CARSON CITY, Nev. — Lawyers for Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said in court documents made available Thursday that the woman who has accused him of raping her at a Lake Tahoe hotel-casino concocted the story, in part, to try to shield herself from possible layoffs at the resort.

The woman fabricated the rape allegation against the two-time Super Bowl winner to try to prevent Harrah's Lake Tahoe from terminating her after she had taken prolonged bereavement leave, Roethlisberger's lawyers said.

The woman has said she was hospitalized for several months last fall because of trauma from the alleged July 11, 2008, attack by Roethlisberger.

The quarterback's lawyers have said the woman's emotional collapse had nothing to do with a rape but resulted from a failed relationship with a married man and then a long-distance relationship that turned out to be a hoax.

The 31-year-old VIP hostess filed a civil suit in July, alleging Roethlisberger sexually assaulted her in his penthouse suite while he was at Lake Tahoe the previous summer to compete in a celebrity golf tournament.

Roethlisberger denies the allegation.

After the woman returned to work in November 2008, she received a reprimand after having an emotional public outburst, Roethlisberger's lawyers said in documents filed in Reno.

A telephone message The Associated Press left with the woman's lawyer, Cal Dunlap, Thursday evening wasn't immediately returned.

The woman's suit seeks a minimum $440,000 in damages from Roethlisberger, unspecified punitive damages and at least $50,000 in damages from eight Harrah's officials she accuses of orchestrating a cover-up of the incident.

Her lawyers, however, have offered to settle the civil suit if Roethlisberger admits to the alleged rape, apologizes and gives $100,000 to a nonprofit agency that helps victims of domestic violence.