Is Ben being used as a guinea pig

[xxxsteelernation]

Ok I'm actually confused why the commish suspended Roethisberger, In both accusations brought towards Ben, the prosecutors did not file charges. so Obvoiulsy there was not enough evidence or any evidence that Ben did any of the accused metioned things. it's not like holmes where it was a without a shadow of doubt that he "assulted" that lady. but the only thing that ben is guilty of is going to a club. OMG he has a life outiside of football. what is he supposed to stay in his house all day and do nothing. yea he is a celebrity and we all know from the Kobe bryant trial that omg there are women out there are scandalous. Would there be a suspension for brady or peyton manning if he was to be going though what ben is going though. I don't think so because Brady and manning are the poster boy's of the NFL. more people pay to go see them then people pay to see ben. Ben is a pittsburgh draw. not a nationial draw. (because if you steeler nation you are hated by other teams) so i honestly don't think that their should be a suspension if charges were dropped. Innocent till proven guilty should work in the NFL as well.

[MattyVfromCT]

Ok I'm actually confused why the commish suspended Roethisberger, In both accusations brought towards Ben, the prosecutors did not file charges. so Obvoiulsy there was not enough evidence or any evidence that Ben did any of the accused metioned things. it's not like holmes where it was a without a shadow of doubt that he "assulted" that lady. but the only thing that ben is guilty of is going to a club. OMG he has a life outiside of football. what is he supposed to stay in his house all day and do nothing. yea he is a celebrity and we all know from the Kobe bryant trial that omg there are women out there are scandalous. Would there be a suspension for brady or peyton manning if he was to be going though what ben is going though. I don't think so because Brady and manning are the poster boy's of the NFL. more people pay to go see them then people pay to see ben. Ben is a pittsburgh draw. not a nationial draw. (because if you steeler nation you are hated by other teams) so i honestly don't think that their should be a suspension if charges were dropped. Innocent till proven guilty should work in the NFL as well.

i agree he was only looking to make an example out of ben. part of it is that he's white. he came under a lot of heat from black sportswriters, for example, that IDIOT jamele hill. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/comme...ge=hill/100326. just read that article and you'll see what a complete moron that broad is. she wrote that article LONG BEFORE the da made his statement that charges would not be filed. she implied goodell is a racist for not acting on ben's case while he was "so quick" to act on vick, pacman, etc despite the fact that he didn't suspend any of those guys until charges were filed. and another part of it is that ben is a 2 time champions franchise quarterback. goodell also came under heat from the media about that as well with the theory that he has double standards for elite players as opposed to middle of the road guys. either way, goodell caved to pressure from the media who convicted ben despite inconsistencies in the girls' statements and a lack of probable cause for an arrest, let alone any serious evidence for a conviction in a court of law

[nuclearchihuahuas]

I think in the commissioners opinion Ben embarrassed the "shield" and we know the Rooney family is embarrassed by the press the incident brought to the franchise--it doesn't matter whether or not he is guilty of anything...so now yes, its apparently a suspension if the behavior in question offends someones sensibilities--mind you, I am not defending Ben at all; just looking at his situation versus the others mentioned logically. The article posted elsewhere on this site referring to the Commissioner's Slippery Slope does a descent job of showing how this step taken by the Commissioner could lead to more suspensions for behavior Goodell takes exception too, criminal or not. Goodell is setting himself up as the hall monitor in school and the principal who pronounces punishment. He is taking on the impossible task of controlling the behavior of wealthy young men some who feel entitled to even more than they already have.

[BlitzburghRockCity]

Ben is definitely being made an example out of, there was some quote from Goodell previously that said as much. They want to show the rest of the league and the world that NFL doesn't put up with this, that, and the other thing, etc. I think it's quite obvious the he is going to use every bit of leverage he can against Ben to make his point. That being said we all know the situations that Ben put himself in were wrong but there's no sense going back over it, we covered it a million different way over the last few months. Ben is back with the Steelers, he'll get his suspension reduced to 4 games by the time camp is over and then we'll see him back with the team on Sunday's in October. Life goes on, and we can get back to being under the radar again like we're used too.

[Big T]

What new development in the case would make it seem that Santonio is, without a doubt, guilty?

[75Steeler]

What new development in the case would make it seem that Santonio is, without a doubt, guilty?

Yeah where did this come from? Also not bringing charges doesn't mean that the person is innocent. It simply means that there isn't enough evidence to convict him of a crime. The prosecutor did not feel like he could have gotten a conviction if it had gone to trial. Only Ben and that chickenhead know what really happened in that bathroom. Ben had to accept what Goodell handed down.....What else could he do? Yes he could have appealed it but I think that would have made a bad situation worse. What is done, is done it is time to move on and look forward to the season. Go Steelers!

[coldrolled]

i still say rooney added two weeks to the suspension...

[jnes1216]

I think Goodell is doing a fine job and a 4 game suspension is justified. He's basically a manager for 1696 players (53 x 32) in America's game. Sorry baseball but your time is over. I don't want the NFL to turn into what basketball has become. Ben has been involved in two sexual misconduct allegations already. There are 31 other starting NFL quarterbacks who have not been in these situations. Besides Favre, who is out back in his wranglers mowing the lawn, I'm sure most of these other QB's have been out on the town. I am a fan of BR, but I'm also glad Goodell is stepping in and setting some conduct goals for BR. So no, I don't think Ben is a guinea pig, there's no experiments just a wake up call.

[HUNT4SEVEN]

The fact remains that Ben dumb @$$ decision making put him into the position he is in today, Ben has no one to blame but his self!!, The only proof in the S.H case is that the court has a sworn affidavit that another person not Holmes threw the glass, the sister that wrote the article made valid points about Good for nothing Goodell especially when it comes to disciplining Black players and White players, Jared Allen and Matt Jones comes to mind, neither of them received ANY discipline from the Commish, Jared had a DUI and Matt had Cocaine in his car , race plays a major part in everything over here in this land and the NFL whether we like it or not, some of the comments on this page proves that...Since Ben wasn't charged with anything all should be forgiven? what about his poor judgment? the two policemen that were his body guards are in danger of losing their part time jobs one already lost the right to be Bens body guard, who should be accountable for Bens **** poor decision making?

[xxxsteelernation]

the fact is that ben was not convicted nor charged, but he is still being treated like he has been. yes i agree that only ben and the chick know's what really happend and yea ben has a way of pissing off women. if it happend prove it until then he is innocent. they couldn't prove it so, you cant' stop all players from going to clubs and hanging out with women. That's what u do when you have money to waste. the problem is that i think ben has higher standards for his "companions" the club bunnies. (look at his ex the golfer chick) The chick could have gotten pissed at him becuase he didn't give her the time of day. other QB's you have mentioned might find that doable. Or for the poster boy's never leaks out. Yea i'm sure this is embarassing for ben cause now he has to save face to the steeler nation for something that he might not have doen and there is no proof that he did. I know i'm saying the same thing over and over but it is what it is and I don't think unless a player is convicted of a crime that he should be suspended. It's the same as someone accused of rape and found not guilty. That person will for the rest of his life carry that shadow over his head.