Big Ben Awaits his Fine

PITTSBURGH (AP)—NFL commissioner Roger Goodell says he will decide soon whether to punish Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger(notes) for his off-the-field troubles.

“I think he understands how important the personal-conduct policy is to the NFL,” Goodell said while attending a dinner honoring Steelers chairman Dan Rooney on Wednesday night. “And I hope he has a better understanding of how important it is for everybody in the league.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=AhmDLdlXgDSnKG0GzCl9SNZDubYF?slug=ap-goodell-roethlisberger

So your two time super bowl winner, who otherwise might end up in the hall of fame, is in a heap of trouble. There are several questions:

First, if Ben was black, would his treatment be any different.
Secondly, if Ben was a second stringer on a bad team, rather than starter on one of the most widely followed teams, would his treatment be any different?

There was no doubt a business transaction involved between Ben, Ben's agent, and the drunk Milledgeville chick that was involved. She appears to have hit the lottery.... cry rape, get a payout.....you can possibly become famous later on, if you are lucky. So, this is a no-lose situation for her.

For the league, they have no other choice than to make some kind of gesture to penalize him. They have to have the appearance of not condoning this kind of activity but secretly they know that this is entertainment and there is no such thing as bad publicity. So ultimately, they will be just fine.

For Ben: Ben is another adrenaline junkie, just as surely as Tiger Woods is.... What do you do for excitement when you are 27-ish and have already won a couple of super bowls, particularly since they will not let you operate your motorcycle anymore...His problem is, he aimed his sights too low.... He can afford higher-class company rather than some drunk bar chick in a low end college town in a low-end state. That's his real mistake, isn't it?

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