Men of the World Unite…Before It’s Too Late!

Tangster says:

Once again, this story is a story blown out of proportions. First, the media should really stick it’s big, fat, nosy nose out of business when concerning something serious like sexual assault especially when it has celebs in the issue. They always, always cause things to go out of hand and let the original story be buried beneath piles of useless side stories that attract unnecessary attention. This is just a simple story of a young woman seeking justice due to a sexual assault by a man. That’s all we need to know. We don’t need to know that the man is a professional football player or that the woman is a hotel employee. However, we always need to take into consideration that the woman maybe lying for money because it is always possible. As human beings we are always greedy and looking for a quick way out but the main attention should be on that this man needs to be sentenced and punished for this crime he committed.

Now, about this person who wrote the comment to the youtube video: you’re, uh, questionable since you don’t see both sides of the picture or that you only see the side that the media makes you see. First, there’s no need for name calling of that degree. Just call the victim stupid but no need to add in the title of whore (because for now the victim is not one). Second, the man will not be hurt that badly by the accusations if they’re a lie. If they’re a lie then everyone knows that he’s fine. Third, if it all was a lie then she is going to prison if she can’t pay the fine. There’s no need to send someone you don’t know personally to the mental ward. That’s wasting money that America doesn’t have.

The reason why the victim didn’t report is probably because: SHE WAS SCARED TOO. Duh, everyone knows that when you’re a victim of sexual assault you’re scared to report it to the police and instead would rather keep it to themselves. But this woman did as you asked her to do: she had a spine and stood up for herself and reported the incident. It takes courage to do such a thing. It was not a causal encounter because if it was then she wouldn’t be claiming rape. But now you’re encouraging her to steal from the assaulter? What are you, wish washy, because I’m certain that you said right after to sue the man for more than asked that she should get her own money? She did right by only wanting an apology and money to donate to that foundation for assaulted victims. Person, I would suggest you think before you right. Please do so and save a lot of people headaches.

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lateasusual says:

In terms of the recent activity surrounding sexual assaults and discriminations in the sports world I think it is difficult to judge. One thing for sure is that the public shouldn’t be chiming into the cases that are occurring without knowing the details of the cases. I think just because someone is a fan of a sports team or a certain individual that doesn’t mean someone is guilty or innocent.
On one hand I think that there are some people out there that are trying to exploit athletes that are in the public spotlight. Certain individuals see these athletes as their key to fame or financial stability and will set them up in order to achieve what they are looking for. The Ben Roethlisberger case seems farfetched on the part of the women but who really knows what exactly happened other than the two parties involved. We as a public can only hope that the judicial system gets the case right and the right person pays for their wrong doings.
Regarding the women in the sports media being assaulted and watched I think that this uncalled for. I also feel that it is wrong for people to be looking up these videos of the sportscaster when she had no idea what was going on. I blame part of that situation on the internet and how there is hardly no privacy to celebrity private lives. I mean of course if people know that they can look up the video on the internet, which they are going to be curious and look up the videos.
At the end of the day I think that each sexual assault case should be treated separately and should not be tied together for any reason. Most sexual assault cases are different from the next and just because it may look to be one way it may not be that simple. I think we as a public should stand back and let the judicial process run its course.

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Fish says:

In response to the article, “Men of the World Unite…Before It’s too Late,” my reactions are somewhat two sided because it happens time and time again that people look to take advantage of a rare opportunity when it comes to a celebrity. I also hear constantly stories about people with celebrity status taking advantage of who they are with the hopes of later receiving preferential treatment because of who they are, as if the people who let them off the hook are significantly compensated for the act of letting them go. First off, I do agree with many of the people who suggested that the woman would actually try and defend her accusation by contacting the police immediately after she felt that she was raped instead of just telling other casino workers. Did she feel apprehensive about the potential press coverage that would result from her accusation and feel like she would be called a gold digging whore if others knew that she had hooked up with a celebrity only because of his money and fame? I also feel that if she had just gone straight to the police and clarified that she actually was raped, people would not feel this way about her and for once a person of celebrity status would have received the full penalty which, all of us know, they never receive to the full extent. Another thing that I really was curious about was the way in which everything that happened was initiated. Had Roethlisberger actually done something forcefully by either drugging her or kidnapping her against her will in order to get the woman into a position in which she could not back away from engaging in sexual activity or did the girl go out and get drunk on her own after work and meet him at the bar or something and she was at the time in agreement with going back to his room with him as is the case in the vast majority of one night stands where you hook up with a random someone. Next, what prompted the woman to be afraid of losing her job if she knew she was in the right with her situation? Like many others have stated, the first thing the woman should have been concerned with was her own personal well being and that should have consisted of contacting the right people, the police, who would have handled the situation in the correct matter. Finally, my main grief with the situation was that even though many of the people commenting sound sexist and were feeding the fuel of the person writing the article, they still have valid points that the woman should have been tested in order to prove the validity of her argument if what she claimed was actually true.

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Cris Cringle says:

In this case with Ben Rothlisberger I feel that it was something consensual between them. I believe that Ben Rothlisberger did not in fact sexually assault this woman. If she really was strong about her claim of sexual assault why is she trying to make a plea bargain with her lawyer that Rothlisberger must apologize and donate an enormous amount of money to abused women? I feel this was a publicity stunt done by the woman who accused Rothlisberger of these allegations. I also feel that she wanted some type of money out of this. I feel if Rothlisberger did indeed sexually assault this woman, why didn’t she get tests done by authorities to confirm he actually committed such acts? There is a lot of missing pieces in this story which makes it seem to me the story will not hold up in court. Not only does it make Rothlisberger seem as if he is a liar by denying these allegations, it also jeopardizes his professional football career as well as his integrity as a famous icon. This has not been the first case of a female claiming some type of sexual assault on a professional athlete. One of the most dominating figures in NBA basketball rings a bell in my head when this topic comes up. He is a young, rich, and a dominating force in the sports world, Kobe Bryant. Most of these famous athletes whether the NFL or NBA I feel are taken advantage of because of their social or economic status. Women cannot help but be attracted to these sports figures. Women in my opinion may try to take advantage of these men because of their wealth. I feel a lot of women are gold diggers when it comes to dealing with celebrity icons. When Ben Rothlisberger came out in a press conference and denied these allegations I felt as if he was telling the truth. I am not just trying to side with him because I am a male. There have just been too many cases of women claiming sexual assault on sports icons without enough incriminating evidence to back up their claim. I feel that the media plays a great deal on what people think and how they react. The media in this case can construe a story like this and have Ben Rothlisberger seem as a horrible man who sexually assaulted an innocent woman. That is how our society is and there isn’t much we can really do about that. The media has their own spin on a story, and I also feel there is another truthful side of a story. However this case plays out, I just hope that the truth prevails most importantly.

