The New York Yankees and Alex Rodriguez have been playing pretty well this season and seem to be out from the dark clouds that hovered over their spring training facilities in Florida back in March when news broke that Rodriguez had tested positive for steroids back in 2003. As is usually the case in baseball, or any sport, winning cures all and the Yankees have certainly been doing plenty of that.Still, Rodriguez knows that he does have to repair his image in light of the steroid news, and he's in the process of doing just that. A-Rod has talked to groups of high school athletes this season in New York and Texas this season about the dangers of steroids, and before the Yankees took on the Orioles in Baltimore on Tuesday night, he talked to a group of Baltimore students as well.
New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez made an unexpected visit to 500 students at a Baltimore County school to deliver an anti-steroid message Tuesday, months after admitting publicly that he used performance-enhancing drugs earlier in his career.
At the time of his admission, Rodriguez vowed to turn his past transgressions into a positive lesson for young athletes, and he appears to be attempting to uphold that promise by discreetly speaking to select students this season. It's part of the agreement, however, that the talks not be covered by the news media.
"I am here today simply because I made a mistake," Rodriguez said, according to a transcript provided by Powered By Me! "Now, how many of you here have made a mistake? Well, I'm here because I made a mistake, and one of my missions in life is to turn a negative into a positive.
"And to actually tell the truth, it feels pretty darn good and liberating. It is very important to me professionally and spiritually. At the end of the day when we look into the mirror, we learn from our mistakes, it's something we should feel proud of and become a better version of ourselves."
I know it's pretty easy to rip on Rodriguez at this point, but I think this is a good thing that he's doing, so to make fun of him for it would be petty. He's not inviting the press to these events and screaming "Hey! Look at me saving the children," he's doing it on his own. Not even the kids he spoke to knew they'd be hearing from him until his name was announced as he took the podiumHow many other players who have tested positive for steroids have done something like this?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-02-2009 @ 1:58PM
tonytiger18 said...
Sometimes, good can come out of bad events.
I am not a fan of Arod even though I am a devout Yankee fan.But, I remember following Mantle's career filled with alcohol addiction and how this extremely talented player tailed off dramaticly after he was 34., same age as Arod is now.
Mantle could have played longer, but his numbers were affected due to his drinking, partying and injuries.
After his retirement and disclosue of his drinking problems and illness, he became a spokesman for Alcohol Annonymous and criticized his drinking habits and how it affected him.
He preached: don't be like me; I am not a role model.
If Arod can help some kid with this mentoring related to steroid use, that would be the silver lining for his past indescretions.
He is a different player this year. He appears to be at peace with himself. He doesn't have the numbers of past years, but, he is still a great player. Now, it is time to be a good person!!!
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9-02-2009 @ 6:46PM
James said...
How come he never did this before he got caught? What A-Roid is teaching these kids is how NOT to get caught. He was quoted as saying "Do what I do now, use HGH...they can't test for it." Way to go A-Roid.
9-02-2009 @ 3:54PM
mdokun65 said...
ARod will still get viciously attacked no matter what he says and does now, but the truth is that he is making a better attempt to own up to his mistakes than alot of players who never get criticized. It's always liberating to own up to your mistakes, and it always amazes me when other players remain in obvious denial - no matter what the cost. Good job, Alex, and good luck in the future.
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9-02-2009 @ 4:03PM
Goldie said...
Never thought I'd say this about A-Rod. "Class move".
Hopefully some good will come from this. Now if I could just forget about him slapping the ball out of Arroyo's hand during the 2004 ALCS!.
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9-02-2009 @ 5:16PM
Mark said...
Not an arod fan either and has nothing to do with being a Red Sox fan. Anyone who has seen me post has seen I have respect for the Yankees organization and their accomplishments, I am a fan of the game. I think he he screwed the Yankees when he opted out of a already overpriced contract and got more then anyone else was even close to giving him.
With that being said, I'm glad this was reported on as we dont always get the good things athletes do and its obvious he wasnt looking for a pat on the back for doing it. A class gesture for sure, maybe a sign his attitude is turning for the better.
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9-02-2009 @ 9:13PM
titansraidersfan said...
A-ROD WAS A GOOD HITTER BEFORE AND AFTER STEROIDS, NUFF SAID
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9-03-2009 @ 7:44AM
Tasso Paris said...
I want to ask A-Rod 1)so if steroids are bad why did you do it? Then get him to admit it indeed does enhance your performance then ask him 2) here are your stats x homers x rbi x hits how many LESS of each would you have had WITHOUT steroids (PEDs)? All asterisk assisted stats should be diminished by hmmmmm 30% ?!
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9-10-2009 @ 8:30PM
freddy said...
yankee fan here... i think arod didnt have to use steroids. he was a natural talent.. look at him now he still has it... lots of players look for that extra somthing not really knowing the hurt they put on there bodys. it seems that every team has or had steroid users.. mlb is still full of them but with the new testing policies lets hope that mlb will end up equally competitive again.
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