No professional athlete should have problems with the ladies.

For some reason, this does not seem to be the case for Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

Big Ben has been accused of sexual misconduct for the second time in less than a year.

The latest incident begs the question, how could he put himself in this situation again?

No one except Roethlisberger and his accuser, a 20-year-old college student, really knows what really happened on the wee hours of Friday, March 5, but it is fair to question his judgment.

Although nothing ever came of the first accusation, and civil suit that was filed against Roethlisberger has since been dropped, Roethlisberger should have known better than to put himself in a situation like that.

The alleged sexual assault took place in a nightclub in Milledgeville, Ga., which begs another question.

Why was Big Ben hanging out in Milledgeville, Ga.?

Someone of Roethlisberger’s stature has to be careful about what they do and where they are.

You have to wonder what a 28-year-old, two-time Super Bowl champion quarterback is doing hanging out in a nightclub in a college town.

Chill out, Big Ben. There is no need for someone of your stature to be hanging out with college students at all hours of the night.

Just go to Vegas or something if you want to blow off some steam, but, then again, maybe this is not the best idea since you have already been accused of sexual assault by a casino employee.

In July 2009, an employee of the Harrah’s Casino and Hotel in Lake Tahoe, Nev., claimed Roethlisberger lured her back to his hotel room and forced her to have sex with him.

As mentioned earlier, the civil suit she filed has since been dropped, and Roethlisberger is countersuing her.

The allegations of sexual assault were not the first time Roethlisberger has showed questionable judgment.

During the summer of 2006, Roethlisberger was hospitalized following a motorcycle accident in which he was not wearing a helmet.

This is yet another example of Big Ben exercising bad judgment.

He needs to learn how to just stay home or something.

Now, amidst the latest allegation, fans and possibly the Pittsburgh Steelers organization are beginning to question Roethlisberger.

Following the motorcycle accident, people wrote it off as simply Roethlisberger’s bad judgment.

The first sexual assault allegation just seemed odd because the accuser did not come forth until a year after the alleged incident occurred.

But, this time, people are not so quick to write the incident off as just a bad decision or a gold digger looking to get her name in the paper.

This time the accuser went to the police right away, and Roethlisberger is adamantly denying the sexual assault charges.

Since the allegation has been made public, Roethlisberger has admitted having sexual contact with the woman but not intercourse, and it was not forced.

Roethlisberger said after the sexual contact, the woman fell and injured her head.

It’s unfair to pass judgment on Roethlisberger regarding the latest allegation at this point, but it’s impossible not to wonder what he was thinking being there in the first place.

By ERIC MCGUFFIN

Editor

demcguff@umail.iu.edu