Alex Rodriguez is one of the most disliked athletes in professional sports and it is widely agreed that his public relations skills are among the worst in sports. It’s almost like the guy can do nothing right at this point.
Yet, despite how easy of a target A-Rod is, there is still an issue I have to point out: Rodriguez seems to be too cavalier about terming his past behavior as “mistakes.”
Rodriguez reported to spring training Monday and spoke with the media, answering questions and saying his piece. The guy is clearly trying a new PR strategy, one where he takes responsibility for what a di-k bag he’s been.
“I served a big penalty personally and professionally,” Rodriguez said via the NY Daily News.
He was asked if he would have done anything differently, Rodriguez expressed remorse.
“We don’t have for that. There were plenty of mistakes. I cringe sometimes,” he said.
It’s nice that Rodriguez is cringing over his past, but the problem is that you cannot chalk up his past as “mistakes.” Maybe if Andy Pettitte said he took HGH to recover from an injury and it was a one-time deal, he can get away with calling it a mistake. Hanging a slider over the plate instead of throwing it low and away is a mistake. Swinging at a pitch out of the zone and striking out instead of letting it go for a ball is a mistake. But repeatedly cheating and lying about it does not add up to mistakes; that is a life choice.
When Rodriguez was first confronted with reports from SI that he tested positive for steroids in 2003, he said that he only used from 2001-2003 because of pressure. That was a lie. That was after he went on “60 Minutes” in 2007 and lied his face off to the American public. Rodriguez was tied to controversial doctor/HGH dealer Anthony Galea in 2010. He repeatedly received HGH injections from Anthony Bosch as part of the Biogenesis scandal, yet he fought his suspension and denied the allegations. He supposedly got substances from former BALCO founder Victor Conte. He even publicly denied using PEDs despite admitting to the DEA in Jan. 2014 that he used banned substances.
The constant search for the edge, the constant use of PEDs, the constant cheating and the constant lying do not add up to “mistakes,” A-Rod. This is why people struggle to forgive you, this is why people do not believe you, and this is why it is not as simple as dismissing your repeated cheating and lying as “mistakes.”
