Big Lead Sports Bar

7/21/2009

UPDATED: ROETHLISBERGER ACCUSED OF SEXUAL ASSAULT



Last night, word broke of a Nevada casino employee filing a civil defamation lawsuit against Ben Roethlisberger, accusing him of sexually assaulting her in July, 2008. Roethlisberger is not facing any criminal charges, as it is unclear whether or not the accuser, Andrea McNulty, ever tried to file a criminal complaint.

Roethlisberger's attorney, David Cornwell (who has also represented Saints RB Reggie Bush and Browns WR Donte Stallworth and was a finalist for the NFLPA Executive Director position), has issued the following statement:

"This weekend Andrea McNulty served Ben Roethlisberger with a civil complaint accusing him of sexually assaulting her in July 2008. Ben has never sexually assaulted anyone; especially Andrea McNulty. The timing of the lawsuit and the absence of a criminal complaint and a criminal investigation are the most compelling evidence of the absence of any criminal conduct. If an investigation is commenced, Ben will cooperate fully and Ben will be fully exonerated.

"Ben will not be baited into a public discussion about his personal life, but we will defend him vigorously. The limited value that Ms. McNulty derived from public disclosure of these viciously false allegations is the only value she will ever receive from Ben in this case."

Steelers spokesman Dave Lockett had this to say to WTAE:

"We are aware of the allegations but cannot comment on the specifics of the case. We've been told Ben's side of the story and we fully support him at this time."

I hate, repeat, hate having to discuss stories like this, as I'd much rather talk about actual on-field action, "hot-stove"-type discussion, and the lighter side of sports (you know, like Big Ben quarterbacking against Shaq). Unfortunately, we're closer to the beginning than to the end of this, so strap in for the unpleasantries that usually accompany a case of this nature.

Roethlisberger denies civil allegations of sexual assault [PFT]
Ben Roethlisberger Accused Of Sex Assault In Lawsuit [WTAE]
ESPN ignores Big Ben story, so far [PFT]
In Roethlisberger case, it's important to keep an open mind [PFT]
Roethlisberger named in Reno case [PG]


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30 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a joke. This bum waits a year to make anything out of these allgations? I don't know about you, but if someone "sexually assaulted" me like she claims, I'm filing something immediately.

Poor Ben...

SantoGold said...

Makes me wish for the good old days when all we had to worry about with Ben was whether he wore gloves when he threw the ball or whether he was wearing a helmut when he rode his bike.

Looks like we have our post Super Bowl distraction....just in time for training camp.

Unknown said...

Need more facts here...but superstars such as Ben need to watch where they are and who they are hanging out with and never put themselves at risk for this.

BurressWithButterflywings said...

Can't these guys just stay home in their mansions?

thenic said...

I am sure there is more to this story yet to come out. I don't believe Ben is completely innocent as I am sure he will be portrayed. He hasn't said that he doesn't know this girl, didn't have a night with her, and he has specifically stated he isn't going to delve into his personal life.

He isn’t a choir boy and I am sure something happened. Let’s just hope for the sake of the Steelers it isn’t as bad as what this girl is claiming, and she is attempting to get some sort of financial settlement out of it.

Unknown said...

i wonder what her credentials are in terms of tv repair? give me a break!

Steve said...

Sorry thenic, but what would make you believe Ben did anything illegal here? Why is he not so innocent? The reason she didn't file any charges and only now mentions anything, is because she's no doubt full of $hit and just looking to get something out of a one night stand with a famous person.

I can only imagine it was a drunken Vegas encounter between a star stuck girl and a famous athlete and now she regrets doing anything because Ben is not her boyfriend like she was probably telling all her equally annoying friends and he probably wants nothing to do with her.

This is why unmarried guys like Ben need to hook up with one steady girl, find a clean escort girl, or pay the price for banging some wack-job star F'er who will lie for money and fame as quickly as she'll lay.

Steve said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
thenic said...

Steve I hope you are right. However, I have heard first hand accounts of what Ben is like outside of the public spotlight, and this story unfortunately doesn't strike me as one that is unbelievable.

I want him to be innocent, but I just think that there is more to this story than an athlete scoring some "road beef".

Billy Bearcat said...

Unless she attempted to file or filed criminal charges then this looks like nothing more than a shakedown... if you are assaulted. Sexually or otherwise then you file criminal charges and worry about the civil stuff later.

BurressWithButterflywings said...

