Ryan Braun apologized for the damage his PED use has done to the game of baseball. I personally don't care. The damage is done. And most of the damage didn't come from his PED use. It came from his deny-till-you-die attitude. It came from him attacking his accusers, proclaiming his innocence despite the evidence, and demonstrating the characteristics of a horrible human being. It came from his Bondsian attitude toward the whole thing. That's right, Bondsian. Barry Bonds, with the help of Roger Clemens, has set the standard for being an a**hole in the game of baseball. To me, Barry is not the Homerun Champion. He will always be the jerk player who could not throw out Sid Bream in the 1992 NLCS. Sid Bream, who was waddling toward homeplate, actually out waddled the arm of the great Barry Bonds.
This year was the first time in almost 50 years that all of the inductees of the Baseball Hall of Fame were dead. The two best known living eligible players, Bonds and Clemens, are considered disgraced drug cheats and who will probably never see HOF induction, as it should be. And as it should be for Braun. I love the game of baseball, and it kills me when players disgrace it. Barry could have overcome his scandal by taking a different path. The path of a man with character. He could have stood up to the facts and admitted his guilt right from the start and apologized. He could then have begun work to rebuild his reputation. He would have eventually been forgiven. People hate cheaters, but they hate hypocrites even more. Now he lives a life of shame. Too bad Braun didn't learn from Bonds' example, now his will share the same fate. Sad, just sad.
Is Barry now the poster boy for PED use? Was Braun's apology too little too late? What do you think?
No comments:
Post a Comment