Drunk driver arrested after allegedly fleeing roadblock: Port Moody police
Kaija JussinojaOpens in new window
Police in Port Moody say a woman is facing criminal charges after she allegedly fled from a drunk driving roadblock on Friday.
In a news release, the Port Moody Police Department said officers at the checkpoint on Murray Street flagged an Audi SUV around 9:45 p.m. over “concerns the driver may be impaired by alcohol.”
The department says the woman drove away before ultimately being boxed in by police vehicles in the Suter Brook Village Area.
“Officers arrested the female driver who was later transported to the police cellblock,” police wrote in a Saturday news release, adding they’re recommending charges of impaired driving and flight from police.
In the release, Const. Sam Zacharias said the driver was one of three removed from Port Moody roads that night, all within the span of an about an hour.
“Impaired drivers pose significant risk to all road users and we urge those who intend on consuming alcohol or other impairing substances to plan a safe ride home,” he said.
Without Consequence: When Professional Athletes Are Violent Off the Field
By JSEL / July 12, 2015
[Editors’ Note: This article, which can be downloaded here, will be published in JSEL’s forthcoming issue. It follows Ms. Withers’ highly regarded 2010 article on the same subject, The Integrity of the Game: Professional Athletes and Domestic Violence, 1 Harv. J. Sports & Ent. L. 146 (2010).]
Without Consequence: When Professional Athletes Are Violent Off the Field
- INTRODUCTION*
In Spring 2010, I wrote an article reviewing the treatment by Major League Baseball (“MLB”), the National Football League (the “NFL”) and the National Basketball Association (the “NBA”) of professional athletes who are accused of domestic violence.[1] At the time, there was very little written on the subject—a number of articles in the late 1990s focusing on the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman by famous former running back, O.J. Simpson (and the countless 911 domestic violence calls placed by Nicole Brown Simpson that preceded those deaths) and some pioneering works by author Jeff Benedict.[2]
Just five years later, the story is quite different. The NFL’s treatment of domestic violence was selected as the sports story of 2014 in an annual vote conducted by the Associated Press.[3] For the first time since the late 1990s, the media is publicly recognizing the silent story that has laid dormant, overshadowed by the story of fame, glory, athleticism and America’s favorite pastimes.
As in the late 1990s, the recent media attention on professional athletes and acts of off-field violence was precipitated by a widely publicized act of violence. Ray Rice, the esteemed running back for the Baltimore Ravens,[4] was caught on camera punching Janay Rice—his then fiancée and now wife—unconscious in a casino elevator and then, with seeming indifference, dragging her limp body from the elevator. This action resulted in an initial two-game suspension handed down by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, but was later increased to an indefinite suspension after the graphic video of the events that took place inside the elevator surfaced.[5] Ray Rice appealed the indefinite suspension and, ultimately, it was overturned by a neutral arbitrator, former U.S. District Judge Barbara S. Jones, who found the penalty “arbitrary” because Ray Rice admitted he struck Janay Rice and never misrepresented the facts to Commissioner Goodell[6]—the increase in the suspension seemed solely linked to the public backlash, largely influenced by the images caught on camera, rather than any new evidence. As Judge Jones wrote, “That the League did not realize the severity of the conduct without a visual record also speaks to their admitted failure in the past to sanction this type of conduct more severely.”[7]
As in many domestic violence cases, Janay Rice has supported her husband throughout the media storm, criminal process and league punishment.[8] It is unfortunate that her personal life has become the fodder for a much-needed debate that should have been happening for some time. The point of the debate should never be the reaction of the survivor. However, it is telling to learn that the Baltimore Ravens suggested that she, Janay Rice, apologize for her role in the domestic violence incident alongside her husband. The Ravens tweeted (and later deleted): “Janay Rice says she deeply regrets the role that she played the night of the incident”.[9]
Janay Rice has since said that she is glad the incident brought awareness to the issue of domestic violence.[10] The leagues, the public and even Congress are now debating the issue of violence against women.[11] Violence against women is not unique to professional sports, but professional sports provides a unique platform from which we can judge not only the leagues’ reaction to violence against women, but also the consequent response (or lack of response) by the criminal justice system. Some may argue that MLB, the NFL and the NBA should only be concerned with the on-field behavior of their respective athletes, but this is not the stance the leagues have taken. Each of MLB, the NFL and the NBA has consistently doled out punishment for off-field conduct unrelated to the game, such as driving under the influence, using non-performance enhancing drugs like marijuana and even making racist or homophobic statements (which, while repugnant, is not criminal behavior). If the leagues were only to concern themselves with on-field behavior (or off-field behavior that affects the outcome of games, such as use of performance-enhancing drugs), at least it would be a logically consistent policy. Instead, the leagues have been inconsistently punishing players for certain off-field criminal behavior—arguably implicitly condoning the off-field criminal behavior that typically goes unpunished, such as violence against women. As Senator Claire McCaskill (Democrat of Missouri) said in her testimony at a Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation hearing on the issue of professional sports and violence against women: “With great power and influence comes great responsibility.”[12]
