Ben Roethlisberger and the Lop Sided Perspective of an Organization

The National Football League’s general personal conduct policy states:

Engaging in violent and/or criminal activity is unacceptable and constitutes conduct detrimental to the integrity of and public confidence in the National Football League. Such conduct alienates the fans on whom the success of the League depends and has negative and sometimes tragic consequences for both the victim and the perpetrator. The League is committed to promoting and encouraging lawful conduct and to providing a safe and professional workplace for its employees.

Prohibited conduct includes:

… any crime involving the use or threat of physical violence to a person or persons; the use of a deadly weapon in the commission of a crime; possession or distribution of a weapon in violation of state or federal law; involvement in “hate crimes” or crimes of domestic violence; theft, larceny or other property crimes; sex offenses; racketeering; money laundering; obstruction of justice; resisting arrest; fraud; and violent or threatening conduct. Additionally, Covered Persons shall not by their words or conduct suggest that criminal activity is acceptable or condoned within the NFL.

This case with Ben Roethlisberger is a blatantly clear representation of how unbalanced the justice system & societal perspectives really are. If he were a BLACK high profile NFL quarterback no one would be tip-toeing around facts OR fighting to keep him active in ANY professional organization. When it came to Michael Vick, Plaxico Burress, & Pacman Jones everyone was gung ho about penalizing them; they were “thugs” & unfit for pro sports. And Ben isn’t?? When it’s a white pro athlete, his criminal behavior is diluted to portray him as the equivalent of a harmlessly mischievous college fratboy. I’m hoping Roger Goodell isn’t confused about his expectations of what an NFL player should be… we will see when his decision regarding Roethlisberger’s suspension is made public. So far, from what I’ve seen there seems to be an issue calling a spade a spade unless it’s a black one. When Pacman Jones was suspended by Goodell, he was quoted as saying:

We must protect the integrity of the NFL. The highest standards of conduct must be met by everyone in the NFL because it is a privilege to represent the NFL, not a right. These players, and all members of our league, have to make the right choices and decisions in their conduct on a consistent basis.

To go a step further with this train of thought, Goodell issued a letter to Pacman Jones and Chris Henry which included the following text:

Your conduct has brought embarrassment and ridicule upon yourself, your club, and the NFL, and has damaged the reputation of players throughout the league. You have put in jeopardy an otherwise promising NFL career, and have risked both your own safety and the safety of others through your off-field actions. In each of these respects, you have engaged in conduct detrimental to the NFL and failed to live up to the standards expected of NFL players. Taken as a whole, this conduct warrants significant sanction.

Ben Roethlisberger has exhibited a pattern of negative behavior and from where I stand, ANY of those statements could easily be applied to Big Ben and the situations he has either caused or continuously put himself in. This is the face of the Steelers? A representation of the highest standards of integrity the NFL can produce? Poo. If you want to throw stones at pro athletes for improper behavior, then throw them at everyone; equal size, equal frequency. For me, it’s not even an issue of the law or an attack on the viewpoint of the DA/prosecution. It’s about the NFL and all 32 organizations under its seal. It’s about inappropriate behavior only being labeled inappropriate when it is a black athlete; white athletes aren’t held to the same standards and it makes me sick to see such an in-your-face display of unbalanced disciplinary action in a sport that is so influential in today’s society. Football is such an integral part of our culture and the quarterbacks are the face of every team and ultimately the profile of the NFL as a whole.

Everyone was DISGUSTED with Vick for fighting DOGS! But Ben is just being a man? He’s just exercising poor judgment? He should get a slap on the wrist? Let’s send the message that men who have MONEY are more than welcomed to interpret the word NO any way they like (because YES, the police reports indicate that Ben was told repeatedly by this young lady that she did NOT want to have sex with him in the bathroom he followed her into and locked himself in with her while his bodyguards stood outside refusing to let her friends pass through to get to her)… that professional football players can practice coercive sex with underage (she was only 20) drunk girls in club bathrooms without any repercussions. That’s bad business.

Goodell should know better than to take this so lightly; hopefully I’m speaking too soon and he’ll prove me wrong. CEOs have been dismissed for less than this simply because it is a bad mark on a corporation’s reputation. It should be the same for Ben’s involvement in the NFL. In a police statement Ben said the girl fell and hit her head at which point he helped her up. I guess he then deemed her just drunk enough for him to take advantage of. If a black man force himself on a woman in a bar bathroom, do you honestly think all the DA is gonna say is GROW UP… AND he gets to keep his job? Nope.

The entire structure of things is twisted. Goodell may not be a bad guy, but the politics involved in NFL football is suffocatingly intrusive and if nothing changes, we’re going to keep seeing black players get the book thrown at them when they get into trouble while the league keeps churning out white players who are getting busted with cocaine and habitually committing sexual offenses. Goodell, for whatever reason, was quick to sanction Vick and Pacman (despite NOT yet having been convicted when they were suspended) but has yet to even meet with Roethlisberger from what I’ve seen at this point. Why so patient now, Goodell?

Ben has been accused of crimes of a sexual nature TWICE in ONE year in two different places by two different women. When he entered the room with his most recent “alleged” victim, his genitalia was already OUT of his pants, without knowing whether or not she wanted to see him exposed in that manner. What does that say about his character and how comfortable he is with this type of behavior? And bear in mind those are only the ones we know about. Can we assume that EVERY woman this man has taken advantage of has actually come forward? I would think it’s safe to say that’s not the case. That is bad publicity not only for Roethlisberger but for the Steelers club – and the entire organization. There is no WAY a black athlete on contract with the NFL would get away with behaving in such a manner. Equality? Apparently not in this league… not in this lifetime.

Until next time...



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