The sexist psychosis in this case, of dismissing the woman's claims a priori, reminds me of the attitudes indicting Crystal Mangum in the 2006 rape case at Duke. While I won't speculate on the veracity of the claims by the accusers in either case, the media privilege white men, and in both cases, men of means, as to their credibility and simultaneously point to the nefarious motives of the accuser. In Mangum's case, her work as a stripper somehow invalidated any claims to press charges. In this second incident involving Roethlisberger, even 'sober' reflections by the media that acknowledge some guilt on the part of No. 7, still accede a degree of guilt to his accuser, regardless if she is telling the truth, of creating or at least willfully participating in a context where this was the expected result.

Tornado practices a willful ignorance. Please read the column again. Then go read that police report. Then come back to the column.

Read carefully, suspending your ideological beliefs for the moment--evaluate the information.

Due Process doesn't mean anything to the power Goodell has. The NFL Code of Conduct does not require a conviction of a crime for punishment to be meted out by the commissioner. One need not be an expert on due process to come to the conclusion that Roethlisberger raped a young woman. He deserves more than the 4-6 game suspension he got.

Tornado, closer to a minor tempest, you are missing the point. If you are as obsessed with due process, then go to your local courthouse and demand that all accused criminals be let go without paying bail, since they haven't been proven 'guilty' yet. The Roethlisberger and Duke cases were important insofar as they revealed a visceral reaction by the media to chastise the intentions or even truth of the accusations in cases of rape, and more specifically, when the accused are white men. The suspension of belief towards women in cases of rape, in the media as well as the courts, privileges the rapist: this is a systemic problem. Up until the 1970s in many states, rape was not prosecutable as a crime unless there were witnesses beyond the victim and the accused. But you're right, you know the characters of a poor woman of color who strips for a living or a drunk girl are much less credible than a white male who can throw a football or swing a lacrosse stick. It should be up to them not to get raped; and if a situation arises, it's the media's duty to obsess about the employment or inebriation of the accuser.

Well, Big Ben just got a 6 game suspension...good. I'd say that's more than a slap on the wrist.

Look, I totally agree with Zirin that there is a horrible double standard here. That being said, this column at times comes across like the worst of a Nancy Grace comment.

It's really hard to tell if Zirin thinks (1) all pro athletes should be held to the looser standard for sanction from the media that he feels was applied to Vick or (2) all pro athletes should be held to the higher standard for sanction that he feels Roethlisberger is getting from the media. I think they are two pretty different things and the answer says alot.

Whether Roethlisberger did this or not, we have a serious problem of men being abusive toward women in this country and we need to address it.

Here are the facts...

One out of every six American women have been the victims of an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime. (Prevalence, Incidence and Consequences of Violence Against Women Survey, National Institute of Justice and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1998)

The FBI estimates that only 37% of all rapes are reported to the police. U.S. Justice Department statistics are even lower, with only 26% of all rapes or attempted rapes being reported to law enforcement officials.

84% of the men who committed rape said that what they did was definitely not rape. (Warshaw, Robin 1994 "I Never Called It Rape")

Dave, aren't we a little quick to procure our pound of flesh? I am not going to read the 572 page police report. I wonder what Rodney King police report would be without the video.

Contained in your indictment column is a whole bunch of envy ensconced in class warfare. I feel like I'm reading a primer on the class-system applied with a big dab of Marx. You make our loving QB stand on a "white" pedestal while justice or a lack thereof is administered. I think DA Bright(to DZ not bright) would have relished the opportunity to put Roethlisberger on trial if he thought he had a shot at conviction. It would have brought fame/glory to him let alone the kudos from DZ. Why he didn't I don't know but neither does DZ.

I find it deliciously ironic that your column picture of Roethlisberger has coach Tomlin to his right so I guess that pedestal Big Ben is truly for whites only.


PS For the record I think Big Ben is probably guilty, so that would eliminate DZ and I from the jury pool.

The main point of this article was to point out the hypocrisy of how this was handled. I am and will continue to be a critic of both the criminal justice system and Goodell's absolute power to suspend players without appeal. But anyone who thinks that
Roethlisberger was treated like anyone else, I would quote DA Bright and say, "Grow up."

It's cases like these that explain why so few women actually report sexual assaults, and why many who do retract their accusations. A woman's word is always suspect, esp. if it's a famous celebrity involved.

First you come up with the "Big Ben is the Jackie Robinson of misogyny" trope, which I guess means that you've never heard of OJ Simpson, Mike Tyson, or Jim Brown.

"If he was Ben the black guy accused of sexual assault in Georgia, he might not even make it to trial."

While I doubt that's true, (somehow Kobe made it out of Colorado) I think it's indisputable that if Big Ben were black you would be defending him and probably accuse the media, the NFL, and the victim of being racist. But, of course, that is you schtick

Mr. Definitely,

You fail to understand how systemic oppression works.

But I doubt you are interested. You have made up your mind and have no plans to change it.

Dommage.

DA Bright’s ultimate decision not to file sexual assault charges against Ben had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that he is: a NFL player QB, white & rich! The state of the evidence was insufficient to support a case. DA Bright has an ethical obligation under the law to only file a case when he believes he can prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. While a jury makes the ultimate decision, a case should never get to a jury unless the DA is confident that he can meet his burden of proof. Had DA Frederick Bright filed the case as it stands today he would have had his a** handed to him by a jury

Well as a French-Canadian I would hope that you would understand how the crass identity politics that Zirin traffics in are not only destructive, but inimical to true social justice.

I enjoy your work, in my opinion you shit gold. But, the cherry on top for me is enjoying the comments you receive. They love to hate, i love to read. Keep kickin ass