Poor choice of title, man. Just asking to get criticized on that one.
Alex Rodriguez made clear Monday that one thing still separates him from Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, from Rafael Palmeiro and Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire: he’s smarter.
He saw Bonds and Clemens hide behind denials, daring the federal government to come and get them. He saw Palmeiro wave his finger at congressmen. He saw Sosa practically forget how to speak English in the Rayburn building. He saw McGwire turn into a parrot who was “not here to talk about the past.”
Like any good hitter, Rodriguez studied the men who came before him, learning from their mistakes and adjusting accordingly for his turn at the plate.
As public relations strategies go, it is generally wise to look back at every choice Bonds has ever made, and then do exactly the opposite. And so, in an interview Monday on ESPN, Rodriguez admitted that he used performance-enhancing drugs while playing for the Texas Rangers from 2001-03, a period in which he hit 156 discounted home runs. It was appalling because he portrayed himself as a product of a “loosey-goosey” clubhouse culture that condoned steroid use. But it was also refreshing because at least he didn’t say he took “a tainted supplement.” That’s how low our standards have sunk.
Rodriguez called himself stupid, sorry, naïve, negligent and regretful. But most important, he called himself guilty.
For some reason, athletes and their handlers often forget the cardinal rule of crisis PR, which celebrities in every other field seem to know by heart: admit your mistake quickly, apologize for it profusely, and then beg like a dog for forgiveness. Usually, if a celebrity demonstrates any kind of reform at all, the public grants complete forgiveness.
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1. Marcel Posted: February 10, 2009 at 07:20 AM (#3072927)English is the guy's second language. You put him in front congress, under oath and without a translator, and expect him to risk saying something that he didn't mean to because he chose the wrong word?
Plus there's the fact that he's never been connected to steroids in any way other than conjecture. This is really starting to get tiring.
First off, he had no choice but to admit he used. We can say he could have denied it - but he would have been killed if he tried that angle and everyone knows it. The media lynch mob was ready and waiting to hang him if he denied or tried the "it was in a supplement" angle.
Secondly, I expected him to admit minimal use - like "I tried it once and got caught." He instead admitted to using for at least three years. That's a significant amount of time and probably lends credence to any arguments about his career totals being tainted.
Lastly, I give him ZERO CREDIT for not admitting he knew what he took. Im highly skeptical someone so concerned with their image & body and who is a professional athlete would put something shady he got from some trainer in his body without knowing AT LEAST the name of it. Dont get me wrong, he has wise to not go into detail, but he shouldnt get any credit for this performance. It was exactly what I expected - Politician style spin and damage control.
ARod says to someone he trusts "hey, give me some steroids that have minimal health effects" and the guy says "sure, here you go". He wouldn't reallly know what he was taking beyond knowing that they were steroids. That doesn't seem too crazy.
Edit: And, of course, it's been 8 years. Some people forget things.
From what I've read about the effects, he took one steroid that provides good effects in muscle building and training endurance and another that burns fat and drains excess water from muscles, so that they don't become bloated. This sounds like the combination that came from someone who really thought about it, not something that McGuire, Canseco or that mysterious steroid dealer Canseco said he introduced A-Rod to would use. It probably came from someone with medical or pharmaceutical background (and I don't know why, but I can't believe that Boras didn't know about it). Why would A-Rod want to know anything beyond their effects and side-effects? I can even believe that he didn't know whether they were steroids and illegal - not that he believed them to be legal, but that he simply didn't care and didn't ask. Players have been taking Schedule II controlled substance for 30 years (and more, but amphetamines became prescription only in 1965 and Controlled Substance Act came out in 1971) and nobody cared or reacted. Why would they worry about any other substances except heavy drugs?
Is it just me or have people gone back to using dieresis New Yorker-style more than they did in the recent past? Did a new style manual come out in the past few years, is it easier to use them now because of computers, or did people always use them a lot and I just somehow didn't notice?
The way I see it Sosa’s only hope is to not be on that list.
First off, he had no choice but to admit he used. We can say he could have denied it - but he would have been killed if he tried that angle and everyone knows it. The media lynch mob was ready and waiting to hang him if he denied or tried the "it was in a supplement" angle.
Secondly, I expected him to admit minimal use - like "I tried it once and got caught." He instead admitted to using for at least three years. That's a significant amount of time and probably lends credence to any arguments about his career totals being tainted.
The funny thing is that ARod did basically go the supplement angle. He never admitted to using steroids or anything he tested positive for. He never admitted he broke the law. He kept making comparisons to GNC and how the stuff is only recently illegal but back then it was legal.
ARod has apologized for nothing.
I also thought it was all spin. Meh. All this is just theater anyway. I'm sure there's some truthiness to A-Rod's confession.
That won't help. It'll just convince people that:
a) He knew the test was coming, or
b) He was using something which couldn't be detected by the test
"Appalling"? Really? I mean, maybe he shouldn't have been the one pointing it out, but, as far as I can see, that's the primary reason why steroid usage spiraled out of control in MLB clubhouses. If there's a huge financial incentive to cheat and no policing, guess what? The majority of people will cheat.
For those who don't know, my countrywoman Pasek came in second in the 2002 Miss Universe contest (and eventually became Miss Universe once the winner was disqualified).
Well, Ms. Pasek spoke pretty good English, but since Spanish is her native tongue, she was smart to have a translator next to her who translated questions into Spanish.
Ms. Pasek answered questions in English, but surely her answers were the better for (a) Having had an extra few seconds to think about an answer; (b) Being extra sure she understood what was being asked of her.
2. The one thing I'm most upset about re: A-Rod is the use of the term "Loosey Goosey".
The use of "Loosey Goosey" sort of reminds me of the funny exchange regarding the word "Upsy Daisy" between Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts in Notting Hill.
If Hugh Grant can't use the words "Upsy Daisy" (what with the guy being a Limey, Urbane Metrosexual), then A-Rod has no business using the words "Loosey Goosey".
That would be a great BTF handle.
The ease of use through computers is the big reason, I'd say.
I've never met either of them, but my sense from watching them over the years is that Barry Bonds is smarter than Alex Rodriguez.
In plotting his redemption strategy, A-Rod has a tremendous advantage in seeing other players who have been through this before, and gauging what the public's reaction was.
Agreed. The pioneers before him showed the paths not to take (and, in Giambi's case, the path to kind of take).
It makes me think of the "Lucky Ducky" character from Tom the Dancing Bug.
1-He didn't say much. Just I took some stuff, didn't know what it is blah blah.
To come clean, show the schedule admit it. Say I knowingly took this over a long period of time, intentionally decieved everyone and am truly repentenant.
2-The thing that did come out was that he repeatedly said how "pervasive" the "culture" was.
After hearing him talk pretty frankly about that, I am leaning more towards the Caminiti/ Canseco side of the numbers game that MLB's 5%.
I don't think this would be wise, at least not until the statute of limitations runs out.
He saw Sosa practically forget how to speak English in the Rayburn building.
English is the guy's second language. You put him in front congress, under oath and without a translator, and expect him to risk saying something that he didn't mean to because he chose the wrong word?
- please stop apologising for sosa
we ALL know that if he says in english - yes, i hit the baseball. it a slider. pitcher berry good pitcher. thank god. thank my teammates. drink pepsi. i hit the ball far
that this means he has srul itza's capacity to usnderstand lawyerese and to speak eloquently and coherently in front of 450 lawyers in english
after all he played baseball in america for 10 years and therefore should have no need of a translator EVER under any circumstances.
if he didn't this make him a dirty drug using scum.
i don't see how you are missing this obvious connection
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