The leagues seem to understand their responsibility now—or at least that there will be a media backlash if they do not think critically about drafting and, even more importantly, implementing policies that recognize violence against women as a punishable offense by the leagues. The NFL is leading the way, with Commissioner Goodell having hired three female experts in the field to inform NFL policy—Lisa Friel, the former head of the Sex Crimes Prosecution Unit in the New York County District Attorney’s Office, Jane Randel, co-founder of NO MORE, and Rita Smith, the former executive director of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.[13] Further, the NFL owners have approved a revised personal conduct policy that, among other things, sets forth a process of review and punishment with respect to allegations of domestic violence and sexual assault (the “Revised NFL Policy”).[14] Commissioner Goodell stated, “Character and values sit[s] above everything else because [the NFL represents] something that means so much to so many people.”[15] Specifically with respect to domestic violence and sexual assault, Commissioner Goodell stated: “Each is a societal problem that is frequently underreported . . . As a league, we must have a continued focus on the needs of victims and families; among other things, we must encourage victims and those who observe such misconduct to come forward, to report offenses, and to seek help.”[16]
Unfortunately, this recent rhetoric does not align with the way the leagues handled domestic violence and sexual assault prior to the media maelstrom—in fact, it is a departure. A review of domestic violence and sexual assault allegedly perpetrated by athletes in MLB, the NFL and the NBA from January 1, 2010 through December 31, 2014 shows that the leagues have not had such a “continued focus” to date. Based on a Westlaw search of newspapers across the United States,[17] there were 64 reported incidents of domestic violence or sexual assault allegedly committed by athletes in MLB, the NFL and the NBA during this five-year period. The results show that only one of the 64 reported allegations resulted in conviction for the alleged crime (though four players pleaded guilty to lesser charges and five pleaded no contest), only seven players were punished by their league, and only two players were punished by their team.[18]
If this statistic is not shocking enough, it is likely that the actual odds of a professional athlete being punished, by the criminal justice system, leagues or teams, for domestic violence or sexual assault are even lower than is evidenced by calculations based on media reports of such incidents. First, many victims of domestic violence and sexual assault do not report to the police. As discussed below, domestic violence and sexual assault have distinct complicating factors, including, for domestic violence, an intimate relationship with the perpetrator and related emotional and economic dependencies, and, for sexual assault, the reality that the victim will likely not be believed and can even be blamed for her own assault.
Second, even when victims have the courage to report to the police, allegations of domestic violence or sexual assault often go unreported by the media until formal charges are pressed. For instance, on January 14, 2015, it was reported that Josh McNary, a linebacker for the Indianapolis Colts, was formally charged with rape, criminal confinement and battery for an incident that took place on December 1, 2014.[19] The original incident and police report were never publicized despite having taken place a month and a half prior to the formal charges—even the Colts indicated that they were unaware of the allegations until the charges were pressed. It is unlikely that we would have learned of the allegations if the prosecutor declined to press criminal charges, which, as detailed below, happens more often than not.
The research suggests that professional athletes are rarely formally charged with crimes related to domestic violence or sexual assault, even when there is evidence against them.[20] And in the cases where these professional athletes are indicted, they are almost never convicted. If the leagues continue to shape their collective bargaining agreements and/or personal conduct policies[21] based on the results of the justice system, we cannot solve this problem—professional athletes are not punished as harshly or as consistently as their general public counterparts.[22] We value professional athletes for their aggressiveness and brute strength and, without consequence, we have created a class of individuals who are above reproach when these characteristics present outside of the game.
