When news of the Ben Roethlisberger suspension leaked this morning, it sparked debate among co-workers all over the country. Too harsh? Not harsh enough? The SB Nation editors were no different arguing about the punishment amongst ourselves all morning. Namely, what role, if any, does Ben Roethlisberger’s race play in all of this? With players like Pac Man Jones having been banished for seasons-at-a-time, is it fair that Ben Roethlisberger could be back on the field by mid-October? To dig deeper, SB Nation editors Spencer Hall and Andrew Sharp exchanged e-mails all morning, debating the racial component in this and other cases of NFL discipline. We encourage you to join the debate in the comments section below.
Roethlisberger’s Suspension, And Race: What If He Looked Like Pacman?
In my mind, if Ben Roethlisberger was a black skill player instead of a white quarterback, he’d have been demonized far more severely by the media, and there’s no way he gets off with just a four game suspension. I also recognize that this argument’s completely obnoxious and prompts all sorts of broad generalizations on the NFL, but try to ignore all that. This isn’t about politics.
Just a simple question here. If Ben Roethlisberger looked like Pacman Jones, would he have gotten off with four games? Spencer, what do you think?
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