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Orange Soda says:

The world is a harsh place, and those comments most certainly prove it. I agree with you, Sam. Nobody knows the real truth, so we can’t be so quick to judge. Still, I feel like things do not add up. I have heard many times that some women try to deny the fact that they have been sexually assaulted or raped, but everyone knows that when something like that happens, the victim usually wants nothing more than to get revenge on the person who has wronged them. Still, regardless of what her intentions may seem to be, we can’t call her a whore, life ruiner, gold digger, or anything else to that extent. We can just look at the facts and wait to see what happens.
Is that what we will do? Most likely not. What would we do then? Exactly what Sam showed us. We will do exactly what those people who wrote those comments did. We will make an opinion that is most likely against this girl, and we will think bad things about her because of what we are used to hearing about girls and cheating, divorces, and sex scandals. Are we then to assume that this woman is alone? Not at all.
Think about all of the other ladies out there that can relate to this one that is being judged. There are most certainly other females out there that have been sexually assaulted or raped by others, and they have not reported it. The statistics back this up, but the only people that will probably sympathize are the minority, sadly. People assume that this lady is afraid to report it because she can get in trouble for lying? Let’s stop being so narrow-minded. Think about how she could have felt at the time if this assault really did take place. Think about how afraid she would have been after. Think about how afraid she would have been to report this. Now think about what you were thinking about to begin with: the fact that Ben Roethlisberger is a celebrity and star quarterback for the Steelers.
Don’t be afraid to question the celebrity. They usually have more resources to make things seem differently than how they occurred. Think about how many scandals haven’t been leaked to the public. How many celebrity cover-ups have we heard of? Think about all of the stories about Roethlisberger. I have heard rumors of him asking a delivery pizza girl if she wanted to do him. Rumors circulate about celebrities, and we constantly see that even real events can turn into “rumors” because celebrities can cover up or get out of almost anything. I even sometimes believe that rappers that go to jail only do so because they really want to for the sake of building their reputation. They could probably get out of it if they wanted to.
At the end of the day, this author who wrote this article is doing what we all do: judging for no reason. I’m simply observing. I would like to take the white approach on this one and leave you with this: I’m staying out on this one, man.

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whaaattttt says:

This is a really tough situation to comment on, especially as a girl. You hear all the time about girls who are gold diggers fabricating stories or pulling lawsuits out of what seems like thin air against someone who has money. In my opinion, some, or a minority of them probably are., but others probably not. In addition to high profile cases, there are cases that come up everyday with everyone else in the world. Granted there is a small percentage of the cases that are fabricated for multiple reasons, and most notably and recently the case at Hofstra University. A woman there went the police and reported a gang bang rape and she ended up retracting her story because there was video evidence that it was consensual. She explained she did it so her boyfriend wouldn’t be mad at her. She’s not the only girl in the world who has cried rape in a situation like this but in the process of these girls virtually lying about their experience, they make it harder for real victims to step forward.
This hotel worker and women like her who get criticized in high profile cases and women who lie make a very difficult and sensitive subject even more difficult and sensitive. People should be a little easier on judging the women in these cases because even though people want to believe that they are the ones in the wrong and not their beloved role model or celebrity, they could be wrong. People need to stop judging so harshly on these women until the case is closed. Evidence needs to be proven and the case needs to come to a close before people can judge. When people, like those who left those nasty comments on the YouTbe video, so openly express their anger toward that women and other women who are victims see that, they get deterred and scared people will think of them the same.
In this case, I am particularly torn. I am not from Pennsylvania, nor am I a Steelers fan. I do understand out here how crazy people are about their Steelers. It is a little coincidental, if I do say so myself, that this case came up right after the Steelers won the Super Bowl, but nonetheless it could be true. He could have been hyped up in the moment and thought he was the king of everything and did indeed take advantage of this woman in the passion of the moment. Either way, it could be, and it could not be true but it is up to the police and the investigators to gather the evidence and make the proper decision, not just based on his celebrity status.

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Prodigy says:

When watching the video and then reading the ensuing comments, the first thing that came to my mind was where is the justice for the woman. The story does seem a bit fishy and fabricated but what if she really has to go through what she claimed. Moving on I think we really need to weigh all of the facts here. Why is it that this woman cried rape yet did not notify police? The argument could be made that she may have been scarred or afraid. That however is null and void due to the fact that she notified the hotel security. If she felt comfortable enough to notify them then why didn’t she notify the proper authority? The reason why I don’t believe this woman is simple. If she were truly raped she would seek justice for the perpetrator. However she is suing for money and asking him to publicly admit something in order for her to drop the charges. That makes absolutely no sense. Why wouldn’t she gain the money for pain and suffering and make sure justice is served. As fishy as the story sounds there is absolutely no reason to call her a whore, bitch, or slut. The fact still remains what if she is actually telling the truth. Sexism clearly is exemplified in his story. Many people believe that this woman is lying about being raped just because the man is a superstar. All too many times we place these superstars on these pedestals and fail to realize that they to can commit the crimes we as common folk do commit. Immediately those responding to the video see this girl as a liar and someone just out to seek money. This story is a catch-22 for many reasons. On one hand this female could be lying because she is a gold digger and would like to give the athlete a negative image. If this is not the case, then we are being sexist by automatically trying to assume that or come to that conclusion. However what if she was really raped? Where is the accountability for the star? Where is the justice for this woman and the concern for health and well-being? This female could have well been afraid of the backlash she is now receiving by some fans and this could be the reason she did not want to immediately go to police. On the contrary, if she is telling the truth she could’ve done things differently. The main thing is the whole issue about asking him to publicly apologize and shed drops the charges. That in and of itself lowers her credibility and easily makes her a target for ridicule. The ridicule and scorn and its extremes were not necessary however. I feel like some individuals would believe an athlete or role model no matter what before listening to someone’s words. This is because as an athlete we see these stars as perfect people who would never do things do hurt themselves.