In this article, I review my findings based on the above-described search related to incidents of domestic violence and sexual assault allegedly perpetrated by players in MLB, the NFL and the NBA in the years 2010 through 2014[23] and highlight certain allegations, the handling of which should inform our approach to such allegations in the future. Next, I review the league responses to the recent media attention on domestic violence and sexual assault and, in particular, describe and analyze the Revised NFL Policy. Lastly, I consider what steps should be taken to create effective policies in MLB, the NFL and the NBA that account for the realities of domestic violence and sexual assault and ensure that this behavior is no longer left unpunished—even for our most decorated athletes.
- A FIVE-YEAR REVIEW: 2010-2014
The five-year search results based on a review of local and national newspapers are illuminating, not so much because of the total number of allegations, but because of the failure of the criminal justice system, the leagues and the teams to properly investigate and address these allegations. Of the 64 total reported allegations of domestic violence and sexual assault by professional athletes from 2010 through 2014, 39 were against NFL players, 16 were against NBA players and 9 were against MLB players.[24] 18 were allegations of sexual assault and 46 were of domestic violence. Only one of the allegations of domestic violence resulted in conviction (though four players pleaded guilty to lesser charges and three players pleaded no contest),[25] and none of the allegations of sexual assault resulted in conviction (though two players pleaded no contest).[26] Let that sink in for a minute. These numbers reflect a systemic failure, from the leagues to law enforcement to the justice system.
Breaking it down by league, there were four sexual assault allegations[27] and five domestic violence allegations[28] against MLB players from 2010 through 2014. Only two players, Milton Bradley and Evan Reed, were formally charged with a crime. Only Milton Bradley was later convicted.[29] Bradley was sentenced to three years in prison. Prosecutors indicated that he attacked his wife five times in 2011 and 2012, in one incident pushing her against a wall and choking her after she asked him to stop smoking marijuana in front of their children.[30] Not one of these nine MLB players was punished by his respective team or the league, though Bradley was released by the Seattle Mariners in 2011 after requesting a leave of absence.[31]
There were two sexual assault allegations[32] and 14 domestic violence allegations[33] against NBA players from 2010 through 2014. Only three NBA players had formal charges brought against them.[34] Of these three players, Jordan Hill pleaded no contest, and Greg Oden and Jeff Taylor pleaded guilty to lesser charges—none were convicted of the crime with which they were charged. Only one team, the Boston Celtics, punished its player—Jared Sullinger, who was arrested for assault and battery, intimidation of a witness and malicious destruction of property after allegedly pinning his girlfriend to a bed and the floor, received a one-game suspension.[35] The charges against Sullinger, like the large majority of other professional athletes who are arrested on domestic violence charges, were ultimately dismissed.[36] The league also punished one player—Jeff Taylor of the Charlotte Hornets received an unprecedented 24-game suspension after he was charged with misdemeanor domestic violence assault and malicious destruction of hotel property.[37] Significantly, Taylor is the only NBA player who was arrested for domestic violence or sexual assault since the recent public focus on the issue—it is unimaginable that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver would have handed down a similar suspension had the Ray Rice incident, and related criticism of Commissioner Goodell’s response, not occurred.[38] Commissioner Silver stated, “This suspension is necessary to protect the interests of the NBA and the public’s confidence in it. Mr. Taylor’s conduct violates applicable law and, in my opinion, does not conform to standards of morality and is prejudicial and detrimental.”[39]
