No, the official announcement hasn’t come yet but the District Attorney in Georgia is scheduled to rule on the Ben Roethlisberger situation Monday. My intuition tells me there won’t be any charges filed.
Why?
Well, the tape of the alleged incident was mysteriously erased. Big Ben never submitted any DNA nor was his name originally contained in the police report filed and no one is really talking from both camps.
You smell something?
Anyway, there’s the remote possibly of charging him with providing a minor with alcohol but in all likelihood Roethlisberger will avert sexual assault charges.
I’ve been wrong before but I got a pretty good feeling about this one. But if Big Ben were African-American then I’d likely think otherwise.
Let’s look beyond the obvious and examine why Big Ben will get off from a historical perspective.
Judicial inequality has existed since the rise of American slavery. We all know American sport is a reflection of society: Therefore if there’s racism, social and judicial inequality in society invariably it will infiltrate American sport.
Studying the historical development of America demonstrates white males have benefited from the rules the Founding Fathers created. Roethlisberger will be the benefactor of a judicial system that’s historically been more criminal than it has been just. He’ll reap the rewards his gender, socio-economic status and complexion affords him.
Laws were created by the Founding Fathers, none of which were African-American, women or representatives of the poor. Slaves lacked rights and were too busy building this beautiful country-they were considered chattel. So if you are not recognized as a citizen from the outset no “amendments” can adequately grant you something that wasn’t included for you in the beginning.
Judicial inequality and the African-American experience have gone hand-in-hand for centuries. The laws of the land were created to benefit those whom share similar ideology, complexion and economic status. The judges, juries and lawyers were vastly white centuries ago. Today the latter still prevails.
During the 1600’s imported Africans were slaves therefore weren’t included in the decision-making process in creating legislation. Thus the latter represents the foundation of the current African-American experience in the judicial system.
Though sport is a utopian society it aligns with the legislative practices in the mainstream where African-American athletes are seemingly subject to more inequitable justice than their white counterparts.
Hence, if Roethlisberger were African-American his complexion would be a detriment, not an asset therefore making next to impossible to acquire the historical perks of justice afforded to whites.
Today many whites benefit from the racist seeds planted in yesteryear without knowing why. Roethlisberger can make the subconscious and unspoken connection because of his complexion. There’s often an inherent sense of knowing the chips will fall properly in ones favor without being able to explain why.
I’ll explain.
Roethlisberger is benefiting from the systemic racist doctrines erected by America’s original brain thrust. He fits the prototypical mold. He’s a white, wealthy male that feels a sense of entitlement. Familiarity typically breeds content.
On the other hand many felt OJ Simpson “got away” with murder during the Trial of the Century. For the first time people saw an African-American male seemingly deriving benefits from a judicial system that’s historically worked against African-Americans.
OJ “got off” because he was an affluent African-American whom aligned himself with the white world. OJ “got off” because he had money. He was liked, safe and non-threatening. OJ “got off” because the prosecution was weak and failed to construct a case that warranted a conviction.
Had Jim Brown been on trial for killing his ex-wife rest assured the chances of a conviction would’ve been higher. Brown represents a viable threat to the establishment because he’s an activist who routinely speaks out against inequality.
If an African-American quarterback was accused of his second sexual assault in two years rest assured a conviction would be more likely and the mainstream media coverage would be much more persistent.
Therefore, I predict Roethlisberger will not be charged because of the systemic racist doctrines set forth centuries ago and the current media structure. He’ll benefit from his celebrity, complexion and affluence in averting a likely criminal situation.
I’ve been wrong before. I’ll be wrong in the future but unfortunately I feel pretty good about this one.