Steve,

I agree, this seems like nothing more than some paper chasing. I have no doubt that Ben is a fleshhound like any other single straight male his age. That doesn't excuse any wrongdoing if there is such, but the timing here makes me think that this isn't much more than a get rich quick scheme.

I hope I am right. if I am wrong then I hope he is punished accordingly.

These guys just need to use the right head and stay away from these situations. I am sure that many girls do throw themselves at them and that temptation is hard to resist but the frequency with which these allegations seem to pop-up should serve as some kind of warning.

Anyone think there may be a connection with the timing of this and the whole McNair mistress incident?

Steve said...

Hmmm, maybe...but this time instead of her killing Ben and then herself for feeling jilted and ashamed, she sues. Sounds like the American girl kinda thing to do. Good for her.

Jeff_King_Fan said...

from what i've heard ben can be kind of a prick when the cameras aren't on him. bottom line is i dont think anything illegal happened. they probably just had sex, and like others have said, she thought her new boyfriend was a superbowl champ. this looks bad whether her allegations are true or not.

Its similar to the jerome bettis situation from a couple years ago, but big ben is a bigger name than the bus so i dont see this story just being swept under the rug.

BurressWithButterflywings said...

Look: I have seen all of these guys out. Ben, Hines, even Greg Warren the freaking long snapper. They are all jagoffs.

If he did this, then I say he gets the boot. I would rather lose than win with a rapist. But if this girl is diggin', what is going to happen to her? She has absolutely nothing to lose here. Ben on the other hand does, even if he pays her $100,000 off the books to shut her up people are all going to believe he did it. As of the point where this story broke, his rep. is tarnished forever whether innocent or guilty. If this is a lie, this girl slips back into anonomity, no harm no foul.

Unknown said...

"If he did this, then I say he gets the boot. I would rather lose than win with a rapist."

Ok, let's not get ahead of ourselves here. This is a CIVIL complaint, he's not going to be found "guilty" of anything. Even if this does somehow go to trial and she gets a jury verdict, he's only going to be found "liable" to her, he's not exactly guilty of anything.

Not that it matters, this is just a typical whack-job one night fling trying to cash in after Ben didn't return her calls and he told his buddies that she's a whore/slut/tramp/etc.

SantoGold said...

Guilty or not, liable or not, doesn't this raise the possibility of Commish Goodell fining or possibly even suspending Ben? Its not like he's needed "proof" to take action against other players accused of wrong-doing.

Unknown said...

Considering Goodell has basically been making up the rules as he goes along, I wouldn't be surprised if he takes some action, although since it's a civil case, it wouldn't be right unless there's a jury verdict that comes back against Ben (and I'm not holding my breath).

Jeff_King_Fan said...

does anyone have a link to what this chick looks like? i thought i found her myspace, but it wouldnt show a pic. if the steelers start off 3-0, this will all be forgotten.

Unknown said...

TMZ has pictures of her. Woof.

BurressWithButterflywings said...

sounds like she has a bit of baggage.

Anonymous said...

Ick, she's not much of a looker.

BurressWithButterflywings said...

dually noted.

Jeff_King_Fan said...

well ben does like helping out K-9s

Michael Katz said...

The question for me is what this means for Big Ben in the eyes of Roger Goodell. The Player Conduct Policy seems to give him the right to act however he sees fit, but this is civil, not criminal, so who knows. Sticky situation...

Also, The Reno Gazette-Journal got a copy of the lawsuit
if you all haven't taken a look.

FanHouse links to it, along with a nice breakdown of the relevant questions that follow.

Louis Lipps is my homeboy said...

So wait, did she fix the TV or not?

Michael Katz said...

+1

BurressWithButterflywings said...

This details of this complaint remind me a lot of a similar case of another prominent athlete.

If history repeats, Ben will petition the league to get a new jersey number and win at least 1 more title. Plus he doesn't even have to buy an $8 million dollar apoplogy ring or get a ridiculous tattoo.

Unknown said...

what is going on here? now there is a married man involved...a ghost soldier she was writing to.

she's a loon.

marybods said...

No way Ben did this--it makes no sense. The girl is full of it.She is even accusing the hotel security guy with breaking into her house and taking her computer, she gave him her keys!!!! And why would she do that if she was so pissed at him for not investigating the ALLEDGED assult? She is crazy, plain and simple. She is only out for the money. Poor Ben--he needs to file a deformation case against her. I am so angry I can spit!

Michael Katz said...

On top of that, he should probably file a defamation suit! He can leave the deformation suit for the guy who rearranged his face in the motorcycle accident.