Lastly, there were 12 sexual assault allegations and 27 domestic violence allegations[40] against NFL players from 2010 through 2014. Ten of the sexual assault allegations were for rape or attempted rape,[41] while the other two allegations related to other sexual acts committed against a woman’s consent.[42] Of the ten rape or attempted rape allegations, only four players were formally charged—Brandon Underwood and Perrish Cox were arrested and charged with sexual assault, Jarriel King was arrested and charged with first degree criminal sexual conduct and Josh McNary was arrested and charged with rape, criminal confinement and battery.[43] Of these cases, Brandon Underwood avoided trial by pleading no contest to a prostitution charge and paying a fine of $379,[44] Perrish Cox and Jarriel King went to trial and both were acquitted, and Josh McNary’s case is pending. The result: 12 sexual assault allegations, and zero convictions (though two players pleaded no contest to lesser charges). The only league or team punishment related to these allegations was the well-publicized six-game suspension (later reduced to four games) by the NFL of Ben Roethlisberger. Though the prosecutor declined to press charges against Roethlisberger (discussed in more detail below), Commissioner Goodell stated that Roethlisberger’s conduct was not “admirable, responsible or consistent with either the values of the league or the expectations of the fans.”[45]
Of the 27 domestic violence allegations involving NFL players from 2010 through 2014, only seven allegations resulted in formal charges.[46] Of these seven allegations, four athletes pleaded down to lesser charges or pleaded no contest and three went to trial. Of those three trials, Chris Cook of the Minnesota Vikings was acquitted of felony domestic assault by strangulation after allegedly strangling his girlfriend, Chantel Baker. This, despite evidence that Baker suffered a perforated eardrum, lost hearing in that ear for two weeks, sustained a bloody nose, and had marks on her neck and hemorrhaging in her eyes consistent with strangulation.[47] Greg Hardy was convicted of assault on a female and communicating threats, after allegedly beating, strangling and threatening to kill his ex-girlfriend, though he appealed the conviction to a jury trial and the charges were ultimately thrown out when the victim could not be reached to testify at the jury trial.[48] While Hardy was awaiting the appeal, he was placed on the Commissioner Exempt List and collected his $13.1 million salary for the 2014 season, as well as an additional $48,000 from the Carolina Panthers’ playoff victory.[49] Jonathan Dwyer’s trial began March 4, 2015—he is facing one felony and eight misdemeanor aggravated assault charges for allegedly assaulting his wife during two separate arguments. Investigators indicate that Dwyer broke his wife’s nose with a head butt, and the next day punched her.[50] Of these 27 allegations, only five resulted in league punishment[51] and one resulted in team punishment.[52]
Overall, the lasting message from these past five years is that professional athletes rarely face formal charges, and are almost never convicted, for domestic violence or sexual assault. The failure of the justice system has been replicated by the leagues themselves, which have only handed down seven punishments out of the 64 reported domestic violence and sexual assault allegations—six by the NFL, one by the NBA (only after the recent media attention on the issue) and none by MLB. While the leagues have spent countless hours developing stringent standards related to other off-field conduct, such as drug use, driving under the influence and even acceptable apparel, they have neglected to consider the prevalence and complexities of domestic violence and sexual assault and appropriate processes and procedures for addressing them. Professional athletes are admired for their talents on the field, but these talents should not excuse them from being held accountable for violent off-field behavior. The leagues’ historical lack of action with respect to domestic violence and sexual assault suggests they tolerate this behavior, and do not see it as harmful to society as the other off-field behavior they consistently condemn. At this point, it is unclear whether the justice system is failing to successfully prosecute athletes because the public (i.e., jurors) has received the message from the leagues that domestic violence and sexual assault are mere distractions, or whether the leagues have failed to take action due to their reliance on flawed law enforcement practices. Either way, someone needs to step up to the plate.
- FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO THE LACK OF CONSEQUENCES AND RELATED CASE STUDIES
As Senator Claire McCaskill said, “By and large, professional sports teams have relied on the failure of the criminal justice system to get convictions as their excuse as to why very few players have been held accountable.”[53] So, what is happening with these domestic violence and sexual assault cases? Why are they not being successfully prosecuted? To answer this question, we must consider the societal biases and assumptions that affect our response to allegations of domestic violence and sexual assault and explore how these factors may have played a role in certain case studies—specifically, this section will analyze the domestic violence allegations against Chris Cook and DeAndre Liggins, and the sexual assault allegations against Ben Roethlisberger, Perrish Cox and Jarriel King.
