No, not Anthony Weiner the guy who exposed his errr umm weiner. No, not that guy Paul Marquez who tried to sell his girlfriends daughter on Craigslist. No, not Darnell Barden who unleashed his pitbull on other dogs in a neighborhood park urging him to attack. No, not Athanasios (Tommy) Kakouras who held his girlfriend and father hostage. Nope, I’m talking about Alex Rodriguez aka A-Rod folks. You’ve heard of him right? The guy who in 2009 admitted to using steroids. The guy who just today got suspended 211 games for again doping. The guy who it seems everyone in New York and probably the country despises. The guy who has not said whether or not the allegations against him were true but vowed to appeal his sentence. The guy who tonight suited up for the Yankees for the first time in almost a year. The seemingly most hated person in New York.
What is it about our society that allows us to throw such intense feelings of disgust on someone? Someone we don’t know? Someone who yeah cheated in the past and probably cheated again but didn’t kill anyone? Someone who didn’t hold people hostage? Someone who didn’t order his animal to attack another? Someone who for all intents and purposes was a bonehead who because of his insecurity, narcissism and ego made the choice to thumb his nose at MLB, the Yankee organization, his teammates and his fans? Why do we constantly sit in judgment and scrutinize the actions and/or lack thereof that our sports leaders exhibit?
My timeline on my social medial accounts were inundated with comment after comment about the character of A-Rod. Comments, that it would seem stemmed more from media information rather than facts. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not here trying to defend the man. If he did indeed use steroids again and attempt to destroy evidence linking him to Biogenesis of America then he deserves the ban handed down by MLB. Like any company including the one I work for and the one you may work for, when you choose to go against the rules set forth by your organization, you have to suffer the consequences. Does this mean you should be left to suffer a slow and painful attack with the end result leading you to a life filled with hateful jargon, ridicule and the inability to walk the streets? I would hate to think that along with losing my job, I would lose my ability to not be judged by any and everyone I would hate to think that people would hit below the belt and say I’m ugly inside and out, that when I try to apologize I sound insincere (especially by those who don’t know me). I would hate to read tweets criticizing everything about me that had nothing to do with the issue that got me fired and fined.
A-Rod, is appealing his sentence and will find out the ultimate decision in arbitration. He’s not going to jail. The FBI isn’t going to put him on America’s Most Wanted. He violated baseball rules and he will deal with whatever the league and lawyers deem the most acceptable resolution. When that happens I’m sure ESPN analysts, Yes Network analysts, Fox Sports analysts, Newspaper columnists, fans of the sport and people who just like to talk, will have a lot to say about A-Rod. Will it be about what he did, or will it be about him and his character? Probably the latter. Whatever the case is, the fact remains that his judge and jury are not us. His judge and jury will be the person (s) who make the decision in arbitration. End of story. How about we focus all of this negative energy on people who actually made choices that resulted in the death of our children, the safety of our neighbors and the welfare of our communities? Do we really want to make Alex Rodriguez the posterboy for the most hated man in New York?