Last Saturday I noted a blog post from 30-year Pittsburgh sports media member John Steigerwald. In the piece, Steigerwald called Ben Roethlisberger a “punk” and a “jackass“, intimated the quarterback might’ve been high on drugs the night of his alleged sexual assault and relayed a story about Roethlisberger blowing off a Make-A-Wish kid.
(The I-Team scares out Big Ben’s old, moldy zoning violations!)
Along with the charges pending against Roethlisberger, Steigerwald’s piece may have signaled a dam break in the Pittsburgh media, which has apparently long covered for a quarterback untrained in the art of basic decency.
Another sign of that might be WPXI-TV Pittsburgh reporter Alan Jennings‘ semi-irrelevant piece today about how in June, 2008, Roethlisberger broke zoning rules by erecting a fence 24 inches too high in his neighborhood.
The premise of the piece was to discredit longtime Roethlisberger associate, Pittsburgh-area police officer Anthony Barravecchio.
As I noted yesterday, Barravecchio, who was with Roethlisberger the night in question, has denied that he was the quarterback’s “bodyguard” that evening. An evening in which a witness stated that two of Roethlisberger’s “bodyguards” were “guarding” a bathroom door of the nightclub.
Jennings notes in the TV piece that Barravecchio represented himself to a zoning board in 2008 as the man in charge of keeping Roethlisberger’s property secure. Hence the story about the fence and intimation that Barravecchio is misrepresenting his relationship with Roethlisberger.
Obviously Jennings is trying to nail Barravecchio to the floorboards as one of Roethlisberger’s “bodyguards” in Milledgeville, which could be considered somewhat relevant to the sexual assault case.
But the road the Pittsburgh TV reporter takes us down appears, at least to me, more about embarrassing Roethlisberger and Barravecchio than solving a great mystery. At this point, it kinda goes without saying that Barravecchio was at the bar to watch the quarterback’s back. If this thing goes to trial, Barravecchio will be part of the process regardless of the semantics.
That’s not to say that I’m any fan of Roethlisberger and that he doesn’t perhaps deserve some payback by the Pittsburgh media. But this probably wasn’t the way to do it.
7:45 pm on March 15th, 2010
“damn” break…no need to curse.
8:05 pm on March 15th, 2010
Barravecchio is nicknamed BJ Hooker.
9:56 pm on March 15th, 2010
For a sensible, balanced reaction to the Roethlisberger situation, read Ron Cook’s column in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Is a minor variance available for a case of sexual assault?
11:33 pm on March 15th, 2010
Don’t think Ben’s defense won’t be pulling strings. They will focus on the credibility of the victim. This pokes holes in the credibility of the accused, And the prosecutor didn’t hire the Pittsburgh media. This report discredits the “bodyguard” before he has a chance to lie in court.
Good call in my opinion.
6:54 am on March 16th, 2010
You’ve never stood outside a bathroom door for your friend to make sure no one walked in? I’ve done it on several non-consecutive occasions but I’m not a bodyguard.
8:54 am on March 16th, 2010
He IS a punk and a thug. Why deny it. You may have “stood” at the door to make sure no one walked in but not while you were trying to rape someone I hope. 1st time, maybe publicity seeker. 2nd time? Where there is smoke, there is now a full out Big Ben Blaze. He is guilty as hell in everyone’s mind but squeeler fans who think the girl should just put out to their hero and it should be an honor. Hope his money cant get him out of this one.
9:31 am on March 16th, 2010
c’mon, sapdiesel. really?
don’t worry, brooks. some of your readers are metaphorically adept.
9:44 am on March 16th, 2010
splint chesthair… please tell me you’re joking
10:17 am on March 16th, 2010
Blaine, cliches are for idiots who don’t have the ability to think for themselves. It appears that you are one of them. Most Steeler fans that I know, and I live in Steelers country so I know alot of them, are not defending Ben. They want to know whether he did this and if he did, think that he should be punished. It is nice to see that you, with your superior intellect and detective skills, have already figured out whether Ben is guilty or not. I look forward to seeing you testify in court.
3:06 pm on March 16th, 2010
he’s an ugly guy with too much money and no social skills interview so Miami alumni teammates and co-eds they’ll tell you some great stories about Ben and his “Hey I’m the quarterback stories”
5:51 pm on March 16th, 2010
Kevin, well said. I love the people that act like they know what “really” happened. The reality is only Ben and the accuser know. And as a Steelers fan I hope the truth is discovered. Good or bad. I don’t want a scumbag in a Steelers uniform and I’d say 99.9% of Steelers fans would agree. Otherwise, we’d be Ravens or Bengals fans.
10:30 am on March 18th, 2010
as a life long steelers fan and season ticket holder i im fed up with bens sh-t. i hate to say it but he needs to go even if he did not do it, he is not a fan freindly player and the steelers don’t need their rep ruined by him. he got to go or at least put on the bench and let the backups start. i hope mike reads what all the fan wrrite and does all of us right by dumping the bum.
10:36 am on March 18th, 2010
ben got to go even if he did not do it. he is a selfcentered azzhole he is not fan friendly and his head is to big acts like the team can’t win without him but they can and will this is the steeler not the ravens hes got to go.
5:42 pm on March 21st, 2010
I’m a die hard Browns fan and have to say the responses by the black and gold nation show the type of class organization you are, no sarcasm intended. I assumed the Steeler Nation would be behind Ben no matter what. As to whether or not he is guilty who knows but as many of you have said, he should have learned after the first incident. The Rooney’s are great owners and take pride in their class, they aren’t about to watch their reputation go the way of the Raiders.
10:36 pm on March 21st, 2010
glad you see it that way dave
6:30 pm on April 8th, 2010
Dang why always the knock on the Raiders? Who’s the last player on the Raiders to get in trouble with the law. One of the longest of any NFL team… Some ppl are just stereo typers and haters…
Lets see Browns - Stallworth and Shaun Rogers! Oh yeah and u guys have been to a Super Bowl when?? Raiders 2002… chill already