Details are emerging in the latest Ben Roethlisberger sexual assault case, as ESPN.com is reporting that Big Ben told the police that he did not have intercourse with his accuser.

Sources told KDKA Roethlisberger said he had contact with the woman that was not consummated and afterward she slipped and fell, injuring her head.

It was also reported Wednesday that two off-duty Pennsylvania law enforcement officers were with Roethlisberger at the Georgia nightclub.

Anthony Barravecchio, an officer on the force in the Pittsburgh suburb of Coraopolis, and Pennsylvania Trooper Ed Joyner were among about eight people with Roethlisberger celebrating his birthday at the club, attorney Michael Santicola said. Santicola said the men were there because they are friends of the two-time Super Bowl winner.

“They were not there in their official capacity,” said Santicola, who represents Barravecchio but said Joyner is also a longtime friend.

Santicola, who’s based in western Pennsylvania, said both of the law enforcement officers who were with Roethlisberger are cooperating fully with the investigation, but say they saw nothing inappropriate.

Just because the two officers didn’t see anything doesn’t mean nothing happened. That said, having those two officers (who were apparently sober the entire night) there certainly helps Roethlisberger’s case that no foul play occurred.

What’s interesting is the new detail about her hitting her head. Is Roethlisberger and/or his defense team going to use that to say the girl wasn’t coherent after the two had consummated “contact” with each other in the bathroom? If they do, it seems like it would be a weak argument.

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Don Banks of SI.com put together a well-written article on Ben Roethlisberger’s decision-making in light of the most recent allegations that he sexually assaulted a 20-year-old woman in Georgia last weekend.

But with that out of the way, here’s what I think we do know about Roethlisberger at this point: At the very least, he’s starting to look very guilty of serial bad judgment. He doesn’t seem to know what’s good for him, and he clearly doesn’t respect the notion that there are boundaries of where he should be, when he should be there, and who he should be with.

If I’m Roethlisberger, who’s still facing last year’s civil suit alleging he sexually assaulted a Lake Tahoe, Nev., casino hostess in the summer of 2008, that means I’m swearing off hanging out in college-town bars until 2 a.m., making the frat-boy rounds with my entourage. Engaging groups of college-age women while out partying isn’t helpful either. Quite a sacrifice, I know, but, hey, there is a pretty fair career to think of in this case. Not to mention a reputation that is rapidly approaching the state of being irreparably damaged.

I don’t know exactly when a pattern of behavior shows itself to the point of becoming obvious, but I think by now it’s safe to say Roethlisberger either doesn’t get it or doesn’t care. You think it can’t all go away pretty quickly in a hail of bad decision-making, Ben? Talk to Michael Vick about that one. One day he was practically the young and fresh face of the NFL, and the next time we looked, he was the poster child for wasted opportunity.

When you add Roethlisberger’s 2006 helmet-less motorcycle accident into the mix of questionable decision-making, this is the third offseason in five years the Pittsburgh quarterback has made the wrong kind of headlines and given us reason to question his thinking, his actions, or both. That’s at least twice too many for any player, but particularly for one who carries the mantle of franchise quarterback for one of the most successful and beloved organizations in the NFL.

You’ll have to read the entire article in order to grasp Banks’ full take on the subject, but the above four paragraphs summed up his basic premise.

I’m always torn on a subject like this. If Big Ben is guilty of wrongdoing, then let the legal system punish him and then the media can take its turn in frying him as well. But if all he’s done is go out to a bar, drink and then tried to get busy with a woman in a bathroom, then he’s hardly out of line. We don’t know what happened that night and whether or not this girl is trying to get a free ride. Were they flirting together? Did she invite him into the bathroom? Who knows. This same situation probably happens nightly but because it’s Roethlisberger, his life is being plastered all over the Internet. (Again though, if he was being a creep bag and did sexually assault her, then I hope he’s punished.)

That said, athletes live in a different world because of their money and stature. I realize this might not be fair, but not all of us have the ability or opportunity to make $50 million over our lifetimes either. So I agree with Banks when he writes that Big Ben needs to make better decisions in order to protect his reputation while he’s still playing in the NFL – especially considering this is the second time he’s been accused of sexual assault. I’m not suggesting that he doesn’t go out and have a good time (and neither is Banks), but he needs to realize that because of who he is, he runs the risk of having his actions made public. That’s just the way it is nowadays.

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According to ESPN.com, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has hired a high-profile Atlanta defense attorney after he was charged with sexual assault (for the second time in the last year) over the weekend.

Police say a 20-year-old college student reported the assault after an encounter with Roethlisberger at a nightclub in the central Georgia college town.

Meanwhile, the assistant for attorney Ed Garland confirmed that he is representing Roethlisberger. Garland previously represented rapper T.I. on a federal weapons charge and Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis in a murder case.

More serious charges against Lewis were dropped and he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor obstruction of justice charge.
Deputy chief Richard Malone said the accuser has also hired an attorney, but he would not say who that is.

The Steelers, who had previously withheld comment as they gathered information, released a statement Monday.

“All of us in the Steelers family are concerned about the recent incident involving Ben Roethlisberger in Georgia,” team president Art Rooney II said in a news release. “We cannot comment on any of the specifics until law enforcement’s investigation is concluded. Certainly, we will continue to closely monitor the situation.”

