Big Banned

If NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is as serious about improving the league's image as his past crackdowns would suggest, then he needs to move swiftly and suspend Pittsburgh Steelers' quarterback Ben Roethlisberger after his second sexual assault accusation in less than a year.

Ask yourself this question: What does more harm to a league's image - An NFL bust organizing a dogfighting ring inwhich he killed a handful of pitbulls himself or a two-time Super Bowl winning quarterback possibly having unconsentual sex with two separate women? Now, I'll be the first to admit I always find sexual assault charges against celebrities to be a bit dubious. In a society filled with hustlers and their get rich quick schemes, it's highly likely that some women(and I know this will get me killed by the female readers, but it's true) use trumped up charges to nab a big payday. Look at what happened to Kobe Bryant. He went from an alleged rapist who cheated on his wife and was getting dropped from endorsers left and right to the focal point of sneaker ads with new NBA endorsement whore LeBron James. In fact, Kobe's romp in Colorado hardly ever gets mentioned anymore, mainly because the "victim" threw the white flag before a much-publicized trial could commence.

The same could hold true for Roethlisberger. These two claims could very well be bullshit, but how many times can the NFL turn its cheek while Big Ben continues to make these huge public brain farts. This is the same guy who followed up all the hand-ringing from becoming the youngest QB to win the Super Bowl with a bone-headed motorcycle accident that nearly killed him because he was too stupid to wear a helmet. Then, he gets hit with the first rape charge in Las Vegas(although the alleged assault occurred long before last year, with the "victim" waiting years before coming forward......coincidentally, shortly after Big Ben's second Super Bowl win). Now, even with the first case still looming, he gets himself into ANOTHER sexual assault situation? ANOTHER ONE!? As weak as the first charge may have been, the prosecutors still believe they have enough of a case to not completely give up, and now with this new charge, it certainly helps develop a pattern.

Even if you believe Big Ben will beat these two charges(and I think he will), the NFL needs to lay the hammer down now as opposed to waiting for a verdict. The NFL clearly can't build a promotional campaign around a guy who may do time for rape. Look at how quick the NFL struck on the Vick fiasco, Plaxico Burress' Cheddar Bob incident, Donte Stallworth's vehicular manslaughter. Those were guys committing their first big fuck-up. This is Big Ben's third since being drafted in 2004. Not even Michael Jackson and R.Kelly managed to screw up that many times in that short of a span.

That brings me to the other underlying issue with this Big Ben mess, which is the racial powder keg the NFL will be sparking if the league continues to do nothing while Roethlisberger keeps making a mockery of the sport. Goodell built his resume for having zero tolerance for off-field incidents by being vigilant on a number of black NFL stars, namely the late Chris Henry and Pacman Jones. If Pacman Jones is going to be suspended for getting drunk and bitchslapping a bodyguard, how does it look when a white star athlete like Big Ben allegedly rapes two women and the NFL sits with its hands in its pockets? Mike Vick still got suspended after doing nearly two years in federal prison for killing a few animals. Twisted, sure, but worse than rape? No. If you think the connection from the NFL standing still on Big Ben while suspending guys like Vick and Jones won't turn into a racial brouhaha, you're wrong. Look at the outrage over John Mayer's Playboy interview. Race in America is an issue that is constantly blown out of proportion, especially now in the Internet era. There were YouTube videos calling for Mike Greenberg's head simply for saying something that may have sounded like the word "coon" on Martin Luther King's birthday. Even a half century after the Civil Rights movement and the election of the country's first black President, the topic of race is still a desert filled with land mines as both races look for reasons to play the race card.

Reasons like the NFL potentially letting Big Ben slide. So here's what I propose. For getting himself into two bad situations in less than a year, Big Ben gets suspended four games. If he's found guilty on one, he misses a whole season with reinstatement pending a long stretch of good behavior. If he's guilty on both, he's banned for life. That's right. FOR. LIFE. Big Ben isn't just a member of the NFL, he's the face of the most storied and professional franchises in the league: The Pittsburgh Steelers, and with Roethlisberger being the central figure on a team that will make a number of playoff runs and potential Super Bowl appearances, the NFL can't sit back with the possibility of a alleged rapist mugging for the cameras during media week.

That possible scenario is far scarier than any comeback story for Vick, Burress, Stallworth, or Pacman. It's even far more discouraging than a potential 2011 lockout(which I think is possible, but unlikely, given the money at stake). That's why the NFL has to use its heavy hand on Big Ben immediately to maintain the high level of respect and long-standing history of consistency as well as avoid an absolute public relations nightmare.