Big Ben receives the ‘Big Pass’ as local District Attorney says "We do not prosecute morals...”

Milledgeville is a small college town that is 45 miles northeast of Macon, Georgia. However, this small town probably had the biggest press conference in the city's history.

Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit District Attorney Fred Bright explained Monday that he will not charge Ben Roethlisberger in regard to a complaint of sexual assault from a 20-year old college Georgia College student on March 5th.

The accusations against the Super Bowl winning QB "cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt," Bright flatly said at a mid-afternoon press conference.

"Therefore there will be no arrest made or criminal prosecution against Mr. Roethelisberger."

Bright made clear that significant questions still exist about what happened between Roethlisberger and the alleged victim, but he felt there was an absence of evidence for him to bring charges.

"We don't even have for probable cause," Bright said.

The woman told a Milledgeville police officer on that fateful night that Roethlisberger sexually assaulted her at the Capital City night club, but the investigation showed the woman was heavily intoxicated that night.

What happened in that Capital City bathroom is unclear and the doctor who examined the woman could not say if she was raped, and while some DNA was found, there was not enough to determine whom it belonged to.

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

Did this announcement save Big Ben’s career? Will the NFL’s Roger Goddell show mercy in Big Ben’s case and let him go to training camp unlike Michael Vick, who was another high-profile quarterback who had a $100 million dollar contract?

Will Big Ben's legal team work with Goddell in tandem and produce a Tiger Woods-type public apology. An apology which involves an admission that Big Ben has gone through counseling.

This isn't good enough. Woods wasn't facing accusations of sexual assault, so it is definitely different. However, it may be exit strategy that Commissioner Goddell may give.

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ organization has been awfully quiet throughout this whole situation unlike the Falcons’ organization led by Arthur Blank who publicly vilified Vick even during the accusation stage of April-June 2007. The Falcons were already planning to find ways to use special contract clauses for detrimental conduct against Vick in order to recoup money from his $100 million dollar contract.

The media coverage has been like night and day, regardless of what the outcome, the intensity of the coverage was significantly less over the potential sexual assault of a woman by a man who already was dealing with a lawsuit in another state over the same offense.

In Vick’s case, dog activists were already on the doorstep of the local prosecutor, and congressman such as Robert Byrd blasting Vick personally over accusations and people like Nancy Grace, prior to the July 2007 indictment were conducting Courts of Public Opinion daily at Vick’s expense.

Grace, who is from Atlanta, remained silent on the trials and tribulations of Big Ben as did much of the media.

Tiger Woods seemed to be a very popular choice for national media platforms to talk about instead of a two-time Super Bowl winning quarterback under investigation of sexual assault.

Vick made poor judgments, but before his case even got to the indictment stage, he was already convicted publicly, and the intensity of the media coverage never waned.

Milledgeville DA Fred Bright made his decision, but once it was made, it was over. And the media has accepted and ready to move on.

In the Vick case, anything seen as going in Vick’s favor, was challenged and vilified.

Remember Gerald Poindexter, the local African-American prosecutor from a small-town in Virginia who prosecuted the Vick case? His motives and integrity was questioned left and right and validated by the mainstream news media which continued to add fuel to the fire.

Poindexter wanted to thoroughly go through all evidence, but many criticized how fast or slow he was going and then there were appeals federal intervention.

On many different levels, there are distinct differences in the cases of Big Ben and Michael Vick.
Now the ball is in Commissioner Goddell’s court or side of the field.

Goddell must suspend Big Ben for the entire 2010 year.

Goddell held Vick to a high example, and this was seen as a new directive toward players when Goddell first assumed the role of Commissioner.

Vick still had an opportunity to plead not guilty in July 2007, but Roger Goodell pre-emptive actions of banning him from training camp, which was unprecedented at the time, especially for someone who hadn’t been arrested previously, may have influenced Vick not to fight the case in court and just give in to what the Court of Opinion was saying at the time and what Roger Goodell was attempting to do prior to officially suspending him in late August 2007.

This Goddell standard needs to be applied to Rothlesiberger. If not, then Goddell invites increasing criticism over application of punishment among certain NFL players.

..."It is not enough simply to avoid being found guilty of a crime. Instead, as an employee of the NFL or a member club, you are held to a higher standard and expected to conduct yourself in a way that is responsible, promotes the values upon which the League is based, and is lawful.

Persons who fail to live up to this standard of conduct are guilty of conduct detrimental and subject to discipline, even where the conduct itself does not result in conviction of a crime. Discipline may be imposed in any of the following circumstances: Criminal offenses including, but not limited to, those involving: the use or threat of violence; domestic violence and other forms of partner abuse; theft and other property crimes; sex offenses …"

Big Ben has definitely crossed the minimal threshold in regard to violating the NFL conduct policy.

If Goddell can't apply his 2007 standard to Big Ben, as he did Vick, this could be an issue with the pending NFL labor stoppage-- the application of punishment fairly among all players.