Skip navigation
Site powered by
Latest news:
msnbc.com: Top msnbc.com headlines: Adele is big winner, Houston honored at Grammys

A-Rod takes a stand for human decency

Yankee deserves praise for not wanting 103 other steroid users named

Even his public apology was ripped apart by armchair exegetes who questioned his sincerity, honesty, morality and failure to correctly use the past pluperfect subjunctive.

Most recently, he was back in the tabloids for availing himself of the services of the same escort agency favored by former N.Y. Gov. Eliot Spitzer. The governor lost his job when his expensive call-girl habit hit print, and rightly so. As the state’s attorney general, he had pandered to the Puritans by busting high-class escort agencies. His hypocrisy made him fair game for the newspapers.

But A-Rod did nothing to merit being named as a customer, involved in a such a questionable crime. Worse, it was workers at the agency who tossed him to the wolves, exposing him as a client, even while he was married. Gasp!

What that had to do with baseball, I’ve no idea. And you could forgive him for wondering why his betrayers don't just name every customer. There are sure to be names of more of the rich and famous among them. Let them suffer as he did.

But A-Rod never uttered a peep. Maybe it was because he’s in shock at this point. More likely it’s because he realizes there’s nothing he can say and, when you get down to it, nothing he should need to say. If he used an escort service, it’s a matter that should be between him and his wife, and as he’s no longer married, it’s nobody else’s business.

He’s the highest-paid player in American team sports. As such, his performance on the field is fair game for criticism and discussion. His use of performance enhancers is also fair game, but it should be taken in the context of when he used them — baseball had no drug policy — and the fact that he was hardly alone.

I still think most of the tabloid coverage A-Rod has endured has been unfair. It’s also grossly unfair to single him out from among 104 positive tests. Most people in his situation would whine endlessly about the injustice of it all.

He hasn’t done that. Instead, he continues to apologize and insists he doesn’t wish what happened to him on anyone.

Hooray for him.

Mike Celizic is a contributor to NBCSports.com and a freelance writer based in New York.


< Prev | 1 | 2

advertisement
Slideshow
MLB: AUG 22 Yankees v Angels
  A-Rod: Stardom, power and controversy
See images of Alex Rodriguez from high school through his most recent years with the Yankees.

more photos

Interactive
Rangers Spring Baseball
Maps to spring training sites
Your guide to sites in Arizona, Florida
Slideshow
Houston Astros
  Unbreakable records in baseball
A look at the most unbreakable records in baseball including Nolan Ryan's seven no-hitters.
Slideshow
Image: Albert Pujols
  The top tools of baseball
You hear a lot about the tools of baseball, but who are the best hitters, fielders and pitchers? We break it down.

more photos

Slideshow
Image: Snee, 8, son of New York Giants player Chris Snee and head coach Coughlin's grandson plays in the confetti after the New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots in the NFL Super Bowl XLVI football game in Indianapolis
  The Week in Sports Pictures
The Giants on top of the football world, getting ready for the London Olympics and more.

more photos