The Steelers have two weeks until the Super Bowl, and I anticipate that those two weeks will be chock full of jokes about Ben Roethlisberger and his poor personal decisions. "Ladies watch out." and "Here comes Rapelistberger" are sentiments that I'm sure will increase in frequency over the next few weeks. My news feed is already reeling with them - both from people I expected to post them and from people I would expect better from considering what I know about their own personal character.

Let me be clear, I am not Roethlisberger's biggest fan. In fact, I've thought he was an arrogant jerk from his first press conference and I've been annoyed with his irresponsible decisions since his motorcycle accident. I am in no way condoning his drunken escapades either because I think that they are inappropriate and foolish from anyone regardless of their stardom. With that said, I still respect that he is a quality and dependable quarterback and he generally does the job on the field. I also respect him as a human being, and am not willing to view his achievements on the field through the lens of his mistakes off the field.

Here is an article written last March when the charges were being filled that I think serves as a voice of reason in the midst of allegations and jokes.  It's entitled: "Ben Roethlisberger: guilty of sin does not mean that he broke the law". I would encourage you to read it, especially if you currently are currently on either the Roethlisberger joke or Steeler fan bandwagon.

I know that some people will find this a little too serious for the topic or perhaps completely ridiculous... but be honest, my prayer is not that the Ben leads the Steelers to their seventh championship ring. My prayer is that this somehow this season will bring Roethlisberger toward personal growth and that he will encounter the person that he once got fined for recognizing in the sharpie graffiti on his cleats.  I pray that he begins to truly repent and change his lifestyle; I also pray that if Roethlisberger did commit the crimes that he is accused of committing that he will publicly confess them and legally take responsibility for his actions.

I've made many mistakes in my life; I'm sure you have as well. I'm not sure if Roethlisberger's poor decisions broke the law and I cannot pass judgment where I have no knowledge. All I know is that the court has not charged him and that he claims innocence. I have to give him the benefit of the doubt even though I still think that he is a jerk who lives a sinful life style. But hey, I'm also a bit of a jerk who lives an sinful life too- it's just a different life with different sin and I'm not doing my job quite as well as he is apparently.  Sure, you might say: "Didn't Ben have another sexual accusation in the past? Doesn't that make him have a history?". True. He did and that case never went anywhere either, and the only conclusions that can be made with certainty is that Roethlisberger has a drinking problem and often gets himself into compromising situations due to poor life decisions.

There were two occasions in my own life where people accused me of manipulating structured systems to my advantage. Both situations were caused by my sin issues: my pride and my tendency to take advantage of others to assert myself. Neither situation yielded ample evidence to prove allegations true or to clear my name. I had a cyclic sin issue that put me in compromising situations. However, I honestly did not do what I was accused of doing in either case; I was innocent in regards to the allegation, but guilty in regards to the character flaws that lead to the situation in question. In context, the consequences in my situations where not even remotely as severe as the accusations brought against Roethlisberger. Thus, the comparison is far from perfect, but I share that story to say this: I'm not sure if Rothlisberger is guilty of either or both of these accusations; but  I do know that he is guilty of sinning against the God that he once claimed to serve.  And even then, it's not my place to pass judgment, but it may be my place to pray for him.

Excuse me if I am a bit of a killjoy with my intolerance of Roethlisberger jeers related to the accusations; by all means though, jeer him for other things if you please.  I just think that how we pass judgment and mock people that we have never met says something about our own personal character and how we pass judgment on people we meet in daily life as well. Furthermore, rape is a serious accusation that greatly impacts the life of both the accused and the accuser. And, I think that some topics are inappropriate to joke about, no matter how famous the incident or how funny the joke. 

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An addition thought from a Christian perspective: 


One of my favorite blogs, GetReligion, posted an article about Big Ben's faith this morning: "Redemption via Super Bowl?" After reading it, my sincere hope is that the speculation that Ben is seeking a new lifestyle and trust in God is true. If it is, shouldn't we be supportive of our Christian brother's efforts to restore his life instead of mocking him for his past mistakes?  (edit 1/24 c. 1pm)