PFT: Roethlisberger Case Can't Be a Misunderstanding

Pro Football Talk was the first to have news of the Ben Roethlisberger's civil case last night, and now they are apparently the only reporters with a copy of the civil complaint. According to PFT, the alleged sex assault is not something that can be explained away as a misunderstanding.

PFT's Mike Florio is an attorney himself, so he brings some experience to analyzing legal proceedings. And he makes a point that just because there is a civil suit without a criminal complaint doesn't automatically turn this into an sham. Calvin Dunlap, the attorney who is representing Andrea McNulty, isn't exactly the kind who's advertising on buses. He's a former district attorney who represented the wife of the governor of Nevada in divorce proceedings.

But after reading the complaint (he hasn't posted it because he hasn't received an official copy), Florio sees this as a case where there is very little gray area.

Then again, the reality is that it's one or the other. We've seen the allegations in the complaint (we'll share the details once we get a certified copy of the document from the courthouse clerk), and this incident was not the result of a misunderstanding. The complaint makes it clear that either Roethlisberger is guilty as sin, or McNulty has fabricated the entire case.

So what we're looking at is a case that will likely get pretty messy going forward, which is not something that Roethlisberger or the Steelers would like to hear as they get ready to defend a Super Bowl title.