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Jewchebag says:

Jaclyn Friedman is an idiot, and she’s the worst kind of idiot, one who brings out the worst in other people. She’s so far off the edge that she’s beyond feminism, she’s onto full blown male hatred, a disease characterized by the inability to think, apparently, and to realize that hey, Ben Roethlisberger has millions upon millions of dollars. Who wouldn’t want some of that? It’s the same problem Kobe ran into. Does Ms. Friedman live in the real world, where women are sluts and whores and men douchebags and assholes, and they have sex because it works out for both of them, and maybe they each get a little something? Sex isn’t a bad thing, Ms. Friedman, though I doubt you’d know it based on the fact that you hate men so much you’d probably lop off their penises with a butchers knife if you ever saw one.
You know why more athletes get away with rape? Because women aren’t star fucking the guy who works at Starbucks to try and get money from him. Extortion, Ms. Friedman, is something far beyond your mental level, apparently. Guess what, when a judge drops the original CRIMINAL charges against Roethlisberger (like it was HOT) odds are, nothing happened, and she’s a money grubbing whore just like most women out there. And I threw that generalization in as a way to show how ridiculous your man hatred is. Don’t like it when someone picks on your fellow women, do you. And guess what, this woman is obviously all sorts of crazy, though you apparently deem her actions sane (thank god you’re a writer and not a clinical psychologist) and crazy people do crazy things…like fucking a guy and then saying he raped her. You know what kind of person does that? A crazy person.
And what happened, Ms. Friedman, to innocent before proven guilty? You know, the very principle upon which we hold the tenets of our American judicial system! If you think those who defend Big Ben Roethlisberger are the real assholes, then who the hell are you to convict him? How about a “I have no idea what went on in that room” or something, because you sound like the lawyer for the prosecution!
I am offended, as a man and as a human being by this article. In fact, it makes me want to rape a woman just to piss you off. Or better yet, to find a woman and let her claim that she was raped—by Joe Paterno—and to get the case laughed out of court so fast that it denigrates the plight of women who actually do get raped everywhere. Unfortunately, when that camp has you as its spokesman—I’m sorry, spokeswoman—we know the charge isn’t being led very far.
How about this: people aren’t always honest, or truthful. They have ulterior motives. And guess what, women want to have sex with men as much as men want to have sex with women. Sex isn’t about rape or tension, it’s about mutual pleasure. So shove it, Friedman.
Wow, that felt good. Released a lot of pent up tension. I want to take a woman’s studies class next semester and be a blatant misogynist. Now that would be fun.

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Aesthetic says:

I don’t appreciate those comments that people made about the victim. It really doesn’t seem like that they have any sincerity or believe her at all. They call her words like bitch and hoe. Damn, these people don’t have any empathy. What if this acclaimed situation happened to one of them? They wouldn’t want any not to show any sympathy or not even closely believe her.
Frankly, I think the ladies story is kind of shady. I believe that if she was truly raped she should have reported it immediately. I also understand that it is not easy for a rape victim to come out considering the circumstance of shame and disbelief. I feel as though if she wanted this situation to be affective and believable she would have gone to the hospital initially.
I also don’t like how the person that wrote the article spoke about the football player as though she knew him since they were babies. She made it seem as though he personally came up to her and confessed that he raped the acclaimed victim. In this country the ideal behavior is that we don’t judge people before we know the facts and that they are proven to be guilty. As a reporter I believe that she is suppose to stay unbiased and just report the facts. She deliberately used her power of words to turn his image backwards and to make the public build a negative image of him. I feel as though she is somehow on the similar level with the bloggers that were tainting the acclaimed victims reputation and credibility. The only difference is that she was more professional and did not use profanity in her writing.
I feel like these are two different instances of examples of sexist reactions. For instance the reporter is on the females side and the bloggers are on the football players side. I personally don’t believe this was the proper was to go about this situation.
What I do like about the acclaimed victim is that she is not trying to get the money for herself. She wants the money to go to a non-profit organization. And she wants an apology. In my opinion that it very credible on her part. She does not want his money, nor does she want someone to feel sorry for her. She just wants him to take responsibility and admit to what he has done. On the other hand I can imagine that this could be something very personal and she just wanted to mess up his reputation.
What ever the truth may be I feel as though people should try to be more empathetic. I also feel that this country’s value of innocent until proven guilty should be taken seriously.

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The Man formerly known as Judge Judy says:

You Tube comments, where intelligent thought ends. The one place that could never be accused of being analytical would be the comments found under most You Tube videos. For fun, go to any semi controversial video or important and then read the comments. Or the moon landing video and see comments of people claiming that it was all staged and Americans are tools for believing that we went to the moon. Moral of the story? Never be shocked what you see on the Internet.
Oh, and then I almost forgot that this football star may or may not have forced a woman into having sex with him, because of the A-train of mental retardation that are You Tube comments. I, much like everyone else, really has no idea what happened. But because people believe in Ben so much this case that really isn’t my business, or anyone else’s business has now turned into a circus of fans of Ben versus fans of…well…Not raping women? But, you know what? I am sort of biased against the accused in cases like this, because generally it shouldn’t be that hard to prove you aren’t guilty… If you have half a brain, it would seem like a fairly bad idea to have sex with random strangers, at least as a celebrity when there is a precedent of cases where people lie to get money from you. If you don’t want to get shot during hunting season, don’t wear a giant target on your back.
I think we all remember the Penn State Football players or whatever it was a year or two back who had a stripper or prostitute or something and then allegedly raped her. It turned out false, their lives were ruined. Thats pretty terrible, but I beg the question of why put yourself in a situation like that? Never make it easy for someone to accuse of you a crime. Especially if you’re either rich or famous, because strangers will have no problem of making you into their personal bitch if they can get power over you. You know what sucks? Doing something that isn’t illegal or wrong, but stupid, and then having some bad shit happen over that.
But, like I said, I don’t really care about this case, and if shes lying then I feel sorry for the poor bastard whose going to carry this around his neck for a long time. If shes telling the truth, well, then I think she equally deserves a chance to prove it. I hope that this will serve as a good lesson for people in restraint of opinion until the facts are brought to light. Instead of immediately jumping on her back for what may be a very legitimate case. I would also hope the supposed fans of this gentleman would call for his honesty. Anyone who I placed such high hopes and expectations on, and then had them go and betray me, should apologize for letting me down. If I was a fan.

