NFL Summer Of Confusion

Sadly, I'm to the point that where if I see an athlete get charged with some misdeed I don't even blink. I just hope it's "only" an affair or a drug bust and not some violent outburst that could ruin someone's life.

This NFL off-season though....I've honestly been thrown for a loop. A couple of stories literally made my jaw drop.

First, of course, was the Steve McNair murder/suicide/affair situation where one of the most respected ex-players in the game, who seemed like a happily married man with a simple life, ended up having an affair with a 20 year old girl (McNair was in his late 30's). The girl was unstable enough to go purchase a handgun illegally and then shoot McNair as he slept before she committed suicide.

The whole situation shook football fans everywhere because McNair was supposed to be one of the good guys. He was a guy who balanced out idiot players like Pac-Man Jones who seems to get arrested every other week.

Now I read that a sexual assault charge has been directed at......Ben Roethlisberger? The two-time Super Bowl champion quarterback of the Steelers is many things: a doof, a goof, possibly a douche bag, but an alleged molester?

No one accuses Big Ben of a being sedulous in his off-season life, but any charge of a sexual nature makes my jaw drop. Even my girlfriend said, "Roethlisberger is the guy that gets drunk and drives his motorcycle into a wall. He's not a predator."

So does that mean Big Ben is being set up by a gold digger and will be proven innocent in court? Steelers fans think so judging by all the comments they've made in regard to the story, but the McNair case has shaken me. If McNair isn't what we thought he was, is it that far-fetched to think Big Ben may have dark side?

As of now this is an alleged accusation, so there is no proof Roethlisberger had anything to do with the situation, but you know the court of public opinion in the NFL. There will be some choice words for Ben in Cleveland, Baltimore, and anywhere else fans want to give him an ear-full.

As for me, I'm just wondering if there is any player in the NFL that is truly untouchable by accusations and controversy.