PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger made a statement on Thursday, addressing the sexual assault allegations levied by a casino worker in Nevada.

Roethlisberger spoke at the Steelers facility on the South Side at 2 p.m. on Thursday.

Video: Ben Roethlisberger Statement Re: Civil Suit

"I would never, ever force myself on a woman," Roethlisberger said as part of his prepared remarks.

Roethlisberger would not take questions from the media following the brief statement, during which he vowed to defend himself against allegations he raped a woman in his hotel room last July.

Photos From Ben Roethlisberger's News Conference

"I did not sexually assault Andrea McNulty. Saturday was the first that I learned of her accusations. Her false and vicious allegations are an attack on my family and on me," said Roethlisberger.

Roethlisberger was served last weekend in Lake Tahoe, Nev., with a civil lawsuit that accuses him of forcing himself on McNulty in his penthouse-level hotel room in July 2008.

"I'm going to fight to protect my family and my reputation. I'm not going to discuss my private life or this civil case in the media. I'll respond to her outrageous allegations in the appropriate forum," said Roethlisberger. "The allegations against me are reckless and false. As much as I'd like to answer everyone's questions, I'm going to respect the legal process and I am confident that the truth will prevail."

However, Roethlisberger has not been charged with any crimes. The Douglas County, Nev., District Attorney's Office said it has no record of a criminal complaint ever being filed against him by his accuser.

"I have an obligation to our fans, to my teammates, to my coaches and everyone in the organization to remain focused on the Pittsburgh Steelers, and I will do that," said Roethlisberger.

"I am confident the truth will prevail." - Ben Roethlisberger

McNulty, who was VIP services manager at Harrah's Lake Tahoe, is suing Roethlisberger because she claims he sexually assaulted her while he was in town for a celebrity golf tournament.

WTAE Channel 4 investigative reporter Jim Parsons asked McNulty attorney Calvin Dunlap via telephone if he watched Roethlisberger’s statement.

Dunlap replied, “No, I have work to do here.”

Parsons obtained a copy of the lawsuit, in which McNulty alleges that Roethlisberger stopped by her desk on the hotel's 17th floor on the night of July 11, 2008, and talked with her and other staff members for about 20 minutes.

When Roethlisberger left, he mentioned that the television sound system in his room wasn't working and asked if McNulty would "take a quick look" at it, according to the lawsuit.

Court Document: Read The Entire Complaint Against Ben Roethlisberger
(Warning: Includes some graphic descriptions)

The lawsuit says that McNulty went to Roethlisberger's room after being unable to reach her boss on the phone or anyone in engineering, and when she went inside, she determined that the TV was working properly and told him so.

Blocking the door as McNulty tried to leave, Roethlisberger began kissing and fondling the woman and pushed her onto his bed, where he forcibly had sex with her despite her objections, according to McNulty's claims in her lawsuit.

The lawsuit asks for a total of $390,000 in damages.

"I am confident the truth will prevail," Roethlisberger said at Thursday's news conference.

In McNulty's civil complaint, she addresses the issue of why she didn't bring her allegations to police, saying that she "reported the traumatic incident to Harrah's security chief Guy Hyder, assuming the assault would be investigated by him," but she alleges Hyder "failed to preserve any evidence, interview any witnesses, particularly Roethlisberger...and failed to conduct an investigation."

Harrah's spokeswoman Jacqueline Peterson sent WTAE the following statement on Thursday:

"We are confident that once all the facts are brought to light, a much different story will emerge and our employees will be dismissed from the case. It is also important to note that Harrah's Entertainment is not a party to this case and we will have no further comment at this time."

Local Sports Agent Weighs In

Pittsburgh attorney Ralph Cindrich has been a sports agent for more than 30 years.

Cindrich has represented past and present members of the Pittsburgh Steelers, as well as dozens of other athletes.

He has never represented Roethlisberger, but was puzzled as to why the Steeler quarterback would speak publicly about the accusations against him.

“My initial reaction is why do it? I felt like public support was behind him, that everything was moving in his direction. If you're going to make a statement, generally as a PR move, you do it right after the occurrence of the event that makes you make a statement,” said Cindrich.

Cindrich said it's possible Roethlisberger overrode his attorney's advice and just wanted to go on record.

“Most likely he just wanted to make sure everybody heard from him at least one time and they could look at him and see him denying it and then at some point be able to come back and say, ‘I told you back in July of 2009 that I wasn’t guilty of any of these allegations and here's the proof,’” said Cindrich.

Like many others, Cindrich also questioned the timing of McNaulty’s claims.

“It's also curious to me that it comes out right before the start of training camp, right before he's to have an event in which he's going to be filmed, so something about the whole suit stinks,” said Cindrich.

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