Ben Roethlisberger of the Steelers was recently accused of being a rapist.

Ben Roethlisberger, the quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers, is accused in a civil action of multiple offenses related to an alleged rape that occurred in July of 2008, according to other publications here and on numerous sports websites.

Ben Roethlisberger was sued last Friday by a senior shift manager who oversaw VIP relations at Harrah’s, alleging that during his July visit to Harrah’s Lake Tahoe, he had sexually assaulted and kept her against her will.

Usually, the names of purported rape victims are kept anonymous, but Andrea McNully has been named by the media as the victim. She had worked for Harrah’s for a long time and had recently received a promotion in the VIP division.

Attorney for Roethlisberger declared, “Ben has never sexually assaulted anyone, especially not Andrea McNully.” It was regrettable that this statement implied that the claimed victim was particularly undeserving of an attack. On July 21, this statement was mentioned in reports early in the day, but it was not mentioned again.

According to Ms. McNully, a primary responsibility of hers as the VIP shift manager was ensuring that high-profile guests, like Roethlisberger, were satisfied with their hotel accommodations.

The previous evening, as the hotel’s VIP golf tournament got underway, she had met him. She says he contacted the following day to report that his television was broken. She claims that since it was her responsibility to handle VIP relations, she went to the technician’s room on her own as she was unable to locate one.\

She entered the room and found that the television’s sound was operating properly.

Along with the sexual assault, Roethlisberger is also accused of one count of kidnapping since it is alleged that he barred the door and prevented her from leaving. He started caressing her through her clothing before hoisting her onto the bed.

She claims that due of his 6’5″, 240-pound build, she was terrified and thought he may actually hurt her.

She claims that she objected and even declared, “I don’t use birth control. This is not what you want to do.”

Additionally, Ms. McNully said she refrained from filing criminal charges out of fear that management would side with the attacker and she would lose her job.

She did alert the Chief of Security, who informed her that she was “overreacting” and that their employer would likely offer her a bonus if she persisted in having sex with Ben more frequently. Ben is close pals with the firm president.

Additionally, he reportedly remarked, “Why are you so upset? Many women would adore having sex with the quarterback for the Steelers.”

She claims that after that, a cover-up was carried out by Harrah’s staff members, including the President of Harrah’s North Nevada, who is close to Roethlisberger. In the cover-up, she identified eight employees of Harrah’s.

She was terrified of losing her work, but she couldn’t go on and eventually ended up in the hospital due to despair.

A psychologist’s view

I had a conversation with a local psychologist who had handled cases of sexual assault.

She responded, “Cases are never easy to prove. He said-she said. The case is unbalanced because the accused attacker has limitless resources to defend himself.”

“In general, women do not make these claims frivolously because their whole life will be exposed, most often with a negative slant.”

The psychologist stressed that she could not comment on the validity of the woman’s statements because she did not personally know any of the parties involved in this instance.

She acknowledged that her behavior pattern is not unusual. Women tend to believe that these events may be forgotten, but they quickly discover that sadness, anxiety, and a feeling of betrayal from their employers will cause disruptions in their lives.”

However, she added, “men with Roethlisberger’s level of money and renown are sitting ducks. I would advise them to never shut the door on a woman they do not know well when they are in a hotel.”

Throughout the current NFL season, this case is certain to cause distractions. It will be interesting to see if this story obtains the same notoriety as events involving NBA star Kobe Bryant and others, given the headlines made today about Michael Vick’s release.