Domestic Violence: Understandably Reluctant Witnesses
The U.S. Department of Justice reports that nearly one in four American women have experienced domestic violence, and, on average, more than three women are murdered by their intimate partners in the United States every day.[54] Both domestic violence and sexual assault typically take place behind closed doors, without witnesses, which make them difficult crimes to prosecute. The primary evidence is, of course, the victim herself. With domestic violence in particular, a victim may call 911 out of fear, but, once the situation is diffused, may be reluctant to testify against her current or former partner. Many victims of domestic violence are not in a position to leave their partners, due not only to an ongoing emotional connection but also due to economic dependencies and fear of further retaliation, in many cases fear of being murdered (which, as the U.S. Department of Justice statistic illustrates, is not unfounded). Even if an abused woman has the strength to leave her violent partner, going forward with charges against someone you at one time loved or cared for is complicated. When the alleged abuser is a professional athlete, in addition to the above-referenced considerations, many victims fear that their abuser’s career will be put in jeopardy if she reports the abuse or moves forward with charges against him. When these factors do not dissuade the survivor from testifying, professional athletes also have the financial resources to make an offer that the survivor cannot turn down in exchange for her silence, especially when the alternative is publicly reliving a terrifying event with no promise of punishment.
Given all of these factors weighing against continuing to cooperate in pressing charges, many women alter their testimony or refuse to show up for court appearances. For instance, in 2011, the girlfriend of Erik Walden of the Green Bay Packers, who was treated at a hospital for injuries to her head and hand after calling the police and alleging Walden pushed her, changed her story claiming that she hit him first.[55] Similarly, Chantel Baker testified that she lied to police because she was angry with Cook—prosecutors contended she backed off her story under coercion and because she was afraid of ruining his career.[56] Victims of abuse allegedly perpetrated by Quincy Enunwa of the New York Jets, Kelvin Hayden of the Atlanta Falcons, James Johnson of the Memphis Grizzlies, Matt Barnes of the Sacramento Kings, Francisco Rodriguez of the Milwaukee Brewers and Manny Ramirez of the Oakland Athletics, also decided not to pursue charges—prosecutors declined to press formal charges in each case.
Despite the understandable considerations that convince many women not to testify against former or current loved ones, there is other evidence upon which the leagues and law enforcement can rely. For instance, County Attorney Mike Freeman, who prosecuted the case against Cook, indicated jurors could have still believed Baker’s initial statements over her retractions.[57] He went forward with the case despite Baker changing her story, stating that his office turned in convictions in other domestic violence cases when alleged victims denied abuse even more vehemently than Baker.[58] In some cases, there are eyewitnesses, and even when there are not eyewitnesses, prosecutors can present evidence consisting of the 911 calls, photographs of the crime scene and victim’s injuries, hospital reports and first responder interviews of the victim.[59] In addition, domestic violence is generally a pattern of abusive behavior that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another partner; as such, it is not unusual for one to discern this pattern from prior allegations of abuse.
Unfortunately, many prosecutors do not ultimately press formal charges against domestic violence offenders—whether due to the lack of victim cooperation or otherwise. For instance, the charges against DeAndre Liggins of the Oklahoma City Thunder were ultimately dropped, despite his being arrested for two counts of kidnapping, two counts of domestic violence and battery with a dangerous weapon, three counts of domestic abuse in the presence of a minor and one count of violating a protective order.[60] In this case, there was also a witness other than Liggins and his girlfriend who he allegedly attacked. This witness, Marcus Rogers, allegedly taunted and made fun of the victim in a cellphone recording of the attack, but later as the attack ensued stepped in between Liggins and the victim allowing her to run to a neighbor’s house.[61] According to the probable cause affidavit, she was thrown out of bed to the ground, punched 11-12 times, stomped on and kicked and then dragged back into the house upon trying to escape twice—all in front of their two-year old son.[62] The doctor who examined her indicated she suffered a shoulder separation, bruising on the back of her head and multiple scrapes.[63] Liggins never faced legal or league punishment—the Thunder released him, but he returned to the NBA after the charges were dropped.
