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Why A-Rod only gets a B from me
By Lauren | February 10, 2009
New York Yankee superstar Alex Rodriguez apologized Monday for failing an allegedly anonymous steroids test in 2003. At the time, Rodriguez was playing for the Texas Rangers who, he now says, “felt an enormous amount of pressure to perform.” And he certainly has - since then, Rodriguez has become the highest-paid athlete in American team sports, proving that he was, in fact, “worth being one of the greatest players of all time” … maybe.
Rodriguez made his apology in an interview with ESPN, and he didn’t hold back. He admitted that he had been “stupid” and said, “I am very sorry and deeply regretful.” So why, when the Kansas City Star asked me to grade his apology, did I only give him a “B”?
For one thing, A-Rod’s explanations started to sound too much like excuses. He admitted to having been stupid, but he also claimed to have been “young” and “naive,” and observed that “back then it was a different culture. It was loose.” Come on, Alex, it was only six years ago! And if the culture was so “loose,” why didn’t everybody else take steroids, too? Yes, you were young, but the rules on performance-enhancing drugs were clear. If you were old enough to play, you were old enough to follow them.
Rodriguez also offered to make amends, but only to the general public by speaking out against steroids, and not to the individuals who may have lost games and fame because they didn’t take steroids. Rodriguez admits that “there’s absolutely no excuse” for what he did, but he also claims that he “can’t take back” harm he did to other players. Why not? Other athletes have been forced to relinquish medals and honors when found to have taken steroids. I’d be a lot more impressed if Rodriguez had found a way to do the same.
Finally, Rodriguez didn’t apologize until forced to do so by the press. Sports Illustrated confronted him with the story on Friday, but A-Rod didn’t respond for days. The longer he waited, the less sincere his apology seemed to be. Damage control may be important to protect a sport star’s image, but it’s not an apology.
Don’t get me wrong - I applaud Rodriguez for his honesty, and don’t envy him the drubbing he’s about to take. He’s such a champion in so many other ways, though, that I wish he’d knocked his apology out of the park, too.
To read the Kansas City Star article, go to www.kansascity.com/02/09/2009/Time to analyze A-Rod’s apology.
Topics: Apologies, Personal Ethics, ethics |
February 19th, 2009 at 3:48 pm
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