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B says:

This article is a great one to get to discuss in this class. Personally I am a huge sports fan. I love watching sports and follow sports rigorously. Perfect for this example, I am a huge Kobe Bryant fan, he’s my favorite player. I’ve been a die hard fan since he entered the league in 97 and instantly jumped to all star status the following year. The point of that back story, is that I’ve been a fan since day one so I was one of the guys that was like “WHAT!?” “No Way, NOT KOBE!”. There was no one alive that was going to convince me that my favorite NBA player was guilty of raping some random employee in some hotel in Denver, Colorado. Not squeaky clean Kobe. The only thing anyone could ever say bad about Kobe was that he wanted to run L.A. without Shaq, and as we can see this year, he had a point. Personally, I am glad that the charges were dropped because in my opinion, I thought that the girl in this instance was simply after a pay day, nothing else. I find it extremely hard to believe that Kobe Bryant, a player who gets paid the max, had three now four NBA championships, would rape some random employee who isn’t even a fourth as good looking as his wife. I do believe that non consensual sex does happen, and it tends to circulate around athletes.
Athletes today are spoiled beyond belief. They have squads of people around them whose sole purpose in life is to accommodate every need and want of that athlete. This includes publicity and reputation. Team owners will go out of their way to keep their stars out of any negative spotlight that could throw a wrench in their team’s program. Athlete’s don’t know what the word “NO” means. They never hear the damn thing. They are overpaid and get to splurge their pay checks on all the luxuries in life, most athletes expenses probably go to covering up the crap they want to sweep under the rug and keep off the radar. Until more athletes are made examples off I’m afraid that this will continue. The girls that are out for the money will make their pay day settling out of court (money that these players have to spend and won’t miss much) and the poor girls that actually are victims of assault go unheard, simply dismissed as gold digging skanks out to mess up a guy’s career for a buck. Teammates have an unspoken but very well known code where they stick up for each, and as dumb as it may sound most guys have the same rule and most teammates will also be quick to dismiss the allegation that one of their own raped a girl, they’ll just say “Na man that girl is just out for pay like all the others, give it two weeks and she get her settlement and be quietly on her way”. This issue is more of a cultural problem with men in general than it is with athletics. If there weren’t so many lying girls out there we would be able to take a true victim of rape at her word but unfortunately there is too much corruption in our lives that even a girl who suffered that kind of trauma, then has to undergo the horrible deed of convincing the world it even happened.

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Tastykake says:

I couldn’t agree more with Sam. Until this case is settled, none of us can be sure of what actually happened. We can’t jump to conclusions until we know all the facts. It may very well be true that this woman is lying. Maybe she just wants publicity. Or maybe she’s after his money. But to call this woman a “bitch” or a “gold digger” is ignorant and disrespectful. What if Roethlisberger did rape her? How do we know who to believe? Being a professional athlete works for and against him. On one hand, he has the trust and support of all his fans. They look up to him as a role model. Of course all the people who have Big Ben on their fantasy teams are going to believe him. And conversely, all the women’s rights activists are going to stick up for her. Professional athletes think they can do whatever they want, right? These conflicting viewpoints only make this situation worse.

This issue hits close to home for me. When I was a junior in high school, one of my best friends was sexually assaulted. Fortunately, the young man, who was one of our classmates, fled before committing rape. But that was after he grabbed her, pushed her and touched her. It took MONTHS for her to tell her closest friends. She claimed no one would believe her because this guy was popular, smart—and the captain of the swim team. He also had a girlfriend. She told me she tried to erase the memories and move on. As Sam mentioned, IT’S VERY COMMON for victims of sexual assault to deny what happened to them. I can’t even begin to imagine how hard it must be to speak up. I told her she should consider telling the police, but she was obviously afraid to get him angry.

I’m sure situations like this one happen all the time. That being said, I want to make it clear that I’m NOT accusing Big Ben of rape or sexual assault. All I’m saying is that people need to understand how much these victims suffer. It’s a shame that the media has drawn so much attention to this case. Widespread rumors cause distorted opinions. Both of their lives have been severely damaged in the midst of this controversy. We can only hope that the truth will come out and justice will be served. But balancing the facts of this case will not be an easy task by any means. Apparently this woman did not file a police report after the alleged incident, so it’s her word against his. Therefore, the jury who evaluates this case will probably face a great deal of problems. If a jury might struggle with a verdict, how can an ordinary citizen choose one side or the other so easily? People need to stop and think before opening their mouths.

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Nonanita says:

Well, no one can really judge if she deserved what happened to her or not. People who commented on that article are superficial. Apparently the comments are all posted by male gender, so that they will definitely blame the woman. Men don’t usually think about women in a good way, especially if she was put-in a sexual assault situation and works in a casino. Also what they don’t know that the woman always weak in such situations because an athlete like this huge guy would never ever be as easy to resist. It’s really natural not to call the cops when you are in this situation because it’s really shocking “if it was”. Her reaction when she told one of the securities about her story doesn’t mean she doesn’t want to be investigated by the police and have her blood tested. In my case if I was put in a situation like this the first thing I will do is call my best friend. I know that would never help me in anything but at least I will find someone who will believe me in order to be beside me. And why always the woman is a gold digger or a whore, why doesn’t the man be a play boy or a pimp, HA?? I know he is an athlete, but that doesn’t exclude him from being a play boy or a pimp.
Another point of view is that she might deserve what happened to her if she was sexually attracting him. I was wondering why she didn’t mention the case in 2008 why did she pop it up after a year?? That’s ridicules. As he mentioned she works at a casino, surely he might be drunk and raped her but she enjoyed it. And because she would not have the chance to have sex with him any more she made up this story. As a worker she has to have the respect between her and her customers not sexual relations. It’s really hard to tell if she is innocent or not because both of them are guilty. She had the responsibility to serve him and he had the responsibility to respect her as a worker. It’s really tragic to hear such stories because they all blame the women and never put a point to the men.