The leagues have followed the prosecutors’ lead, rarely doling out punishment despite, in some cases, overwhelming evidence of illegal violent behavior. Instead of focusing on this distortion of justice, the public focus tends to shift to why the victim continues to support, or at least not outwardly accuse, the alleged abuser. Why is the onus on the victim, who has been both physically and emotionally harmed and may remain fearful for her life or wellbeing, to determine whether or not a professional athlete should be punished for a crime evidence suggests was committed? Why can we not prosecute domestic violence committed by professional athletes? Is it the continuing sense that domestic violence is a family matter? Or the stereotype of the victim who deserves the punishment if she refuses to leave? Or is it our tendency to look past all evidence to the contrary to believe that the professional athletes we idolize are incapable of such repulsive conduct?
Sexual Assault: Victim Blaming and Fear of False Accusation
Misguided focus on the victim and her actions is also apparent in sexual assault cases; in this case the public (and, by extension, law enforcement and the leagues) envision that the victim somehow “asked for it”, by drinking, wearing revealing clothing or consenting to some sexual contact, or that the accusation is false—a cry for attention and, in the case of professional athletes, money. With these often-held stereotypes, the fact is that “reasonable doubt” always already exists with rape accusations in a way that it doesn’t always already exist for accusations of other criminal activity—we are culturally trained to doubt the victim, especially when the alleged rapist does not match our idea of who a rapist is. The combination of public perception of alleged rape victims and, in contrast, professional athletes, makes it next to impossible to prosecute rape in this context.
The fear of false accusation is one of the driving forces behind the public’s immediate inclination to blame the victim and disbelieve her story. It has been reported that “[m]any men in college—athletes, fraternity members, and others—believe they or their friends are at a significant risk of being falsely accused of rape by a woman.”[64] Yet, credible sources report that false rape accusations range between two-percent and eight-percent.[65] In comparison, the approximate false accusation rate for all criminal offenses is two-percent to three-percent. Thus, false rape accusations are, at most, slightly above average, but also quite possibly occurring at exactly the same rate as false accusations of other crimes. Thus, the American public “dramatically overestimates the percentage of sexual assault reports that are false.”[66] Interestingly, commentators have used sexual assault cases involving athletes as an example of such fears:
[W]e have all seen how victims are portrayed in the media accounts of rape accusations made against popular sports and cultural figures. These media accounts show us just how easy it is for us as a society to believe the suspect’s statements (a respected cultural icon) and both discount the victim’s statements and disparage her character. This tendency to overestimate the percentage of false reports can then introduce bias into an investigation and prosecution because it causes us to give less credibility to victims and more credibility to suspects.[67]
The FBI statistic that should startle people is that 80%-90% of rapes go unreported.[68] Instead of solely focusing on potential false accusations, we should consider the number of rapists that continue to walk our streets (and play professional sports), either because the victim’s accusation is never prosecuted or because the victim never reports in the first place, likely because she is aware that her allegation will result in her disparagement and his continued freedom.
There are significant odds that work against rape victims, especially those who are raped by professional athletes. Remember, of the 18 reported allegations of sexual assault committed by professional athletes in the past five years, only seven arrests were made and no convictions (though two players pleaded no contest to lesser charges). The sexual assault cases involving Ben Roethlisberger, Perrish Cox and Jarriel King illuminate how the above-described biases, victim blaming and pro-athlete sentiment coalesce, despite seemingly convincing evidence of wrongdoing.
