Cedric Benson will meet with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Thursday as the latest NFL player to be accused of disciplinary troubles off the gridiron.  The most recent trouble for Benson came on June 29 at an Austin, Texas bar where he was arrested on an assault charge.  Benson has previously faced criminal charges on three separate occasions. 

Bengals coach Marvin Lewis says that he “doesn’t believe Benson will be suspended” under the personal conduct policy of the NFL.  As the fourth overall pick by the Chicago Bears in the 2005 NFL Draft, Benson failed to find his stride and had personal issues with teammates that were well documented following a lengthy holdout.  After an alcohol related arrest, Benson was released in June 2008.

After serving a year as a backup in Cincinnati, Benson decided to remain with the Bengals in 2009 and rushed for 1,251 yards.  This made him the 8th leading rusher in the NFL on the season even though he missed 3 games due to injury.  In a tough postseason loss to the New York Jets, Benson set the team rushing record for a postseason game with a total of 169 rushing yards.  Under the guidance of Coach Marvin Lewis, Benson has become an integral part of the Bengals offense. 

While the tenure of Lewis has had its up and down moments; he has led the team to the NFL playoffs twice.  In 2005, the postseason ended after an early Carson Palmer injury in the opening playoff game after the team had posted a record strong enough to earn the first-round bye.  Last season, Lewis was awarded 2009 Coach of the Year by the Associated Press for turning the team around after a disappointing 2008 campaign. 

Despite the flashes of success on the field, Lewis has endured years of off the field issues by members of the team.  The most tragic of these was the death of wide-receiver Chris Henry in Charlotte, North Carolina last December after a domestic dispute with his fiancée.  However, Lewis is making the argument that the past issues of team members along with Benson’s previous history are the primary reasons why this case has received so much attention.

Benson isn’t the only NFL player currently facing possible disciplinary action. 

Earlier this week, recently released Oakland Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell plead not guilty to charges of illegal drug possession.  Russell was arrested July 5 after an undercover investigation led authorities to discover codeine syrup without a prescription. 

The image of Russell was already badly tarnished after several horrendous seasons that eventually led to the quarterback being benched.  Russell was then released on May 6 and his troubles grew further when the Raiders filed a grievance with the league in an attempt to recover $9.5 million of the $36.4 million that was paid to the former LSU star while in the silver and black. 

Although no arrests are planned from the incident in which Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young was cited for assault that resulted in bodily injury at a Dallas strip club. Young is expected to receive some sort of disciplinary action from the league. How severe or if a suspension would be included is left to be seen.

Successful Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has been no stranger to success on the NFL field twice leading his team to become Super Bowl champions.  However, off the field, Roethlisberger has been involved in several high-profile incidents including a nearly fatal motorcycle accident in 2006 and, most recently, accusations of sexual assault.   

While neither allegation led to the arrest of Roethlisberger, the most recent sexual assault allegation resulted in a six-game suspension without pay.  The league has since mandated a “professional behavior evaluation” and he must further adhere to counseling or treatment that may be recommended by the evaluators.  During the 2010 NFL Draft, Big Ben was often referred to as possible “trade-bait” that the Steelers might use to move up to a higher pick in the draft. 

The rumors turned out to be inaccurate and Roethlisberger remains a Steeler at the moment.  The six-game suspension has led to much debate in the media about what might happen if another quarterback gets on a roll during the mandatory time off.  Earlier in the season, Dennis Dixon started a game for an injured Roethlisberger and nearly defeated a defense-powerful Baltimore Ravens squad.  This led many that were already upset with Roethlisberger to insist upon his replacement.

While on this disciplinary topic, you need to include New York Jets wide receiver Santonio Holmes who will miss the first four games of this season from a suspension for violating the league’s substance abuse policy.

Holmes, no stranger to legal troubles, once acknowledged that he sold drugs on the street as a teenager. The star receiver has been faced with off the field issues twice in 2010.  The first came at a nightclub where a woman accused Holmes of throwing a glass at her and cutting her above the eye.  Shortly thereafter, a Twitter user spoke negatively of the incident to which Holmes responded with several disparaging remarks.

