Big Ben

No charges will be filed against Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger for sexual assault stemming from an incident that allegedly occurred in a bar in Georgia last month.

As a Steelers fan, this is the news I wanted to hear. After all, it was 20 years between Bradshaw and Roethlisberger and I spent a lot of my younger years watching very good Steelers teams go down in the playoffs because of poor quarterbacking in big moments.

When Ben finally came along and changed that with big-time performances in clutch situations, I realized my dream of watching the Steelers hoist the Lombardi trophy not once, but twice.

However, even though the district attorney said in his news conference yesterday that there wasn't enough evidence to charge Roethlisberger with a crime, he sure went out of his way to detail the evidence that he did have.

According to the facts collected, Roethlisberger really did follow a woman (the alleged victim) into a bathroom and something more than likely happened. Was it a consensual act? Did he force himself on her? Nobody will ever really know the answer but it does put Ben in a very bad light.

The girl was very drunk; way too drunk to be in a bathroom with a man. I don't know about any of you, but I've never been in a public bathroom with a woman and I don't know of too many women that would want me in there with them.

And the rape kit that the hospital performed on the accuser showed some vaginal injuries and a slight trace of male DNA. Not enough to get a match and that's why they didn't press Roethlisberger for his DNA.

Now none of this means that Roethlisberger raped this girl or forced himself on her in any way, it just makes him look bad.

If it wasn't his DNA, whose was it? And why was there vaginal bleeding?

On one hand, you can say that the DNA could have been any one's. What if she had sex with someone a few hours before this? As I said, she was very drunk. Her blood alcohol level was somewhere around 2.0. That's pretty intoxicated.

And according to the district attorney, she made three different statements. The story changed slightly with each one. And it sounded like her sorority sisters, who were there with her that night, pressured her into going to the police about this. Evidently, she wasn't going to do anything initially.

You combine those elements with the lack of witnesses and all you have left is her word against his and there really isn't much for a district attorney to go on.

On the other hand, you can say there is plenty of circumstantial evidence. As I said earlier, why would a man and a woman need to be in the same public bathroom. There can be only one reason. And why were there any vaginal injuries at all? If it was consensual, there should be no real injuries, even minor. And just because the DA didn't have enough to prosecute doesn't mean that a crime wasn't committed. Mob bosses get off all the time for lack of evidence.

And I think we can all agree that Ben has some serious character flaws. There have been stories about this guy since I can remember. It seems that every bartender and server in this city has something bad to say about the man. And his reputation with the ladies has never been that great.

However, the justice system worked exactly how it should work. Maybe something happened, maybe it didn't. Our system might not be perfect but it prevents people from being lynched and stoned simply on the appearance of guilt.

Ben wouldn't be the first guy to be accused of sexual assault who truly was innocent. Remember when a woman accused Jerome Bettis of rape, but made the whole thing up in-order to try and blackmail him?

And let's not forget what happened to the Duke Men's Lacrosse team a few years back. This stuff does happen.

I just wish there wasn't any evidence at all against Roethlisberger. Now I have to hope that I can forget about this crap and cheer for the Steelers with a clear conscience next season.