While most people remember the headlines regarding an alleged sexual assault committed by Roethlisberger against a Georgia college student, the details of the Roethlisberger case are important—including, for instance, that he has reportedly also been accused of sexual assault on three other occasions. He was publicly accused of sexual assault by a woman in Nevada—the prosecutor declined to press charges on her behalf, so she initiated a civil suit.[69] In addition, two other sexual assault accusations surfaced against Roethlisberger that were not as publicized, given the accusers’ reluctance to come forward to the police or to initiate a civil suit.[70]
The much publicized Georgia case against Roethlisberger was mishandled at best, and a total failure of the justice system allowing a serial rapist to continue playing professional football at worst. In the case against Roethlisberger, a Georgia college student was at a bar with her sorority sisters, allegedly led down to a bathroom by Roethlisberger’s bodyguards and then raped by Roethlisberger. The alleged victim immediately reported the rape and Sergeant Jerry Blash conducted the initial interviews—he was the only individual to interview Roethlisberger and he was the officer to whom the accuser made her initial report and, as such, would ordinarily be a key witness in her case, as he could attest to her condition and what was said immediately after the alleged assault. Blash had been pictured smiling with the quarterback earlier in the evening and was overheard by multiple witnesses calling the accuser a “drunken bitch” and saying, “This pisses me off, that women can do this,” statements which Blash later admitted making.[71] He also discouraged her from reporting the rape and immediately notified Roethlisberger of the allegation.[72] Further, he coordinated with the off-duty police officer and state trooper that served as Roethlisberger’s bodyguards that night.[73] Blash has since resigned from the Milledgeville police force.[74] The crime scene was never sealed off and, twelve hours after the incident, the club’s janitor swabbed the bathroom with Clorox and Pine-Sol.[75]
Georgia District Attorney Fred Bright was in charge of examining the evidence and concluding whether it was sufficient for the state to press charges against Roethlisberger. In the press conference in which Bright announced his decision not to press charges, he stressed the accuser’s intoxication and her inconsistent statements. Bright mentioned Roethlisberger’s drunken state only once when he said “[b]oth parties had been drinking alcohol.”[76] Bright overlooked the botched investigation and Blash’s biased statements and neglected to recount the accuser’s version of events, as well as her sorority sisters’ eyewitness accounts.
As revealed in the report by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which investigated the Georgia allegations along with the Milledgeville police force, the accuser said that one of Roethlisberger’s two bodyguards, later identified as police officer Anthony Barravecchio, escorted her into a hallway and sat her on a stool, at which point Roethlisberger walked down the hallway and exposed himself.[77] It was at this point that she said it wasn’t okay, tried to leave, and went to the first door she saw, which happened to be a bathroom—Roethlisberger followed her into the bathroom, shut the door, and then, allegedly, had sex with her against her will.[78] Her friend, Nicole Biancofiore said that she saw the accuser “dragged by a bodyguard to the back room.”[79] Two other friends said they saw the bodyguard lead the accuser down the hallway and knew she was drunk and were worried about her.[80] Ann Marie Lubatti claims she approached one of Roethlisberger’s two bodyguards and said, “This isn’t right. My friend is back there with Ben. She needs to come back right now.”[81] According to her, the bodyguard, later identified as Pennsylvania state trooper Ed Joyner, would not look her in the eye. Upon questioning, Bright conceded that the accuser’s friends said they spoke to one of the bodyguards in an effort to get their friend from the bathroom and that he would not look at them.[82] Further, he said that the accuser’s friends confronted the manager who “basically said, look, he’s an NFL quarterback with the Steelers – something to that effect – he’s not going to risk his career doing anything foolish.”[83] After the accuser reported the alleged assault to the police, she then went to the hospital and the examination showed lacerations, bruising, and bleeding in her genital area, though the doctor indicated that he could not conclusively say if these resulted from trauma or sexual assault.
Roethlisberger was never prosecuted—a discouraging outcome, given that many rape victims (a) do not immediately report to the police, (b) do not go to the hospital, (c) lack evidence of physical trauma to the genital area (whether conclusive or not) and (d) are not raped in public places with multiple witness accounts as to suspicious behavior of the alleged rapist. This evidence provides valuable insight into the events that occurred that night, and more evidence than many other rape victims have when faced with the decision of whether to report a sexual assault. If this allegation of rape does not lead to prosecution in a court of law, it is not hard to figure out why so few women report rape.
The cases against each of Perrish Cox and Jarriel King were not as publicized as Roethlisberger’s case, though, unlike Roethlisberger, each player was formally charged with sexual assault. Perrish Cox was in his rookie year with the Denver Broncos when he was accused of sexual assault in 2010. Cox’s accuser claimed that she, Cox, his teammate Demaryius Thomas and Cox’s girlfriend, Carthy Che, went out together and then returned to Cox’s apartment.[84] The alleged victim believed she was drugged, as she remembered little about what happened that evening even though she only had four drinks.[85] Though she was suspicious that something had happened the next morning, she did not file a complaint because she could not remember the details and did not want to make unfounded charges.[86] Instead, she came forward on October 28, 2010 after learning she was pregnant, with the doctors placing the date of conception around the date that she was at Cox’s apartment.[87] Both before and after the alleged victim came forward with the accusation, Cox repeatedly denied having sex with the alleged victim,[88] thus restricting him from using the defense most commonly used by men accused of rape—that the sex was consensual. Nonetheless, the DNA sample taken from the fetus matched the sample taken from Cox.[89]
Not only was there DNA evidence, coupled with a history of Cox vehemently denying that he had sex with the woman, there were also witnesses. Thomas testified against Cox and indicated that the alleged victim was passed out at Cox’s home, and Cox then brought her into his bedroom and said to Thomas: “I think she’s ready.”[90] Thomas left the apartment shortly thereafter.[91] While many things were debated during the trial, it was not contested that the alleged victim was passed out, incapacitated—unable to consent.
