• In USA Today, Christine Brennan tees off on Nike for “standing by” Ben Roethlisberger and Tiger Woods, despite their recent issues with women, and gives Donna Lopiano first dibs at being the ultimate moral arbiter of all this:

“There’s no question that the right thing for a company to do is to drop athletes who treat other people so badly. What does it say when a company doesn’t do that? It says that they like the reputation of being sexist because it fits in their edgy, macho, not-so-nice-male brand. Companies that care about these ethical issues do pull back.”

While these athletes don’t appear to be terribly enlightened about women, neither has been charged with a crime. The real scandal here isn’t Nike, but law enforcement authorities in Georgia and their abysmal investigation of the rape allegations against Roethlisberger. He’s been suspended by the NFL for six games in a rather strong rebuke of his behavior.

Then there are the ethical implications of Gloria Allred, who’s representing two of Woods’ alleged mistresses (as well as his kindergarten teacher) in what might charitably be described as a big-time shakedown attempt.