Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Judge Not....
From Neil: As I sit here at home recovering from back surgery I have a lot of time on my hands and have come to the following conclusion.....YES!!! I BELIEVE THE ROCKET!! He didn't do roids.....but then again neither did I (wink wink) and my crumbling body is only me at 41 falling apart piece by piece....and not the 'roids I didn't do when I had the foolish inkling to body build. But hey.....the stars are all aligned and all is right with world. For Vincent, let me break it down like this.....far be it from me, you or anyone else to pass judgment on anyone else for their actions. Yes, I have done steroids, Yes I have done other illegal drugs.....and Yes I have lied....(ask my wife, lol). Am I in a position to judge Andy's apology....Roger's denials or Jason's admissions? NO!! AND NEITHER ARE ANY OF YOU. Look in the mirror and if perfection stares back at you then please by all means, feel free to feel betrayed insulted or whatever the fuck. I hate to sound like a Preacher but....until you walk a mile in someone else's shoes DO NOT JUDG him or her. As for me? I've learned my lesson....I'm healing and dealing......I'm anxiously awaiting March 31 @ 1pm. My season tix have unfortunately been paid for since October past and I am raring to be back in Sec. 39 Row HH Seat 3 (I'm on the aisle Davis!!!!) watching Mike play volunteer usher. Go Yankees! Best wishes from me, my wife, Mookie, Ari and Joey. Btw....for the poor sucker who sits in GG Seat 3....JoJo promises to kick the hell outta ya this year! Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year! -- Neil.
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2 comments:
Get better. My friend Noam had back surgery and his recovery has been laborious and painful -- I'm sure yours will go smoothly but it's a major deal, I know.
As for not judging someone. By your interpretation of that passage, no one would ever be criticized by anyone for anything ever.
If you saw your kids playing a game with the kids from down the block and you realized your child was cheating, what would you do? You'd tell them not to do that and explain why cheating is bad. You might give them a time-out or even ground them. You'd let them know you were disappointed in them.
I'm not going to scream insults at Andy (or Roger or Barry or anyone). I'm not going to harass their family. I don't want Andy put in the stocks or forced to wear a scarlet letter ("C" for cheat). I am disappointed that he cheated, disappointed that he lied about it for years and disappointed that after being outed the world as a cheat all he has done is damage control filled with evasions and defensive justifications. If your son steals a candy bar from the local store and gets caught, do you care when he says "Hey, think about all the times I DIDN'T steal a candy bar. Doesn't that count for something?"
Athletes are no different from any of us. Do you embezzle from your company and cheat your partner? Of course not. Do you rip off customers? No. That's the same moral choice Andy faced and he chose differently. And he was already wealthy beyond his dreams, world famous and had four Rings. That's sad to me.
Not judging someone is not the same as giving them a free pass. Cheating is wrong and it's not the way baseball should be played. What's the difference between Don Mattingly and Roger Clemens? One is a stand-up guy who always played the game the way it should be and just missed the World Series because his body broke down. The other is a blowhard and a headhunter who behaves like a jerk on the field and off and cheated aggressively for a decade. I'm not allowed to look at their records and decide who I admire more? I'm not allowed to say cheating is wrong?
I can have compassion for any of them, even Bonds. They need to start by stop lying, stop making excuses and start accepting responsibility for what they did. Andy hasn't done that yet and Clemens probably never will. You can't get absolved if you don't make a good confession.
Happy holidays!
Michael "won't shut up about cheating" Giltz
To me there's a difference between "not giving a free pass" and vilifying someone.
I see no problem with offensive lineman clutching jersey's in the trenches and shielding the refs' view. It's not 'legal' by football rules, but it goes widely uncalled, and the tactic is taught to Pop Warner players.
As to non-athletes... I think you may be a little naive as to what people would be willing to do to get an edge. Highly competitive people will definitely take advantage of as many possibilities as possible. Students at the most prestigious universities will hide books in the library so that they can have an advantage over classmates. What about corporate espionage?
And it's not like we're talking about candy bars here. Look at all the players that sucked and were named in the report. If the difference was between being a major league player and collecting at least the MLB minimum or delivering furniture for a living, I think a lot of people might use a needle. Now what if that magic needle could get you an extra couple million dollars per year in your upcoming contract year?... I don't think it'd be that easy to turn it down.
How many movie or rock stars have cheated on their wives?... It's easy to say "I'd never cheat", but I've never had a Playboy Bunny begging for my attention either.
What about actresses whose stars are starting to fade… first thing they do is show up in a topless scene that they never would have done when they were in their glory. They compromise their morals to get another job and sustain their stardom for yet another day.
If I were Andy or Roger, would I have used them?.. who knows, I wish I could have been in there shoes and had the opportunity to test my morals, but God didn’t bless with a plus plus fastball or a solid breaking ball.
The world would probably be a better place if we all lived by the Lone Ranger’s Creed or by Gene Autry’s Code of Honor… but unfortunately reality isn’t a black and white western.
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