Without having the typical defense of consensual sex to rely on, the defense attorney, Harvey Steinberg, went to the second best option—painting a picture that the alleged victim was a drunk party girl and arguing that the DNA results were unreliable.[92] Steinberg clinched his case, saying, “Let’s just call this what it is. These were a couple of party girls . . . What did [the alleged victim] herself do?” Prosecutor Bob Chappell countered, “You just heard why, the reason women are reluctant to report rape.”[93] And the jury followed through—they acquitted Cox shortly thereafter.
The case against Jarriel King of the Seattle Seahawks was similar to Cox’s, given the unusual amount of evidence that was present for a rape case. A woman alleged that King and his friend, Arthur Lee Denson-Holmes, drugged her and raped her in a North Charleston, South Carolina apartment despite her cries to stop the sexual assault.[94] In this case, the defense attorneys argued that the sex was consensual and that the woman concocted the accusations in order to get her hands on King’s money.[95] But unlike typical he-said, she-said cases in which, due to the lack of physical evidence, the prosecution relies almost exclusively on the victim’s word alone, there was a text message sent from King’s cellphone at 4:20 a.m. the morning of the incident that said, “Let’s get her sleepy.”[96] King also sent the woman a text to apologize for anything that might have happened to her.[97] In addition, a drug often used in sleeping pills and cold medicine was found in the woman’s system.[98] Despite all of this evidence, a jury acquitted King.[99]
The Roethlisberger, Cox and King cases illustrate the uphill battle women face in pressing sexual assault charges generally, but more specifically, against professional athletes. Typically, prosecutors must rely on the word of the victim, together with accounts of the officers who take the initial report. If they are lucky, the victim may have had the strength to go to the hospital immediately after the attack and have evidence of physical trauma, though most rape kits do not produce such results in adult women. The above-referenced cases had additional evidence including witness testimony, DNA evidence, evidence of the use of sleeping pills and text messages documenting the state of mind of the alleged perpetrator. And yet one case did not even get to court, and the other two resulted in acquittals.
It is not surprising that there have been no convictions of professional athletes for sexual assault from 2010-2014, despite 18 allegations, and that prosecutors rarely even press formal charges—their cases are already lost. Instead of focusing on the rates of false accusation, these numbers and stories suggest we should focus on the sexual assaults committed by professional athletes that go unreported given the likely outcome—being vilified in the media as a party girl and liar and having only a slim chance of seeing even an incredibly strong case result in conviction. The arrest affidavit for Cox’s accuser stated:
“She said she was worried about filing a police report because she saw how the media tormented the victim in the Kobe Bryant case. She feels that society has the mentality that because of an athlete’s social status he wouldn’t have to force someone to have sex with him. She said all of the athletes have the money to get big lawyers and they pay their way out of it. She said she doesn’t want to be harassed in the media.”[100]
Team Complicity with Law Enforcement
In addition to general victim blaming and stereotypes that exist with respect to victims of domestic violence or sexual assault, forming a strong case against a professional athlete is complicated by the relationship between team security, a player’s personal security and law enforcement. In many cases, there is a comradery amongst these individuals, oftentimes due to mutual friends and connections. In many other cases, members of law enforcement supplement their income by actually serving as team security or player personal security while off-duty—thus, making it difficult to discern in what capacity they are acting and creating a conflict of interest. The teams foster this relationship, routinely employing such off-duty officers as uniformed escorts or team security, paying them, providing perks and covering travel costs.[101]
