The men behind this informal, word-of-mouth "Roethlisberger Payback" campaign are the same folks who put together the Vick Payback,which asked people to donate $10 to the Wisconsin Humane Society for every time Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick was sacked during the regular season. Vick was convicted of running a dogfighting operation (a federal crime) and spent two years in prison before returning to the NFL in 2009. Organizer Brent Gohde and friends each donated $340 to the Humane Society earlier this month, $10 for each of Vick's 34 sacks.
One of the
main differences between Roethlisberger's situation and Vick's is that
Roethlisberger hasn't been convicted of anything, although he was suspended for
six games (later reduced to four) for violating the NFL's Personal Conduct
Policy. Roethlisberger has been accused of sexual assault at least twice. Yes,
in this country, we hold that those accused of crimes are innocent until proven
guilty. However, in the case of sexual assault, "proven guilty" can
be a much harder place to reach than it is for other crimes. Rape is one of the most underreported crimes , and
when it is reported, arrests, convictions and jail time are fairly low. If the
person being accused of rape is white, rich and/or famous, chances of
conviction drop precipitously. This is largely due to the fact that we as a
society rush to heap blame on women who bring charges of rape to light, picking
apart what a victim was wearing, if she was drinking alcohol, who she's had sex
with in the past, and all kinds of other details that we would never consider
for the victim of any other crime. Judges and juries engage in victim-blaming
the same way that everyone else does, unfortunately. A conviction of a white
NFL quarterback on a sexual assault charge is highly unlikely.
This brings
us to the other difference between Roethlisberger and Vick, which is that Vick
was torturing dogs, while Roethlisberger was allegedly torturing women. I feel
pretty confident that following Vick's case, no one accused those skanky,
gold-digging dogs of "asking for it" or opined that drunk slutty
canines really want to be beaten. However, those are just the sorts of things that
are routinely said about women who accuse professional athletes of rape. We are
far more sympathetic to animals than we are to women.
So, let's
set aside our arguments about whether Roethlisberger is innocent or guilty, and
leave off dragging the women who accused him through the mud. Let's take this
controversy and use it to generate something positive. As Gohde says,
"[It's] a way to take something horrible and make something good come out
of it… It's a good opportunity to raise awareness and money for a worthy cause."
So Packers
fans, unite. Don't let one quarterback's conduct besmirch the whole game. We
want the Pack to win! We want to see Roethlisberger get sacked! Take that happy
energy and use it to right the wrongs that Big Ben may have caused. Defy
stereotypes about football fans. During the Super Bowl, every time
Roethlisberger is sacked, pass a jar around and collect money from friends,
family, partygoers and those folks next to you at the bar who have suddenly
become your BFFs. Then donate that money to a Milwaukee-area rape crisis center
like the Sexual Assault Treatment Center , the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner program in Waukesha
County
or the Healing Center . For updates about the Roethlisberger
Payback, or to let Gohde know how much money you raised, check out his Twitter
feed at www.twitter.com/brentgohde.
Want
Laura to answer your questions in SEXpress? Send them to laura@shepex.com. Not all questions received will be
answered in the column, and Laura cannot provide personal answers to questions
that do not appear here. Questions sent to this address may be reproduced in
this column, both in print and online, and may be edited for clarity and
content.
Laura Anne Stuart has a master’s degree in public health and has worked as a sexuality educator for more than a decade. She owns the Tool Shed, an erotic boutique on Milwaukee’s East Side.
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So Laura, are you in favor of judging every man accused of rape as guilty? Does it not matter to you at all if the accused is convicted by a jury of his/her peers? You neglect to mention that it is also true in today's society that the rich and famous are often marked as targets for a get-rich-quick scheme involving accusations of rape or sexual assault. It's ugly, but it's true- it's one of the fastest ways to get an out-of-court settlement against a deep pocket.
I'm vehemently against murder, but I would never call for everyone accused of the crime to be automatically convicted by the public-at-large.
Roethlisberger is scummy, but your opinion on this matter is much more frightening. Instead of donating to a fund for rape victims, maybe I'll donate to a fund for those who have been incorrectly convicted of a crime and incarcerated. That way I can balance out those who you would send to jail on a whim and an opinion.
How about we donate to a fund for men, particularly white ahtletes, who have been falsly accused of sexual crimes by publiciity seeking goldiggers.
Unless someone has been convicted of a crime, we should not poke fun at them and make sport of their situation.
Really now Laura, I'm sure you could find a convicted rapist someplace without having to nitpick and write about an athlete who gets suspended for a few games for having his sex life go public. Rape is a serious crime and I think is low class to poke fun at someone who might possibly be falsley accused.
Well howbout a Duke LeCrosse Team jar also? Money to be donated to the defense costs of the falsley accused players.