Ben-gate is now officially the Story That Will Not Go Away. You would think not being charged with any crimes would be the natural end of this sordid tale, but Our Pal Roger insists on making this the focus of any NFL related discussion for the foreseeable future. I guess we can thank Pacman Jones and 3/4ths of the Cincinnati Bengals for the current atmosphere where a suspension must be issued for any transgressions, no matter if they actually result in a criminal charge or not. Still, by not just handing out a two game suspension right after the DA's press conference so we can all get on with our lives, the NFL has decided to pull the band-aid off as slowly as possible to ensure maximum discomfort for all involved.
I'd also like to take a moment to address the hysterical morons insisting that the Steelers cut ties with Ben, or trade him to the Rams for the overall #1 pick: Please shut the fuck up already and get over yourselves. Yes, Ben's revealed himself as a jerk (which was not a surprise to anyone who's seen him out and about in a non-official capacity) but guess what? If you keep your precious darlings from going bar hopping in questionable Georgia college towns, you probably won't have to worry about Ben sexing her. Especially if she's, you know, not legally allowed to be drinking. Just a thought. Besides, Ben's from a small farm town in Ohio, he doesn't know that the phrase "rock out with your cock out" wasn't meant to be taken literally.
Let me be the cold dose of reality: no matter how pissed the Rooneys are, they aren't pissed enough to shitcan their franchise QB and doom themselves for a decade of 9-7 finishes. Until homie actually gets charged with something, he's going to be taking snaps.
This whole sordid affair just shows how the Steelers need Dan Rooney back. Oh, he may have that nice Mr. Rogers vibe going on, but there's a reason you never heard shit about Steelers players getting in trouble before. It wasn't because they were a squeaky clean team of choir boys, it was because Dan (like his old man before him) had the local sports media by the balls. Talk shit about the team in your column? Fuck you and your credentials Mr. Reporter Man. Not having access to the Steelers in a football crazy town like this is suicide for a media outlet, and for years there was an unwritten policy of not mentioning the team or players in a negative light or risk losing all access to the team. Even as late as a few years ago, when some woman made allegations against Jerome Bettis, that shit disappeared off all the sports pages and talk shows so quickly most people don't even remember it happened.
So now what? After all the wailing and gnashing of teeth, Ben will get a two game vacation and the Steelers will get fined some pocket change. He'll come back and as long as the team wins games, this will largely be forgotten. I can only hope when Dan Rooney was in town the other day he threatened to sodomize Ben with a rusty meathook if he screws up again so we never have to relive this ordeal.
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