Some might say I'm a bit "old school" when it comes to sports. I admit I prefer baseball seasons that end in October, not November; I think the has WAY too many teams; I can't stand the DH. However, what really upsets me is the way we just can't trust our sports and our sports heroes anymore. You can't watch baseball without wondering if the big home run hitter is on something other than a hot streak, you can't watch basketball without wondering if the referees are on the take, you can't watch football without wondering how many times the star player has been arrested, and you can't watch wrestling... or you just plain shouldn't watch wrestling, cuz it's dumb anyway...
The most recent and most notorious example of suspicion and head-shaking in sports is of course Barry Bonds*. I put an asterisk next to his name because that asterisk should follow him for all time. His record is not a legitimate one. Now I have friends who support Bonds* and say that he needs to be given the benefit of the doubt because Bonds* has never tested positive for anything. I do believe in the American belief of innocent until proven guilty; however, when the evidence seems to be growing larger than Bonds'* head by the day, it's hard to remain objective. I mean, the guy's trainer has been sitting in jail for what, almost a year now? Greg Anderson is being held in contempt until he testifies in the BALCO grand jury proceedings, and he refuses to do so. Why would someone not testify unless he had something to hide, something that would incriminate his best friend, something that would make an indictment a slam dunk (if you'll excuse the mixed sports metaphor)?
No sooner did Bonds* tie the record a week and a half ago than yet another ex-teammate, Brian Johnson (not the lead singer of AC/DC) say in an interview with ESPN that he's pretty sure Bonds was using performance enhancing drugs. You have the book "Game of Shadows", which won its authors a First Amendment award for sticking to their guns and not naming their sources. You have Bonds*' own words where he claimed to mistake "the clear" for flaxseed oil.
And quite frankly, the fact that he is so full of himself it's not even funny does more to hurt his cause than help. Endlessly portraying yourself as a victim of the media is not the Dale Carnegie way to win friends and influence people. He is human, I do acknowledge that, and Bonds* does show rare instances of that, such as when he broke down while mentioning his father in his post-756 speech to the gushing San Francisco crowd (where every home game is Extra Kool-Aid Night). You don't have to answer the endless questions about what you've done, but don't scapegoat, that does nothing to help your cause. It also doesn't help when your lawyer is just as egotistical and cocky as you are... last month, Michael Rains, Bonds*' attorney, pretty much called his shot and said of the U.S. Attorney's office pursuing his client that he would "kick their ass." Yeah, that's not going to make the feds work that much harder to see that your client spends a good chunk of the rest of his life behind bars. If an indictment comes down, the odds are good that the federal government, much like the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, will get their man. Just ask Michael Vick...
Meanwhile, of course, you have the Mitchell investigation currently being conducted for Major League Baseball, plus the former Mets' clubhouse boy who has a pretty extensive list of people he gave steroids to if he decides to squeal to the feds (and he will). The unfortunate result of all of this is that when I look at today's sluggers, I wonder which ones used and which didn't. We know Rafael Palmeiro and Mark McGwire used, many believe Sammy Sosa did, Jason Giambi had to turn himself in and squeal, and now Alex Rodriguez is the latest 500-plus home run hitter to be under scrutiny. Atlanta Braves star Larry, errrrrr... Chipper Jones accidentally put the question out there in an interview last week. I've seen video of A-Rod in spring training with no shirt on, and to be honest, the first thing I thought was, "He doesn't look natural." Of course I'm sure many will jump on this one just because they hate the Yankees and A-Rod himself, and A-Rod is another type to draw media scrutiny with his demeanor.
Then there's the NFL... where it seems people who are on suspension for breaking the law (or league rules) get more press than the clean players. Pac-Man Jones gets suspended for a year, then makes headlines saying he wants to get into pro wrestling, not the first time a pro football star with a rap sheet went in that direction (LT, anyone?) The Cincinnati Bengals managed to break the record previously held by the Portland Trail Blazers earlier in this decade for most players to run afoul of the law in a 6-month span.
And of course, there's the aforementioned Vick. I don't need to say anything that everyone else has already said, but it does bring all of this full circle... People have asked why would someone with the star power and the money of a Michael Vick really feel the need to torture and train animals to fight and kill each other for entertainment? What did he not have that he would get through that? And what could Barry Bonds* have possibly wanted out of taking performance-enhancing drugs that he wasn't already getting? He was a natural-born athlete, a 2nd generation star player who had the tools to succeed from day one. When you're already an All-Star, already an MVP multiple times, already have the money and the fame, why break the law? The only reason I can think of is ego. Selfish motivation, plain and simple. It's not like we haven't had "me-first" types in sports; they've been around for years, even ones who had topsy-turvy relationships with the press. But these guys take it to another level, another level LOWER.
I previously wrote about how the "me-first" guys get more press than the good role models in sports, but it seems to have gotten even worse in just the last 2 months since I first wrote about it. That's a shame, because we need positive role models in sports to be uplifted now more than ever.
Source
No comments:
Post a Comment