One Down... One to Go...

uhhh... don't have sex with girls in the public bathrooms?

Another reason for the Steeler faithful to cheer!!! First, Genius Colbert ships out Santonio (Ed Buchette: "I bet there are players already cheering in the locker room"). And now, Big Ben just won the first of his 2 rape cases when the Ocmulgee GA DA decided they didn't have sufficient evidence to charge the TWO TIME SUPER BOWL WINNING QUARTERBACK. That said, he will most likely still face punishment from the NFL and/or the Steelers organization, but nonetheless, it's a good day in Pittsburgh, and a win/win for everyone involved.... wait... even the girl who was maybe raped? Please read on.

Worth goin to prison over? Yeah... didn't think so, and neither did Ben.

Consider the still-pending allegations from Andrea McNulty. This one was a slam dunk for Dumb Ben's legal team. She waited a year before releasing accusations. She pursued him on civil charges, not criminal charges. She's had a history of mental problems when she made up a dead, military boyfriend who was KIA'ed overseas. She also accused her former employer, so Ben's interest coincided with that of a large corporation with a ton of resources to discredit the girl. And finally, she bragged about sleeping with Roethlisberger to her co-workers, so it seems the sexual contact was consensual. There was no reason for Ben to fastplay this one and offer a settlement to keep her quiet. He's innocent, plain and simple.


Now think about the more recent allegation. This new girl reported the crime right away, but there was still little evidence. Both parties were hammer drunk, and there was no DNA found at the scene. The plaintiff probably saw the writing on the wall and realized she could not win in court, so what could she do? Big Ben already had the smear of one rape allegation on him, he couldn't afford another one, and he REALLY couldn't afford to be found guilty in this one (unlikely, but possible). It makes sense that he reached out to her and offered a settlement. It was revealed today that she chose not to prosecute the matter any further, but she made that decision 2 weeks ago!!! Her understandable reason was not wanting to be paraded through an embarrassing public trial... but we can all safely assume Ben paid her off. Don't be surprised if she decides not to take the matter to civil court.

I only rape defenses.

After all that, why do I say win/win? Ben wins for beating a rape charge (though he wasn't charged). The girl wins for getting at least six figures AND drops out of college. So... she gets a ton of money to chill at home for the next year or so? BIG WIN. And finally, Steelers fans win for getting an elite QB come playoff time this year.

WIN/WIN/WIN.