Jimmy Harmon

It may take awhile, but I think Alex Rodriguez will realize exactly how much he’s lost. Not financially, but with the fans. Sure, he’ll end up losing a pretty fair amount of money through endorsements, etc. But what about the fan base? What about his nephew who still plays on Alex Rodriguez field who doesn’t want to speak right now? There’s a level of disappointment that goes way beyond money and power. After all, it’s not always about money and power. Sometimes it’s just about life in general.

I just read an article about where Alex Rodriguez went to play baseball as a youth. The field where kids go to play baseball is named after the Yankees superstar. His picture still hangs on the wall in the main room. Oddly enough, it hangs next to a picture of Michael Phelps who was recently caught smoking dope out of a glass bong.

I guess what it boils down to is this; Will superstars Alex Rodriguez and Michael Phelps bounce back from drug use and become role models for American youth? As adults, we strive to have our children follow individuals with good morals, ethics and sense of responsibility. We want our kids to have role models that have actually had to work for what they’ve received. We want of kids to know that it takes hard work to get to where these athletes are today. Personally, I don’t want my children growing up thinking there’s some type of miracle drug that can make them some sort of superhero overnight. I want them to work hard in order to achieve greatness.

The one thing that makes me curious about Alex Rodriguez is his “admittance” interview with Peter Gammons. Was this a genuine apology after deciding to come clean? I believe it was genuine, but I believe it was for the wrong reasons. It paves the way for a fruitful meeting with MLB and Government officials. Of course, I’m hearing today that the Government will pretty much leave Alex Rodriguez alone. After all, the Government only goes after liars, right? But nonetheless, he did come clean and he won’t face charges for lying to Katie Couric. Is he truly sorry for what he’s done, or is he sorry he got caught?

Only time will tell if he’s genuinely sorry for what he’s done. He’s already done so much for the community, but now it’s time to do even more for the people he’s let down. Including me. He was someone I looked up to in the sports world.

It seems to me that something’s being left out. It’s something that needs to be addressed to anyone who has and wants to defend someone using performance enhancing drugs. It’s the performance of the players not using performance enhancing drugs. Not only is it not fair to the individuals who have worked to get where they are the honest way, but it could potentially be devistating to their careers as well.

Imagine if you will a pitcher. He pitches a perfect game into the 8th inning. A drug enhanced player comes up to bat and hits a homerun. The pitcher ends up losing the game. Now imagine, the same pitcher, playing in 10 straight games in this same manner. What do you think would happen to his career?

I know most of you are probably thinking to yourselves, “The odds of this happening are a million to one!” So what about the one pitcher that loses his career? Does he become just a statistic?

The one thing I thought Alex Rodriguez had going for him was his honesty. It turns out that this isn’t true. He will go down in history as one of the greatest players who “admitted it”.

Alex Rodriguez admitted “experimenting” with steroids during his stay with the Texas Rangers from 2001 to 2003. He went on to become one of the highest paid players in Major League Baseball with the Yankees. A contract valued at $252 million.

SI.com reported Saturday morning that Rodriguez tested positive for testosterone and Primobolan during his 2003 American League MVP season. There are no indications that Rodriguez tested positive at any time after that campaign.

Alex Rodriguez should be very ashamed about what he’s done. He becomes just another tainted baseball star who has failed to live up to, not his playing potential, but his ethical potential.