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FelixTheCat says:

It is no secret that in modern society, or really any society around the world, that Western culture is being adopted part by part. Likewise, we are trading other cultures, but popular Western culture shows that at the highest level people seem to want the same things. Money, power, respect, women. That being said, women also want the same things, except they tend to want men. In American culture, people generally just assume they can almost ‘trade’ things, like sex for money. That’s why you see ‘ugly’ or ‘fat’ people with people the world and the media sees as ‘beautiful’. It usually doesn’t make sense but money changes people. I’m pretty sure that the young woman who finds herself fighting legally against the American football player from the Pittsburgh Steelers football team is in a bad state. That being said the guy who’s being sued is too.
I feel like in most situations women put themselves in that zone. She obviously talked to him, probably drank with him, and never saw why that might be a bad idea. He’s a huge man, with too much aggression, and his entire life revolves around winning. He’s obviously no gentleman. If you want a ‘big tough bad boy’ be prepared to deal with ‘big tough bad’ problems or at least big risks. Most girls don’t dress attractively because these days attractive basically means over exposure of skin.
She knows that in a situation where his reputation is being attacked, his lawyer is probably going to say, “Give her some money and tell her not to take it to court”. Why? Because in the case that she wins he can’t play American football for the team and he loses fans. This in turn means the team loses fans which means they are not selling shirts and stuff that fans buy. Money is her reason for lying.
I’m sure this is probably not the first time a man like this has been in a situation like this. I just feel like the media sensationalizes things just to get publicity. They’ll say anything to make a big celebrity bad, because that gets more publicity, than making some small time woman seem like the bad person.
If this were to happen to me I would hire a good legal team, a squadron in fact, to tackle this issue head on and clear my reputation. Because my reputation and my career as the leader of the Pittsburgh Steelers is more important than anything. In conclusion reputation is always worth more than simply giving in. Because giving in is being weak. People should be more responsible for themselves especially that woman. If she was clear minded enough to get his DNA sample then clearly she knew what she was doing.

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PUTTPUNJABI says:

Sexual assault and rape are not topics that should be taken lightly. People who have suffered sexual assault or rape, have undergone massive trauma and therefore suffer from major psychological disorders such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The fact of the matter is when anyone accuses somebody of sexual assault and rape, these charges alone take a huge chunk out of the credibility of a person. The charges against Ben Roethlisberger, the quarter back of the Pittsburgh Steelers, suffered these allegations from a women in the Harrah’s hotel. Ben Roethlisberger will always have those allegations follow him for the rest of his life. Whether they are true or not does not matter. The fact that he was accused is more than enough to cause his reputation as a good person to go down the drain.
Now concentrating on the comments she made. Whether or not the comments are warranted is out of the question. She is not involved in the situation. She does not have a personal connection with Ben, so for her to completely bad mouth the girl who accused Ben and assume these allegations are false is unacceptable.
In my opinion, we should let the legal system work itself out of this predicament. If the rape charges are true then I have faith in the legal system will be able to bring justice to the girl. Although there are ways to manipulate the legal system in your favor if you have money, if you have committed a crime it will appear in the court system.
When you have a situation like this, it is very difficult to discern the truth. The truth of the matter is that only people who know what happened are the girl who worked at Harrah’s and Ben Roethlisberger. Whether they sex was consensual or forced is only known to Ben and the girl. The media and the legal system can only speculate the truth until it comes out of the two of them. When she asked him to donate the money to charity, it seemed somewhat odd. Why would she ask him to donate money to a charity if she is accusing him of rape and sexual assault?
How does Ben Roethlisberger’s money and fame affect the way people act with him? These problems come with the territory of being a starting National Football League. Being rich and famous makes a huge target for people to make money and gain publicity. The fact is people will do any thing these days to gain publicity and fame. Just like balloon boy, pretending that your child is lost in floating balloon across Colorado. All I can say is if your rich and famous, you have to be very careful about the people you sleep with.

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Snow Bunny says:

This is a very contentious topic and I cannot choose one side because I understand both view points. First I find it very degrading to women how we are often portrayed as “gold-diggers, whores, sluts, etc.” whenever accusing someone of sexual assault. For the fact that this happens very often with athletes and other Hollywood stars suggest that they believe they are above the law and can get away with anything which is wrong. The author of this article makes a strong argument and sucked individuals into believing what she says is true based on the comments they posted under the blog. Agreeing with Sam how dare these people cast stones at the women when they are judging her based on the news and media reports they have no idea what actually happen. The only two individuals who know are the athlete and the young woman. Society is just trying to defend his reputation instead of living by the laws of the land which state equality and justice for all. I feel that the reaction to her claims are disrespectful by calling her out of her name and assuming that this athlete is innocent which in many cases most of them are not. I find it interesting that the video says, he said he did nothing wrong. I want to know what he believes is the difference between wrong and right before I myself cast any stones at him.
On the other hand I feel that if raped one should immediately go to authorities so that there is substantial evidence to build a case against the perpetrator and have him locked away and the key thrown away. By waiting all this time she made it hard to believe and this is why society is reacting in such frenzy. I do not understand why she felt safe to tell security but not police the people who can really help. Who cares about losing your job and if she were to be fired for exploiting this athlete she could have then sued and probably owned her job. To a certain extent I understand where some individuals think she is lying because she waited a year to admit she was assaulted, but what about women all over the world who are molested as children and do not share this information until they are teenagers or young adults or in adulthood. Why is it that we do not react t he same to these individuals? I forgot it is because they are raped by what we consider to be “normal people.” Well here is a newsflash for these idiots in America who worship famous individuals and treat them as if they are above everyone else: ATHELETES, ACTORS, ACTRESSES, DOCTORS, LAWYERS, FIREMEN, EXECUTIVES, and DIRECTORS ETC. ARE ALL NORMAL PEOPLE. Before they became wealthy and received new “labels” they were just like me; a regular plain Jane individual.
Consequently, I just want to know when will society open their eyes and see that we are all human and allowed to make mistakes and when mistakes are made we all are suppose to face the same consequences despite the amount of money in our bank accounts. I guess people will always side with their heroes and idols despite the fact they may actually be guilty of the charges held against them and this is sad to me. Ultimately I am not taking either side just looking at the allegations from both perspectives and wishing that others would use rational thought instead of being irrational and allowing one more famous person not be treated as a regular individual.

