tim Tebow should be drafted.
The Gator Offense
There’s little question that the offense run by Urban Meyer at Florida retards the growth of quarterbacks who would be better prepared for the NFL had they played in a pro-style offense. Yes, there are some teams, most notably the Miami Dolphins, who are seriously adopting the run-first options of the spread offense but most NFL teams are slow to adopt what they refer to as a ‘gimmick offense’.
Tebow’s NFL Prospects
Will Tebow be drafted? Of course. Where will he go? No one knows because there are so many different opinions on what to do with him. I’ve witnessed many highly-rated Gator quarterbacks who fail in the NFL; Danny Wuerffel, Shane Matthews and Rex Grossman to name a few. Yet, who in their right mind would place their bets against Tim Tebow? Love him or hate him, you can’t deny his success on the field. And I don’t doubt for a minute that he will do whatever it takes to become an NFL quarterback.
Is he ready now? Absolutely not. But, if you’re a team with an established veteran quarterback with an above average quarterback coach, then why wouldn’t you take a chance on Tebow? I wouldn’t bet against him.
Tebow and McCoy chat it up with Saints QB coach Joe Lombardi.
I’m thinking the Patriots, Packers and Vikings would be a good fit for Tebow and, although it may just be the worst place for him to land, don’t count out Raider’s owner Al Davis making a play for Timmy.
Vonn, who’s slated to compete in five women’s Alpine events and is considered the favorite to win gold in the downhill and super-G events, revealed she injured her shin during a slalom training run Feb. 3 during pre-Olympic practice in Austria. In 2006 while training for the downhill events at the Torino Olympics, Vonn crashed and was evacuated by helicopter, where she was hospitalized overnight.
Vonn will test her leg Thursday during the women’s first official training run on Whistler Mountain.
Kansas forward Thomas Robinson and Marcus Morris with the flying chest bump. (Photo: Nick Krug/LJWorld.com)
Just a couple of weeks ago most college basketball fans, including myself, thought Kansas’ visit to Austin would decided which school would go on to win the Big 12 regular season title. Both teams had been ranked #1 at different points in the season and seemed like they were on a collision course.
That was before Texas was exposed as just another college basketball team with mediocre guard play and before Kansas established themselves as the only team capable of winning a Big 12 road game. So instead of a battle for the top spot, the Longhorns were merely trying to close the gap between the Big 1 and the other 11.
The Jayhawks improved to 23-1 (9-0) with an 80-68 victory at Texas that wasn’t as close as the final score indicates. Kansas took charge midway through the first half, forcing the Longhorns into 17 turnovers versus only 6 assists. Senior point guard Sherron Collins almost out-assisted Texas by himself as he dished out 5 and scored 15 points.
Two tough road games, Texas A&M and Missouri, remain on the Jayhawks Big 12 schedule, but with every other team in the conference already earning three league losses, Kansas’ win Monday night locked up the regular season title and #1 seed in the Big 12 tourney.
thesportsfag