Holmes would later allege that his Twitter account had been hacked at the time of the responses and that it wasn’t actually him addressing the fans.  One month later, Holmes refused to turn an iPod off at the request of a flight attendant citing airline regulations.  Although no arrest resulted from the incident, Holmes was removed from the flight by police officers and reminded to comply with regulations. 

The ever popular Madden video game series will release its latest episode entitled “Madden 11” on August 10.  Although the game series doesn’t offer players the ability to live the life of their favorite players off the field the conduct of many stars as of late would have many wondering if it should be an option. 

Used with permission of the author.

Cade Caldwell is an Atlanta-based sportswriter and contributor to Sports Climax.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax, LLC

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was slapped with a 6-game suspension today by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell for dissin’ the league’s personal conduct policy.

Goodell also is requiring the star slinger to attend as the boss put it, “comprehensive behavioral evaluation by medical professionals.”

Like Michael Vick’s suspension after he came back into the league after serving jail time for dog-fighting charges, Roethslisberger’s penalty can be reduced to a lesser amount (4) games for good behavior.

Roethlisberger, who’s meat has dominated the news, is also banned from participating in any team off season drills or activities until he completes this evaluation.

Here’s what the boss had to say regarding the suspension:

“The Personal Conduct Policy makes clear that I may impose discipline ‘even where the conduct does not result in conviction of a crime’ as, for example, where the conduct ‘imposes inherent danger to the safety and well being of another person’,”

“As the District Attorney concluded, the extensive investigatory record shows that you contributed to the irresponsible consumption of alcohol by purchasing alcoholic beverages for underage college students, at least some of whom were likely already intoxicated. There is no question that the excessive consumption of alcohol that evening put the students and yourself at risk.”

“The Personal Conduct Policy also states that discipline is appropriate for conduct that ‘undermines or puts at risk the integrity and reputation of the NFL, NFL clubs, or NFL players.’ By any measure, your conduct satisfies that standard.”

Jason La Canfora of NFL.com reported that the Steelers have kicked up efforts to trade Big Ben.

Big Ben should draw some attention in the trade market, especially with two Super Bowl wins under his belt. You would have to assume he will straighten out knowing, like Vick, it’s shape up or ship out time.

According to La Canfora, the Steelers “had a brief conversation with the St. Louis Rams over the weekend, according to a league source, but the Rams weren’t interested in taking on Roethlisberger. The Steelers wanted to send Roethlisberger to the Rams as part of a package to move up to No. 1 overall in this week’s draft and select Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford.”

Other teams possibly showing interest are the Buffalo Bills and Oakland Raiders.

More Big Ben: Big Ben’s Meat Still in the News

Accuser: Roethlisberger ‘Came back with his penis out of his pants’

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax™

MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. – District Attorney Fred Bright announced that Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will not be charged of sexual assault in the case involving a college student at a nightclub last month saying the 20-year-old’s accusations could not be proven.

The accuser, a Georgia College & State University student, told police that the Steelers star sexually assaulted her at the Capital City night club on March 5th. Bright said the investigation revealed the woman was boozing it up heavily and what happened in the bathroom between the pair is unclear.

Medical personnel who examined her after the incident could not confirm she had been raped and there was not enough DNA to confirm who it belonged to.

“We are not condoning Mr. Roethlisberger’s actions that night,” Bright said. “But we do not prosecute morals. We prosecute crimes.”

The investigation lasted for weeks over which time the accuser urged prosecutors not to move forward any charges.

“I know when I have a case and I know when I don’t. I do not have enough evidence to convince 12 jurors beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Roethlisberger was guilty of rape,” said Bright.

“If this is sexual assault, it has to be proven that it happened without consent, and that’s difficult especially if both parties consumed alcohol,” added J. Tom Morgan, a former D.A.

Roethlisberger, who owns a home in Georgia, has not participated in recent offseason workouts with the Steelers.

With this ordeal over, Roethlisberger, currently playing under a $102 million contract, is expected to have a sit-down with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in the near future to discuss his many off-the-field issues.

Copyright ©2010 Sports Climax™