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truth says:

Oh this topic, so controversial and pertinent to what is going on. Sports stars committing crimes and other atrocities. Sports stars are viewed in a totally different light then many other people and can’t lead a normal life. Not only that but between each league there is a different code of conduct policy which makes it hard to treat all the athletes the same. Their egos grow and grow as they get more successful and they are used to getting whatever they want. Still, I also would believe that there are women out there desperate and greedy enough to try and set up a man with money. I think both situations are a terrible representation of the way women in America view wealthy men and the way men in America view some women. People make it so difficult for sports stars to live normal lives and also make it very hard for a woman to come out with something that could very well be the truth. I semi understand why Big Ben’s accuser may not have ordered a police investigation. With that much pressure after everything on top of what may have happened it’s understandable. But like other people have said in comments if you really wanted jealous you would have come out and not circumvented other options. She didn’t want to get fired from the casino? Seems like a flimsy excuse. I can see it both ways because I do believe sports stars have too much free will to do what they want and they definitely use it to their advantage. But I also fully believe there are thousands of women out there that are just looking for that chance to try to pull something like this on anyone with a hint of money and take advantage of them. I also believe that sports stars know this so they use it to their advantage to “get some” so it’s kind of a repeating cycle that who knows if it ever really could be stopped. With athletes on such a different level how are we supposed to truly be unbiased about it and just treat it like a normal case. I have a friend who was accused of rape after a casual encounter and the girl actually did get in trouble. So maybe it isn’t just about the money issue its just people in general and the whole taboo topic of sex. It’s a big deal and some people take it lightly when they are in the act but then regret it and take drastic measures to rationalize their decision. With our crazy world today you really have no idea who’s telling the truth and I believe it just gets even murkier when you add in popularity and money into the equation.

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No Name says:

Living on a college campus in our day today, rape is not uncommon. The part that is uncommon is the actual reporting of the harassment. Rape is a highly kept secret and not often told on by its victims. There are many reasons for this. Being rape can cause guilt of the victim. Guilt could be for feeing so helpless, even if it was unavoidable. Date rape is also a huge unreported crime in the United States, especially on college campuses. Date rape includes raping someone that you are aquatinted with or know personally. This football player being accused of rape is not unrealistic. He may have, or may not have raped the woman, but why is she allowing him to get off easier than someone who is not famous. Raping a woman no matter if you are famous or not, rape is unacceptable. It will be put on a permanent record, which could affect anyone’s reputation. The Steelers quarterback’s reputation may have been ruined, but what does that matter? If he committed the crime shouldn’t he be charged with the consequences? If it was just any normal male, white, black or of any race, he would be going on trial and being punished for his actions. The woman in this example is not filing a suit for the correct reasons. She does not want to receive damages from the actual rape situation, but the celebrity she can encounter on the way. Having the football player admit what he has done, and then lower the repercussions is just wrong. If he realizes and admits what he did wrong, he should have to pay the fines. Rape is just not something that one can get away with if it is reported. Once it is reported, it needs to be solved and fixed to prevent future harmful situations. Being raped has different effects on different people. I have heard a story about a girl being raped. Her name was Shannon. Today, it is called Shannon’s Story. She was never the same, it doesn’t just affect you for that quick time it happens. It lingers, forever. This girl was raped, which ended up ruining her long-term relationship with her boyfriend. Due to the break up, she ended up committing suicide. This girl never reported the crime. She had just written it in her journal, but the male is not identified, so no charges can be made. This male is on the loose. He is out there to cause injury to future girls, just like the football player if he gets let off easy of charges. A crime is a crime. The girl was apparently affected by what had happened at the hotel, so she had to report it that night. By taking back the repercussions and minimizing the punishments, she is causing more harm to our society. He could be free to roam around and continue to do what he thinks is ok, because most woman might not report it, just like the majority of our population. This woman is setting back the fight against rape. Rape not only affects woman, who report it. It affects everyone whom is affected and even those who are not. Shannon’s story is a perfect example of how rapes lead to a series of events, which ended in a horrific accident. It all could have been prevented if she reported the crime and the male had been punished for his actions. The quarterback needs to be punished correctly in order to help protect our future and fight against both rape and date rape.

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Money B says:

This is a situation which might cause actual rape victims to hesitate to go to the authorities. After considering a case like this they may feel that their case may not be looked at seriously; when in all reality that is not true. The fact that the female did not go to the authorities immediately after she claimed that she was sexually abused made her story seem skeptical. However, I can imagine how hard it may be to report a rape. Some people never gain the courage to admit that they have been sexually abused. They just go on with their lives like nothing ever happened. I can only imagine how many women who have been sexually abused by a man, who holds power; whom probably never reported their abuse.
Many women are not brave enough to report their sexual abuse because many times the media seems to destroy their character. The media will sometimes dig deep into the victims past in order to bring out their skeletons. At the same time the world seems to forget about the victim all together by accusing them of being a whore, slut, gold digger and ect. It is sad but true that money rules the world. Regardless if Big Ben really sexually assaulted the women or not, the majority of the people who aware of the case are going to side with him. The main reason for that is because of women wrongfully accusing men about sexual assault.
In the case of the woman who claimed to be sexually assaulted by Big Ben, her story simply does not hold any weight. It is simply because she did not immediately report to the authorities. She is also requesting a monetary exchange for her pain and suffering. I can only speak for myself but had I been sexually assaulted I would not care about money what so ever! I would just simply want my attacker imprisoned. The fact that the woman is filing a civil suit instead of a criminal suit makes eye brows raised. She not only reported her sexual abuse late but at the same time she is asking for a large settlement. No one really knows if she was really sexually abused or not but her situation would make one wonder.
At the end of the day I believe that any sexual assault case should be fully examined regardless if it involves someone famous or an average person. A person should not just get a slap on the wrist just because of their wealth or popularity. At the same I believe those same famous should not be targeted by some females who are only after their wealth. Two wrongs will never make a right!

