ROETHLISBERGER SUED FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT
Pittsburgh Steeler quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has been served in a civil suit alleging among other things, sexual assault. According to Mike Florio at Pro Football Talk, Roethlisberger was served while he was in Lake Tahoe for the 20th Annual American Century Celebrity Golf Championship. The suit, filed in Washoe County, Nevada, accuses Roethlisberger of luring Harrah's employee, Andrea McNulty, to his room & then sexually assaulting her. Sounds like the Kobe Bryant mess doesn't it? Here's the kicker, this all allegedly occurred in June of 2008. No word on any police reports or investigations. No word if Ms. McNulty even notified the authorities. Is this an attempt for an out of court settlement? Roethlisberger is charged with one civil count of assault, one civil count of sexual assault & battery, one civil count of false imprisonment, one civil count of false pretenses & one civil count of intentional infliction of emotional distress. Ms. McNulty also charges 8 of her current & former co-workers in the suit, claiming they either helped Roethlisberger cover up the crime or they defamed her by spreading false information. Ms. McNulty still works for Harrah's, as do 6 of the co-workers.
Having worked in the gaming business for 20 years in Las Vegas, I can tell you that after the big corporations, like Harrah's, began buying up casinos, the human resources departments spent hundreds of thousands of dollars every year educating every one of their employees about virtually "anything & everything bad". They made it clear, in these yearly, seemingly endless classes, that any employee not responding to allegations by another employee regarding assault, sexual harassment, racial insensitivity or the like, by another employee or hotel guest, would be dealt with swiftly & harshly. This normally resulted in a 5-day suspension, pending an investigation. In my all the time working on the 'Strip', no one ever survived those suspensions, they were terminated every single time. So what am I implying? I have no idea if Ben Roethlisberger was involved with this woman & I won't speculate as to her charges in this suit. I do question the fact this occurred more than a year ago & if the police were involved, I have to believe something would have come out by now. Secondly, I doubt very seriously eight Harrah's employees would stick their necks out for the Steeler's quarterback unless all eight were willing to risk arrest, civil litigation & most of all, immediate termination from Harrah's. If there were 8 people involved as charged, one of them would have come forward exposing what they knew about this alleged crime. I was in the 'odds business', believe me, the odds of 8 casino workers keeping quiet about something like this for over a year would be astronomically high. I'm having a hard time buying into that part of the suit.
I hope all the allegations are false, I like Roethlisberger, always have, but that doesn't cloud my judgment regarding these charges. They're to be taken very seriously & investigated thoroughly. Thru depositions, attorney/client meetings & as the legal fees mount, I have to believe this could be a major distraction to Roethlisberger & the Steelers as they prepare to defend their Super Bowl Championship, guilty or not.
Having worked in the gaming business for 20 years in Las Vegas, I can tell you that after the big corporations, like Harrah's, began buying up casinos, the human resources departments spent hundreds of thousands of dollars every year educating every one of their employees about virtually "anything & everything bad". They made it clear, in these yearly, seemingly endless classes, that any employee not responding to allegations by another employee regarding assault, sexual harassment, racial insensitivity or the like, by another employee or hotel guest, would be dealt with swiftly & harshly. This normally resulted in a 5-day suspension, pending an investigation. In my all the time working on the 'Strip', no one ever survived those suspensions, they were terminated every single time. So what am I implying? I have no idea if Ben Roethlisberger was involved with this woman & I won't speculate as to her charges in this suit. I do question the fact this occurred more than a year ago & if the police were involved, I have to believe something would have come out by now. Secondly, I doubt very seriously eight Harrah's employees would stick their necks out for the Steeler's quarterback unless all eight were willing to risk arrest, civil litigation & most of all, immediate termination from Harrah's. If there were 8 people involved as charged, one of them would have come forward exposing what they knew about this alleged crime. I was in the 'odds business', believe me, the odds of 8 casino workers keeping quiet about something like this for over a year would be astronomically high. I'm having a hard time buying into that part of the suit.
I hope all the allegations are false, I like Roethlisberger, always have, but that doesn't cloud my judgment regarding these charges. They're to be taken very seriously & investigated thoroughly. Thru depositions, attorney/client meetings & as the legal fees mount, I have to believe this could be a major distraction to Roethlisberger & the Steelers as they prepare to defend their Super Bowl Championship, guilty or not.
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