"Grow up!" With those apt words, a South Georgia district attorney went from near-total obscurity to the national stage.

The D.A. is Fred Bright of the Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit, a University of Georgia Law School grad who investigated the recent sexual assault allegations made against star Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Beth Roethlisberger, who owns a vacation home on a lake near Milledgeville.

A 20-year-old college student had accused the quarterback of sexually assaulting her in the bathroom of a nightclub there March 5 after both had been drinking. But the medical exam was inconclusive, and the young woman's accusations could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt, according to Bright. Moreover, the accuser no longer wanted him to prosecute, because of the intrusive nature of such a case.

Hence, Bright used a press conference on Monday to explain his decision not to prosecute.

"Here the overall circumstances do not lead to a viable prosecution," he said. "If they did, I would be pursuing it vigorously. We do not prosecute morals. We prosecute crimes."

Bright was asked whether the lack of sufficient evidence would leave a bad taste in his mouth. He answered by noting that both parties had had too much to drink on the night in question, then turned his attention to Roethlisberger, whose off-field NFL career has been blotted by rape allegations in 2008 by a woman in a Lake Tahoe hotel and by his ignoring his coach's orders and riding his motorcycle without a helmet. The rape investigation is still under way, and his biker days ended with a wreck that left him with a concussion, broken jaw and other injuries.

Said Bright, "If he were my son, the best way I can answer that is, 'Ben, grow up. Come on, you're supposed to stand for something. I mean, you're the leader. You should be a role model. You don't need to put yourself in this position anymore.

"It is unclear, it is foggy, what exactly happened in that bathroom, but if I was there coaching him I'd say, 'Ben, you don't need to do this. You don't need to put yourself in a position when you're alone in this dingy bathroom with this girl. That's foolish. Grow up! You need to be a role model. You need to be a role model for your team, your city, the NFL. You can do better'"

Indeed, he can. But will he? That's anybody's guess.

Too bad Roethlisberger didn't cross paths with someone like Bright earlier on - or if he did, that he didn't listen.