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golaub-williams says:

Seeing articles like this definitely does not make me feel safe in any way shape or form, as a female. Being that I am slim and of a very slender stature (and being that I don’t even get half the suggested hours of rest per week that I need to get), I can pretty accurately say that I would be almost completely defenseless against a football player, unless I had a weapon. I might reach for just about anything within my immediate area, be it my purse, my jacket (they have zippers and buttons!), nail file… just about anything if I’m trying to defend myself from potential harm. I mean, that’s all kind of second nature to me considering I lived in Brooklyn until I was 14.
Nevertheless, I know that that is a lot easier than it sounds, and that, were I in such a position- G-d forbid- I might not be able to defend myself with the confidence and the fervor that I have now. Things like that often disappear (not for everyone apparently) in a moment of panic. I have a close friend who was molested while at this university by someone she believed to be a good friend of hers, someone she trusted. I know that these situations are often much more mentally-shattering than many people would think.
And also, being that she is my close friend, I get the “pleasure” of hearing all the things that they say about her: she deserved it, she wanted it, it was consensual, she made it up to make us look bad, among other things. Knowing her as a person, I know that she isn’t lying to me about what happened. I have a significant amount of trust in her, and it isn’t for no reason. The few times she speaks about what happened, you can tell from her eyes that it haunts her, and I find a great deal of bravery in the way that she still goes about her life and tries not to let it take her over, though she is still going to court to get everything settled.
Knowing my friend, and then reading the comments that were posted under the video really struck me. This could possibly be because of the fact that I’m such good friends with her… that I have a biased view on this topic. It reminds me very much of what happened in a way, so I can empathize with the alleged victim. This is not to say that I completely believe the woman. I can see how parts of her story can be considered suspicious, but in situations like this, can it really just be black and white? There are a lot of gray, blurry areas that stop us from doing things that we should, stop us from saying something when we should. There are a lot of other factors that might have motivated her telling hotel security, rather than the police. Maybe she felt safer as a person telling hotel security, being that she works in the same workplace as them. Maybe she was too ashamed to alert the police. You might ask why she would be ashamed of something like this. I don’t know- but I do know that when these things happen, some people feel an overwhelming amount of shame, as if they’d somehow deserved it or done something to provoke it, and this is only elevated by the cruelty of people that make biting judgments and accusations, while only knowing a smidgen of what happened, if even that. How can you possibly pass judgment like that on a person that you do not know, on a situation that you were not involved in and you do not even know a majority of the story? Why is she immediately seen as guilty, and him as innocent?
Honestly, this makes me feel so unsafe as a woman. Yes, there are women that lie about experiences like that for money… but let us not forget that men lie as well. And men in the entertainment business are very much known for their objectification of women. Why is it okay for them- because they’re celebrities? Because they score a few touchdowns or won a few awards? When has a woman’s life become so worthless merely because of the fact that she is not a celebrity and the accused is? It makes me feel as though if something like this were to ever happen to me, I could tell no one because everyone would assume that I was just lying or that it was consensual. And what kind of world is it when I don’t even feel safe to speak up about the injustices I have to face?
I’m not saying that she didn’t lie. I’m definitely not saying that she did. I’m saying that before you make ignorant judgments, think about someone you love in your family, your relationships. And then ask yourself if you have any right to talk, given you know only what the news, casino, etc wants to tell you, just like all of the public.

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One Love-Steeler Swag says:

In response to Sam’s blog entitled “Men of the World Unite…before it’s too late” I sided with the majority. I know it was discussed that you are innocent before proven guilty, and we do not have all the statistics in the case or exactly know what happened, but based on the facts we do know I made my own conclusion. I feel this was absolute fraud against Ben Roethlisberger, and I and not only saying this because I happen to be a die-hard Pittsburgh Steeler fan. The fact of the matter is I truly believe this woman, who was a middle class citizen had a sexual encounter with a multi-million dollar professional football player and after the encounter she had the idea that she could make a large sum of money off of this situation. She may have even planned this out when she met Ben.
You cannot consent to sex one day and decide a few weeks or days later than the experience was not enjoyable and non consensual and consider it rape. Men are always targeted as aggressors in rape, and this is often supported by crime statistics, but it would be deemed sexist of we say this is because men are stronger than women. Men rarely or never are highlighted as this woman is in a case like this. Men could easily do the same thing, have sex with a rich woman and then claim rape, I am not certain but I cannot think of a case in which this happened. I do however have another similar case in mind. In 2001 Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant was accused of rape in Colorado, and was found innocent. Is this just a case of same situation, different people? I think so. The woman who charged Roethlisberger originally wanted $100,000 for herself, but now that the case is getting a bit shady, she is changing her tune and wants the money donated to a women’s charity. This is just a way of limiting her loses. She originally was in it for the money in my eyes, and now that she doesn’t think she can get that she is attempting to save her reputation and criminal record.
Celebrities are targeted in a number of ways due to their fame and fortune. Ben, in my eyes, was just another victim. Look at former teammate of Roethlisberger, Plexico Burress’ gun charges this past September. He shot himself in a club with an unregistered gun on accident. He didn’t intend to shoot anyone, the gun went off on himself, isn’t that punishment enough? His celebrity statuses forced the judge into being extremely tough on his sentencing and give him five years in prison. This woman targeted Ben because he was celebrity, this would have never happened if it was a random working class man, she might not have even slept with a non-celebrity. I know I do not know all the facts of this case, but I have made my conclusion after evaluating all the statistics given and that’s my stance and I do not intend to chance it until more information comes out.

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reds. says:

First and foremost, I think some of the prior responses to this article are ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous. And I love the fact that most are from guys who want to limit this one instance in its entirety. This is more than a sports figure being accused of committing sexual assault, this also includes a woman as well. Most people who responded to this article probably have had the extremely good fortune of NOT being sexually assaulted. I, on the other hand, have not. And it seriously pisses me the hell off that people just assumes she falsely accused him because she wants money, or because she wants fame or any of that stuff. What happened to me was traumatic, and so help me God, if people responded to MY own story they responded to hers, I could have been suicidal. Whether or not she fabricated the story, no one will ever know. If it happened, and she was going to go public, she was paid off. If it did happen, they would pay her to keep her mouth shut. If she did falsely accuse, shame on her, but most woman who come forth with stories like this in everyday life are not lying. Most women who are violated like I was wouldn’t DREAM of making up such a terrifying story – why in the HELL would I make something like that up? Why in God’s name would I ever want to PRETEND that happened? It’s like the boy who cried wolf, ‘cept it’s the girl who cried rape. How guilty would you feel if you just assumed she, or just some other girl, lied but instead was actually forced into unwanted and non-consensual sexual practices? I don’t think there’s any way in hell people can look at a woman/girl and say they’re lying about something like this without giving it a second thought. Would the same people who called her those names say the same stuff to one of those kids who claimed MJ touched them? I HIGHLY doubt it. It’s all relevant. People said these things immediately because 1) she was a woman and 2) he was an athlete. No one called those kids liars and expletives because 1) they were kids and 2) people were less quick to defend MJ and more quick to judge him, go figure? I don’t know. I just can’t imagine telling a woman she’s all those things POST being molested (or supposedly molested). I’d never felt more down and depressed than after that happened, and if people were to treat me that way, say those things, tell me I was lying, I don’t think I could handle it. Oh, and that “innocent til proven guilty” shit? Who in God’s name still thinks OJ is innocent?

