On Alex Rodriguez And His Lying Ass

So, you all watched Peter Gammons’ interview with Alex Rodriguez on ESPN last night, right? I know you did, because people like you — who spend their lives reading blogs penned by — are always diehard sports fans. So, did you hear him literally lose his place in his script? Rob Neyer (membership required) wrote a great blog entry about it on ESPN’s website, saying:

“If you’re not trained, reciting a script is terribly difficult for most people. I tried it once. I tried to memorize a 250-word commentary about baseball and failed miserably. And in this clip, you can see exactly where Alex Rodriguez loses track of his place in the script…

Sure. He’s sorry he got caught. Everyone’s sorry when he’s caught. But you’re really sorry only if you think that what you did was wrong, and I don’t believe that any of these guys really believe they did anything wrong. A different culture five years ago? The culture today is exactly the same as it was five years ago. The only thing that has changed is the penalty for failing a drug test.”

And Did you hear A-Rod’s response when Gammons asked him whether his steroid use occurred only from 2001 to 2003? He said, “That’s pretty accurate, yes.” Pretty accurate!? Are you shitting me? How am I supposed to take anything that asshole says seriously if his account is only “pretty accurate?” Considering the sport’s Drug Prevention and Treatment Program wasn’t adopted until the 2006 season, it’s possible that Rodriguez could have been doping for two more seasons than he’s currently admitting to! And when he answers the question with “pretty accurate,” why can’t we conclude that his drug use exceeded that time frame? The whole interview smacked of insincerity. There was no remorse in any answers or explanations. He even accused the journalist who broke the story of stalking him! It was a despicable publicity stunt that did little to change my already horrible opinion of him.

On Sunday morning, ESPN’s Buster Olney (membership required) wrote that being “honest and open” was a path that ballplayers have rarely taken during the steroid era, and to do so would be “the right thing” in the eyes of the fans. I couldn’t disagree more with him. Jason Giambi and Andy Pettitte both chose the “honest and open” path and guess what? Those who despised them before continued to despise them. When a person is forced to admit they’ve done something wrong after they’ve been exposed, their credibility is not restored. That person should not feel like they are able to get on with their life. Alex Rodriguez might have apologized on TV, but he has still done wrong. He still deserves our scorn. All of the players who have been outed as steroid users deserve our scorn, and they should never be allowed to get on with their lives. Their decisions should weigh heavily on their consciences every day for the rest of their lives.