Is ESPN Ignoring The Ben Roethlisberger Story?

ESPN lets a lot of athletes through their "carwash" of interviews on a regular basis, and there's obviously some that they have cushy relationships with. However, it's honestly rare that they choose to ignore certain items, about said athletes, entirely. According to a few websites, Fang's Bites and PFT, the "Leader" is completely ignoring the fact that Ben Roethlisberger is being sued by woman in Nevada. Obviously saying that a pro athlete "sexually assaulted" you, has become taboo at this point, but there should absolutely be a mention of it somewhere. Via FB....

Despite news outlets picking it up, ESPN remains steadfast in its stubbornness to ignore the Ben Roethlisberger lawsuit story. Last night, it was reported by various media outlets including CBSSports.com, Yahoo!, Pro Football Talk and others that the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback is being sued by a woman who alleges she was sexually assaulted by Roethlisberger in a Nevada hotel last year.

Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio wonders if ESPN is attempting to protect a relationship with the quarterback. In the story, it's pointed out that Roethlisberger is appearing on ESPN corporate sibling ABC next month in Shaquille O'Neal's new reality show.

But shortly after 1 p.m. ET today, Florio discovers that ESPN has issued a strict "DO NOT REPORT" order, baffling its staffers. Thanks to the Sports Media Watch for the link.

So is ESPN protecting Roethlisberger to maintain a corporate relationship and access to the athlete? If it is, it's another arrow for critics to shoot at ESPN as allegations continue that the network gets too close to certain athletes it covers.

In addition, the network's silence on the story while others report is a hole too big to ignore. And the fact that ESPN jumped all over the Pacman Jones story while refusing to mention Ben Roethlisberger now gives the African American community fodder that the Alleged Worldwide Leader caters to white athletes.

While I don't think race is an issue in this case, I do think ESPN caters to the athletes that give them more appearances than others. I thought the "Leader" had made inroads last year when they hammered their darling Patriots during the whole "Cameragate" months, but apparently they've reverted back to their old ways.

ESPN Will Not Report Roethlisberger Story (Fang's Bites)
Source: ESPN issues "do not report" alert on Roethlisberger story (PFT)