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Pussy's Unite says:

Apparently every single woman that walks the earth would be lucky to sleep with a professional athlete. So much so that if I were raped by one, I must be a gold digger or a whore who was leading him on. This is an outrage to me, not every single woman is turned on by a fancy uniform and muscles. I think the public, and all their excuses for athletes, is really getting to all their heads. They think in their heads, oh I must be so amazing, all these girls want me; so wrapped in their own little world that they convince themselves that no mean yes. I’m not saying that every girl is innocent, I know that in some cases the sex is consensual, and that some girls do throw themselves at athletes. I’ve seen so many girls throw themselves at regular Joe’s when they were drunk. So I can only imagine what some people would do, especially when under the influence of alcohol. But the point I am trying to make is that these women, just because they don’t want to report their assault to the police, doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. There are women who get raped and will never tell anyone, because they are too afraid that the rapist will find them. If you accuse a famous person, who knows what kind of badgering she would get. I mean look at the comments on youtube, she is being called a whore and a gold digger, and he, well he is getting applauded basically; one user said he did nothing wrong but be a popular athlete. Really though, I don’t mean to sound like a feminist, but most of these comments sound like they were from men. Honestly most of them point out that he is a great athlete, and she is a whore for sleeping with him, and then a bitch because she is making such a terrible accusation against him. It’s sickening that so many people can get away with such a heinous crime. Raping a woman is terrible, you could psychologically harm them for the rest of their lives. They may never be able to open up to man, or maybe the person who raped them had blonde hair, they may be afraid of blonde men in general. They also may get the feeling that their rapist is constantly following them, and live their life in constant fear. A lot of girls at one point in their life have probably thought about being raped, and I think that the fact that most men can’t even begin to imagine what it would feel like. Some men just stick their junk wherever they want and don’t ever have to worry about the consequences.

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Anonymous says:

This same type of incident has happened in the past to professional athletes, such as Kobe Bryant. If the women who are filing these suits honestly feel that they were raped then they should have went straight to the police so the issue could have been handled in the legal system. However, since these women took a round-about way of confronting the issue, she is receiving scrutiny from several people. Sure, she could just want a money settlement since Big Ben is worth millions of dollars, but then again she could be telling the truth. This article really makes one think about this controversial situation in American society. In my opinion, rape is one of the hardest crimes to solve. Women who are raped are usually so traumatized by what had just happened to them that they do not report it right away. Which makes a case even harder, and less evidence for the police to go off of. However, if anyone is raped and really wanted to find the person that did this to them, then why wouldn’t you go to the police immediately. There are always exceptions of course, but I think women are smart enough to go to the police right away. The reactions against this women that has accused Ben Roethlisberger are not shocking or out of the ordinary to me. Maybe she really was afraid to go to the police. Or maybe she really is doing it for the money. No one will really know for sure how this woman feels or what really happened to her. It does not look good that she waited so long to accuse him of rape, and is asking for money in return. In this case the women dug her hole when she did not report it because it made her look like a gold digger. I understand where people are accusing her of being a gold digger because that is what it looks like. By not reporting it and not bringing it up after a while seems like she had a plan and someone told her that she could maybe get money out of the incident if she told the police she was assaulted. If she went about this another way by telling the police instead of the security guards then more people would be sympathetic with what happened.
When people hear that their favorite athlete, someone they look up too, did something wrong people automatically put on defense mode. They try to come up with every reason not to believe that their hero did not break the law so they target the other person which in the case was the assaulted women. I think that people should take a step back and look at the situation from outside. They should gather the facts that they have and try and be rational about what happened and act mature enough to have a little sympathy for the person that was assaulted. Hopefully Ben Roethlisberger knows what the right thing is and people will move on from the incident.

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There are no Browns fans says:

Despite what many people may think about this case it is very typical of a woman who was raped to not report the crime to the police right away. Women sometimes feel ashamed and even blame themselves after they are raped or sexually assaulted. Others feel that nobody, especially the police, will believe them. Some women even feel that they will be judged by others. This is all evident in the comments listed beneath the video. People said she was a lying stupid whore and all they watched was a one minute YouTube clip. Even the comment about the woman being a browns fan was way off base because let’s face it there are no browns fans and there haven’t been for a long time. Just kidding there might be a few put there.
Unless you have been put in a situation where you were the victim of a sexual assault or even a rape you may not pass judgment on how the victim handled the situation or whether or not the victim is telling the truth because there are actually only two people that know and you are not one of them. You are entitled to your opinion but it has no validity so it is probably best to keep it to yourself.
This is a typical he said she said case and based on the fact that the woman waited so long to go to the police and the fact that she offered a very strange deal to Big Ben makes her story seem less believable. We have seen numerous times with other athletes such as Kobe Bryant. In the end Ben Roethlisberger will not be found guilty of any criminal charges and he will most likely reach an out of court settlement and pay the victim an outrageous amount of money. It is just the way these things work whether or not a sexual assault occurred. Now the question is this, does this open the door to athletes and other famous individuals to commit sexual assaults? It seems as if they are never convicted and everybody always believes them because they can drive eighty yards for the game winning touchdown in the biggest game of the year while the victim is just another face in the crowd. From the comments listed it would seem like athletes could get away with this behavior if they are so inclined and they have the money to fight the case to the death.
This is a touchy issue and nobody except that woman and Ben Roethlisberger knows what really happened. But this won’t stop people from pretending they know what happened. I would tell you what I believe is the truth but why should I? I have as much credibility as the person that called her a stupid whore and a bitch.

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