Rooney: Roethlisberger will be punished

PITTSBURGH, April 15 (UPI) -- Pittsburgh Steelers President Art Rooney II said Thursday some sort of discipline would be handed out to quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

Rooney, son of the founder of the Steelers, met with Roethlisberger after it was learned the quarterback would not face criminal charges in an incident involving a 20-year-old woman at a Georgia nightclub last month. The woman accused Roethlisberger of sexual assault.

"I have made it clear to Ben that his conduct in this incident did not live up to our standards," Rooney said Thursday while reading from a prepared statement. "We have made it very clear to Ben that there will be consequences for his actions and Ben has indicated to us that he is willing to accept those consequences."

Rooney said the discipline would be coordinated with the NFL. The timing of the disciplinary action was left unclear, but will likely not come until after next week's NFL draft.

"After imposing an appropriate level of discipline and outlining the steps we feel will be necessary to be successful as a player and a person, we intend to allow Ben the opportunity to prove to us he is the teammate and citizen we all believe he is capable of being," Rooney said. "And we hope the entire Steelers community will allow Ben the opportunity to prove to them that he deserves their trust and their respect."