If Ben Roethlisberger and his lawyer thought they could keep his name out of the news until they are notified about whether charges will be brought against the Steelers quarterback, they had another thing coming.

Each day that speeds by brings more quotes from those close to the situation and opinions are starting to swing towards the conclusion that Roethlisberger will be punished by the league or his team whether or not he is charged with a crime.

Roethlisberger’s attorney has not made Ben available as of this date for his period of questioning. One can assume that he was hoping that facts would have pointed to a non-event after all witnesses met with authorities and police would conclude that Ben wasn’t necessary to the investigation.

The Steelers QB is under investigation for an incident that occurred some weeks ago in a small town in Georgia. It is alleged by a college co-ed that Roethlisberger sexually assaulted her in the bathroom of a bar.

It is the second time he has been accused of a sexual assault only this time it was reported at the time of the alledged incident and the police and Georgia Bureau of Investigation are involved. Ben is currently in the midst of a civil litigation with a woman who claims he raped her in 2008 at a Nevada hotel.

As sports radio hosts continue to chew on the subject more of them are coming down on the side of Roger Goodell. There is concern that Roethlisberger keeps putting himself in situations that breed trouble whether or not he has done anything truly wrong.

In those situations reports of his words and deeds indicate he might not be conducting himself in the manner hoped for by his NFL franchise or the league. The league’s personal conduct policy allows for punishment to be handed out in cases where individuals put the league in a bad light.

Goodell has announced at the owners’ meetings currently ongoing in Orlando that he will meet with Big Ben.

Steelers’ coach Mike Tomlin is asked about his QB’s status each day he faces media. On Tuesday he said there is daily contact between the two. Reports have been filed that Ben is laying low in Pittsburgh until this matter comes to a conclusion one way or another.

Mike Florio of profootballtalk.com reported today that the Steelers are sending up smoke signals which indicate their unwillingness to circle the wagons for Ben this time out. Despite how they handled other misbehavior on the part of their stars, their franchise quarterback might have eaten up his hall passes.

Florio says some teammates are sick of his troubles and then he goes so far as to say that he thinks Ben is expendable as a team leader. I think that might be stretching it at this point if he is not charged with criminal misbehavior but only time will tell if his welcome has been worn out in Pittsburgh.

Paula Duffy is a national sports columnist for Examiner.com and the Huffington Post and regularly comments on sports/legal matters for radio affiliates of ESPN and Fox Sports. She founded the sports information site, Incidental Contact, is the author of a line of audio books designed for sports novices and in her spare time practices law in Los Angeles. 

Re-printed with permission of the author.

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