• Speaking of tarnished role models, we were relieved to learn Monday that former Miami University RedHawk and Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will not face charges in connection with allegations that he had sexually assaulted a 20-year-old female college student in Milledgeville, Ga., not far from where Roethlisberger owns an offseason home. Prosecutors reportedly said the allegations could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt and that the accuser no longer wants to press charges. However, as of this writing, Roethlisberger was still facing a trip to the proverbial woodshed of the NFL with Commissioner Roger Goodell and may still be disciplined by the league. Since leaving Oxford and joining the Steelers, Roethlisberger has won two Super Bowl rings but also has had an eventful life off the playing field — including a serious motorcycle accident in 2006 and another sex assault case in which a woman claims she was raped by the quarterback in 2008 in Lake Tahoe. Roethlisberger still has a lot of fans in this area — despite playing for the hated Steelers — so many of us are rooting for him to clean up his act and were encouraged by his statement Monday. "I'm truly sorry for the disappointment and negative attention I brought to my family, my teammates, coaches, the Rooneys (Steelers owners) and the NFL," he said. "I understand that the opportunities I have been blessed with are a privilege, and much is expected of me as the quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers." We hope he takes those words — especially "blessed" and "privilege" — to heart.
• We could almost hear the groans from many adults on Monday when a new report — researched by Tulane University and published in the journal Pediatrics — asserted that spanking toddlers increases the chances that the children will be more aggressive later in life and perhaps become bullies. "Children imitate behavior that their parents model for them," clinical pediatric psychologist Edward Christophersen told ABC News. "If both parents use spanking as a means of controlling their children, then their children are much more likely to use physical force with playmates and siblings." Many of today's parents and grandparents probably scoffed at the report, recalling their own spankings in childhood that didn't produce more aggressive behavior. That may be true, but we hope that this sobering report gives today's parents a reason to pause and think twice before they administer a spanking to a little one — and inadvertently provide a lesson about violence.
• Thank goodness that no students were injured and that a police academy instructor had only minor injuries after he accidentally shot himself in the leg Friday, April 9, at Butler Tech's Public Safety Education Center during a gun demonstration in front of police recruits. Instructor Robert J. Stewart, a resident of Bethel, was demonstrating the use of a 9mm Smith & Wesson semiautomatic pistol Friday evening at the firing range when he shot himself in the upper right thigh in front of 24 recruits and several instructors. He was treated and released at Atrium Medical Center. We know that he's probably feeling quite embarrassed by the episode, but we're pleased he'll recover and no serious damage was done. In the meantime, we recommend that Butler Tech look at making these demonstrations safer for students and instructors.