Cheat, just don’t get caught seems to be the message coming out of Baseball, and if you do get caught then we will just give you a year ban and you can still make your millions.
Is that supposed to be a deterrent to taking drugs?
Take drugs, make millions, get caught, take a year out, and then come back and make more money.
I just don’t get it, either ban the players completely or legalise the drugs, because this is just a joke.
What kind of example are we looking to set here. It certainly isn’t one of don’t cheat or don’t take drugs.
Alex Rodriguez, the highest paid Baseball player, gets to continue playing whilst he fights the allegations, I don’t get that either. I know we are all guilty until proven innocent, but he has already admitted to using drugs before. So why not suspend him on full pay.
What will they do for the games he plays in, if he scores the winning home run and then they find him guilty, will the reserve the scores of those games, will they declare the opponents the winners. Unlikely!
As a sports fan I find this bizarre, there is a huge cloud over Baseball, supposedly Americas favourite pastime, and yet it appears to me that they seem to be prepared to accept cheating by the lenient sentences they offer.
Baseball claims to have one of the best drug testing program in sports, but whats the point, if people just get what appears to be a slap on the wrist and then can go back to a career of earning millions.
It’s about time someone took a stand on this, but I doubt that anyone will. Too much money involved, too many self interests.
I hear that the Commissioner is threatening a life ban for Alex Rodriguez, if he doesn’t admit his involvement.
If you know he’s guilty, then why not pursue a life ban anyway, make him an example, show people you are serious about drugs in Baseball.
You might be wondering why I am writing about this, or what it has to do with leadership.
But the point is, where is the leadership in all this, where’s the integrity, the trust, the good example being set in all this.
I don’t doubt that there are many players who are clean, and drug free in Baseball, but non of them make the money that Rodriguez makes.
I just feel we are sending the wrong message!
Gordon Tredgold
I saw on the news today that although the crowds booed him, the Yankees assn. is seeing an increase in ticket sales since they got A-rod back on the roster, people hate him but still want to go watch him play…so may be its all about the $$
Mukul for sure its all about the money
We are definitely sending the wrong message, subconsciously we’re sending the message that “since your famous, and earn us huge piles of cash, we don’t care what you did, let’s just see how we can get you off”. In doing this, I feel that we are in a sense “condoning” the behavior. He needs to realize he is a role-model, and a community leader, and he needs to step up. Even if it means taking a ban for more than a year.
Neels, i am not even sure its subconscious, but i understand your comment.
It certainly does feel like we are condoning drugs, but if you get caught you might have to pay a fine.
Gordon, the issue is accountability and no authority wants to hold anyone accountable because they will look like they’re being overly hard on the player (in this case.)
When people understand that they will be held accountable, things will change for the better.
Michael, being hard on him would be banning him for life, making him give the World Series winners medals back, and asking him to pay back the $272m.
So who is a accountable. Shouldn’t A Rod be accountable for not breaking the rules?
If this was in everyday life and the police had found him in possession of heroin and proof he was a user he would probably be in jail now. but because he generates massive amounts of revenue, people want to look the other way
As you rightly mention, As long as there is a commercial value, he will survive. Exactly what happened to Lance Armstrong. once he quit, everything came out. MLB should be open and transparent and equal to all players !! but that is not going to be happen.