Is anyone else surprised by the lack of attention that this story is getting? Normally when an athlete or celebrity is charged with sexual assault, the story is headline news on all media sites. But this story seems to be incredibly slow developing and you get the feeling that this is Page 7C news instead of 1A just based on the way the media is reporting it.

There will be plenty of people that will take the racial angle here and suggest that the media is doing its best to downplay the situation because Roethlisberger is white. I’m not quite ready to hop on that bandwagon yet, but it is odd that this story isn’t receiving more headline news.

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TMZ.com is reporting that Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has been accused of sexually assaulting a woman in Georgia.

The alleged incident occurred early this morning at Capital City — a club in Milledgeville, Georgia.

According to law enforcement sources, the alleged victim — who has already been interviewed by police — was treated at a local hospital and released.

We’re told in addition to the alleged victim, witnesses are being interviewed — and one law enforcement source says they will attempt to interview Roethlisberger.

UPDATE: We’re told Ben Roethlisberger has already been interviewed by police. We’re also told no formal charges have been filed at this point.

UPDATE 3:30 PM EST: A rep from the Steelers tells TMZ, “We are gathering information on this incident – until then we have no further comment.”

As with all accusations, let’s wait until more details emerge before drawing any conclusions. There are many sides to stories and this incident could turn out to be nothing, or it could turn out to be something. Either way, let’s let the legal system play out first.

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Here are five quick-hit observations from the Browns’ upset win over the Steelers in Week 14.

1. The Steelers are done.
The defending champs are done, folks. A five-game losing streak, capped off by their ugliest loss of the season, has ensured that Pittsburgh won’t be playing in the postseason come January. One would have thought that the Steelers would be able to get up for a game against the one-win Browns when their backs were against the wall, but then again “one” would be wrong.

2. The Browns didn’t just win – they dominated.
For those that missed the broadcast because it was on the NFL Network, let me assure you that the Steelers didn’t beat themselves: They got their asses handed to them. It’s strange to say, but the better team won tonight. Cleveland came out more focused, more determined and flat out took a victory from the Steelers. The Browns’ defensive effort tonight was absolutely outstanding, as they suffocated Pittsburgh’s running game and sacked Ben Roethlisberger eight times. For as much heat as Eric Mangini has taken this season (and deservedly so), the Browns have played hard the past couple weeks and they deserved a win tonight.

3. Cleveland’s young secondary was excellent.
Something that will be lost in the stat sheet was how well the Browns’ secondary played. Cleveland’s defense might have racked up eight sacks, but most of those were because of the outstanding coverage. Big Ben simply didn’t have open receivers to throw to, which resulted in him double and triple clutching to avoid throwing into coverage. Pittsburgh’s offensive line didn’t play as badly as the sacks would indicate, or at least not from a pass protection standpoint. The Browns’ pass defense was just that good.

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With the Steelers in the midst of fighting for a playoff spot, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger plans on playing against the Ravens on Sunday despite suffering a concussion last week in a loss to the Chiefs.

From ESPN.com:

“It’s part of the nature of the beast of playing this game. It’s a violent, physical contact sport and there’s a chance you’re going to get hit,” Roethlisberger said Thursday. “You guys don’t talk about the bruises we have all over our body. If I showed you a bruise on my shoulder and a bruise on my shin, it wouldn’t get talked about as much. It’s a violent sport we play.”
Roethlisberger, who is having his best season statistically despite the Steelers’ erratic play, is evidence of that.

The two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback’s latest concussion occurred when his head accidentally struck the knee of Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson while he was being tackled during Pittsburgh’s 27-24 overtime loss Sunday.

The play was subsequently wiped out by a holding call.

“It just kind of felt like I got hit pretty hard. Kind of said, ‘Let me catch my breath real quick,’ and by that time the trainers were out there, so I didn’t get a chance to get up,” Roethlisberger said.

I don’t think there’s any doubt that Roethlisberger will play. He’s one of the toughest players in the league and has shown no concussion symptoms since returning to practice on Wednesday.

That said, I’m not a doctor and I have no idea how he’s feeling. If he suffers a jarring hit on Sunday, then it stands to reason that team doctors will pull him to risk further injury. If that happens, Pittsburgh would likely see its playoff hopes go down with him.

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Along with a complete list of odds for Week 12 in the NFL, here are quick-hit previews for the marquee matchups.

Patriots at Saints, Monday, November 30
The Saints don’t have to prove anything to anyone because their record speaks for itself. That said, a win over the Patriots on Monday night will go a long ways in proving that they’re a Super Bowl contender. New Orleans has the best team in the NFC, but how does it stack up to one of the best that the AFC has to offer? The matchup between Bill Belichick vs. Sean Payton is going to be terrific.

Colts at Texans, Sunday, November 29
The Texans need a victory this weekend to keep their postseason hopes alive, while the Colts are eyeing a perfect season. In Houston over the past three years, the Colts only have a combined scoring edge of 85-78. Indy is 14-1 against the Texans in their history together, but the games have been tight at Reliant Stadium. Can the Texans rise to the challenge and finally knock off their AFC South rivals?

Steelers at Ravens, Sunday, November 29
The news surrounding this game is whether or not Ben Roethlisberger will play after suffering concussion-like symptoms in Pittsburgh’s loss to Kansas City last Sunday. At 6-4, the Steelers need a win and that means Big Ben needs to be in the lineup. Another loss would put them behind the 8-ball in terms of the playoffs, especially considering they play in a tight AFC race. Same goes for Baltimore, which would drop to 5-6 with a loss.

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