thesportsfag | my gay sports blog

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.

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.

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.

And for those of you who are here just to see some hot shirtless photos of Tebow, there you go.

These rumors just in from the ‘duh, no-shit’ department.

Tebow not ready for NFL QB
It appears that former Gator hottie Tim Tebow is sucking big time at the Senior Bowl practices in Mobile, AL. NFL scouts are tweeting about bad mechanics and off-target throws from the Fuck-us on the Family spokesman, can anyone say tight end?

Jay Cutler scares off offensive coordinators in Chicago
Another story line making the rounds at the Senior Bowl practices, the Bears are having a hard time finding an OC because of two situations:
1. The unsettled nature of head coach Lovie Smith’s future
2. Having to coach Jay Cutler

(source NBC News)

San Diego Chargers’ running back LaDainian Tomlinson just released this really awkward Electric Glide video for some reason.

Look out player, LT says he’s gonna serve us a new dance, oh Snap, Crackle and Pop! Wow, this is gonna be a little uncomfortable isn’t it….memo to LT, this failed move is about 25 years old but I love your new lyrics.

I was expecting Adam Sandberg to jump in thinking this was a Saturday Night Live parody of something, but grew increasingly uncomfortable as I realized this wasn’t a spoof.

I felt sexier after watching former Senator Tom Delay on Dancing With The Stars, at least he made me laugh.

After further review not even replay can save humans from making mistakes so I think it’s time we end our aversion to technology and embed pucks, footballs and baseballs with Radio Frequency Id’s (RFIDs).

This way, in football, we can eliminate an umpire’s judgement as to where the ball should be marked and save some money on payroll by eliminating the two guys who hold the chains on the sidelines and measure for first downs. This technology is already used in tennis and it surely would’ve corrected this mistake from the Penguins game the other night.

Foul ball mishaps, like what happened twice in last year’s baseball playoffs, would be eliminated as well.