Sean B. Fitzgerald It doesn’t go something like this, it goes exactly like this.

Why the “Ben Roethlisberger Gag Order” for ESPN? (UPDATE)

After Dashiell Bennett of Deadspin wrote a terrific post on ESPN's apparent gag order regarding the rape accusation against Ben Roethlisberger, you could say that I am about to beat a dead horse. Well, my thinking is, if ESPN (The Worldwide Leader in Sports) has yet to report on a sexual assault allegation being brought against a two-time Super Bowl winning quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers, I might as well be Woodward and Bernstein rolled into one.

So, in case you only get your sports news from ESPN, let me catch you up on the story. Although no criminal charges have been filed, a Nevada casino worker has filed a lawsuit alleging Steelers quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, sexually assaulted her in his hotel room. She claims he fondled her, grabbed her behind, and kissed her. She also claims that she was called to his room to fix the television he said was broken. After discovering that the television was working properly, Roethlisberger blocked her way when she tried to leave the room and forced her onto the bed. He then removed her underwear and forced her to have sex with him.

Pretty. Serious. Stuff. Newsworthy even. And if you're keeping score at home, nearly all major news outlets in America have reported the details of the allegations. The Associated Press, the commissioner of the NFL Roger Goddell, and even ESPN's parent company, ABC has addressed it in some capacity. Yet ESPN, has remained mum on the whole situation. Their reasoning? Here's their official response given to ProFootballTalk.com:

"At this point, we are not reporting the allegations against Ben Roethlisberger because no criminal complaint has been filed. As far as we know, this is a civil lawsuit that Roethlisberger has yet to address publicly."

Sure. Maybe Roethlisberger hasn't stood in front of a camera or did sit-ups in his driveway while denying the accusations, but when we first heard of this story, his lawyer issued an official statement speaking on behalf of him:

“Ben has never sexually assaulted anyone. The timing of the lawsuit and the absence of a criminal complaint and a criminal investigation are the most compelling evidence of the absence of any criminal conduct. If any investigation is commenced, Ben will cooperate fully and Ben will be fully exonerated.”

They have used the statements from the lawyers of athletes before. Why not now? ESPN even reported on the AIDS rumors surrounding Roberto Alomar.

It's understandable to expect ESPN to avoid reporting on every lawsuit brought against every athlete. They are in the public eye and frivolous lawsuits are a dime a dozen. Most of them are hogwash and it would be unreasonable and irresponsible for such a news outlet to waste time reporting on them. But it is clear that ESPN is conducting selective journalism. Tomorrow, if Lenny Dykstra is slapped with a civil case accusing him of sexual assault, you better believe it is the lead story on SportsCenter. But since Ben Roethlisberger provides some sort of "access" for the WWL, reporting on this story won't exactly curry any favors between these two parties. They're stratching his back and expecting a stratch on theirs anytime soon.

But like Deadspin said, this gag order cannot last forever. The 2009 NFL Season is right around the corner and whether ESPN likes it or not, Ben Roethlisberger will field some serious questions regarding this case. What will ESPN do then? Pull an about-face and cover it head-to-toe? How can you be taken seriously as a news outlet when you're two weeks late to a story and you refused to address it because of your connections with the accused?

I look forward to seeing how ESPN handles the situation when even they can't bare the stench. They've cornered themselves and the way they try to escape will be a story unto itself. The question is, will the report on that?

UPDATE: Oh look! A link! Click Here.