Is ESPN Protecting Roethlisberger?

It didn't take long for every major news source around the world to report the civil lawsuit filed against Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

Wait, did I say every major news source? 

Oops, I meant every except for one.  That one being the largest sports outlet in the world:  ESPN.

Why isn't ESPN reporting the Roethlisberger story?

NFL.com has reported it, the Associated Press have reported it, ProFootballtalk.com, CBS Sports, and Fox Sports have all reported it.

However, it's nowhere to be seen on ESPN.com, on SportsCenter, or any other of ESPN's many outlets.  Why?

According to the twitter page of ESPN TV personality and columnist Jemele Hill the reason is because of a "Special ESPN policy on CIVIL complaints with criminal accusations."

Really?

It took me less than 30 seconds to find an example of a civil lawsuit on ESPN.com's NFL page.

The case of former NFL kicker Tony Zendejas is a civil case.  It was posted on ESPN.com on Monday.  The Roethlisberger story was first reported later that night.

Bruce Allen, Publisher of Boston Sports Media Watch, came up with several civil cases reported by ESPN in the past on his twitter page.

He came up with examples of cases involving Randy Moss, Roberto Alomar, Reggie Bush, Pacman Jones and Marvin Harrison.

Is the Network that calls itself "the Worldwide Leader in Sports" trying to protect its relationship with Big Ben?  Are they trying to make sure they always have access to him?

Just last week Roethlisberger did an interview on SportsCenter.  The quarterback will also be seen on an episode of Shaquille O'Neal's new reality show which will be televised by ESPN's sister network, ABC.

According to ProFootballTalk.com, ESPN issued a "do not report" alert on the story Tuesday.

ESPN spokesman Mac Nwulu later issued a statement to PFT stating:  "At this point, we are not reporting the allegations against Ben Roethlisberger because no criminal complaint has been filed," Nwulu said.  "As far as we know, this is a civil lawsuit that Roethlisberger has yet to address publicly."

According to Nwulu "Roethlisberger has yet to adress publicly." 

However, Roethlisberger's lawyer, David Cornwell, released this statement Monday night:  "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," Cornwell said.

Think what you want, but clearly, this isn't just a case of a "special ESPN policy."