Josh Hamilton vs. Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire

[N41D]

Just something I've been thinking about lately...

As much as I love Josh Hamilton and the story behind his return to baseball, why is he made into some kind of inspirational hero by the media while guys likeAlex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, and Mark McGwire are buried 10 feet deep for using steroids?

I mean, yeah... What Josh Hamilton did isn't cheating baseball... But shouldn't falling so far into drug addiction be looked at in a more negativelight than shooting yourself up with something to get a little extra boost on a baseball field? It just blows my mind that ESPN and other media outlets turnA-Rod and these other guys into scum of the earth public figures while putting Josh Hamilton on a pedestal and shouting from the top of the mountains howinspirational he is and how he's the kind of guy baseball fans should look up to...

I don't know why it bothers me, just seems kinda hypocritical to me...

 

[pokeyneil30]

agreed 100% i was actually thinking the same thing when i saw there is going to be a segment on hamilton on mlbnetwork

 

[bigmike23]

as much as yall hate on zodogg he said this millions of times

but people love feel good storys which is why he has been given a "free pass"

 

[RyGuy45]

Yup, we love the feel good stories. Actually Im not even sure what "we" love or hate anymore as ESPN dictates everything on their own terms no matterwhat we think.

I'll go on my weekly ESPN mini-rant, what the hell...

ESPN gotta make money, that's their only reason to be in business. There are no ethics anymore, very little journalism, no fairness. So in that regard theycreate their own headlines. They take the current stories and spin them how it benefits THEM and their programming, their clicks on their website, etc. We dontknow what is truly important anymore.....we just know the headlines how ESPN wants to present it to us. Then depending on where you live your local TV stationshave their sports wrap ups based on the ESPN talkers, your local AM radio has their topics based on what's been playin on ESPN, etc.

The Hamilton thing is just a big story. Whether it is a "good" one or "bad" one who knows. And he still is in the middle of playing andeven himself has admitted his struggles are always going to be there so his story is not over. But when i saw ESPN treat Hamilton's HR derby night like hehad just passed Hank Aaron on the HR charts I flipped it off and never paid attention to the guy again unless it was on my terms reading the box scores. A madefor TV event that means absolutely nothing, and an event that has participants swinging at lobbed pitches from hand-picked pitchers has guys like ESPN'sChris Berman acting on air like we were witnessing Miracle on Ice 2. Make no mistake, he did something no one else had done. But let's put things inperspective. But again, that only benefits ESPN.

Losing out on the ARod breaking story to S.I. only made ESPN try even harder in the after math. Trust me, they do not like losing any stories to other outlets.So what did they do in the coming day and week? They got Peter Gammons to give a softball interview a few days after the story leaked. Now what does ESPN thenhave for their programming? They have something they can now change. The story went from "Sports Illustrated reports Alex Rodriguez tested positive forsteroids in 2003" to now being able to say "Alex Rodriguez, who sat down exclusively with ESPN's Peter Gammons for his first interview sincesteroid controversy, failed steroid tests in 2003" ....and they did for the next 2 weeks.

End of rant.

 

[frankie valentino]

CUZ HE WHITE (ignore mcgwire)

 

[vctry20]

I wouldnt be surprised to find out Hamilton juiced, seems like nobody is above suspicion anymore

 

[wstcoastgotti]

as much as yall hate on zodogg he said this millions of times
Yep he did... and your tellin me that Hamilton had zero problem takin all them drugs, but never once used steroids???

I wouldnt be surprised to hear dude juiced/has been juicin for days.

 

[dajoka004]

No. Steroids are the worst crime known to man.

 

[starburyptgod]

I think people sympathize with drug addiction more than steroid use. At the core, people who have a drug addiction would do anything to get rid of theaddiction. They are damaging themselves. People who use steriods do it and continue to do it willingly and the damage is done mostly to others. I guess itcould be argued that steroid use is addicting too, but certainly not to the extent of heroine.

 

[fenixconnexion.]

I hate how the media hates on Elijah Dukes and tries to make him seem like a terrible person... SMH

 

[dland24]

Originally Posted by StarburyPtGod

I think people sympathize with drug addiction more than steroid use. At the core, people who have a drug addiction would do anything to get rid of the addiction. They are damaging themselves. People who use steriods do it and continue to do it willingly and the damage is done mostly to others. I guess it could be argued that steroid use is addicting too, but certainly not to the extent of heroine.

DEFINITELY not always the case. I wouldnt even say half of the time this is true.

 

[jumpoffthegod]

Originally Posted by Frankie Valentino

CUZ HE WHITE (ignore mcgwire)

Don't come in here with that nonsense

 

[jaysfordays]

Originally Posted by vctry20

I wouldnt be surprised to find out Hamilton juiced, seems like nobody is above suspicion anymore

co-sign. it would be a travesty if he was juicing, considering all of the praise he's received. however, imo, Josh Hamilton is a corny movie.his story is vastly over-hyped.

 

[jaysfordays]

Originally Posted by ElijahDukes

I hate how the media hates on Elijah Dukes and tries to make him seem like a terrible person... SMH

i know Dukes is neither here nor there, but his life story is far more grueling than Hamilton's. when Dukes rises to superstardom this seasonlike Hamilton did last year, Dukes' story will be in the spotlight. Dukes had a rough childhood to say the least. the story goes that when Dukes was young,his father was put in prison for murdering a man who sold his mother fake cocaine. Dukes has endured and overcame many struggles in his life, and that'sREAL TALK.

 

[lee torso]

Originally Posted by Nowitness41Dirk

Just something I've been thinking about lately...

As much as I love Josh Hamilton and the story behind his return to baseball, why is he made into some kind of inspirational hero by the media while guys like Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, and Mark McGwire are buried 10 feet deep for using steroids?

I mean, yeah... What Josh Hamilton did isn't cheating baseball... But shouldn't falling so far into drug addiction be looked at in a more negative light than shooting yourself up with something to get a little extra boost on a baseball field? It just blows my mind that ESPN and other media outlets turn A-Rod and these other guys into scum of the earth public figures while putting Josh Hamilton on a pedestal and shouting from the top of the mountains how inspirational he is and how he's the kind of guy baseball fans should look up to...

I don't know why it bothers me, just seems kinda hypocritical to me...

More people can relate to drug addiction.

 

[N41D]

Originally Posted by ElijahDukes

I hate how the media hates on Elijah Dukes and tries to make him seem like a terrible person... SMH

A guy that gets arrested, knocks up woman after woman after woman, and threatens a woman's life is a scum bag plain and simple...

 

[bigmike23]

i swear to god this $%+%@ is talking to himself yall cant tell me he ant

 

[vctry20]

Originally Posted by Nowitness41Dirk

Originally Posted by ElijahDukes

I hate how the media hates on Elijah Dukes and tries to make him seem like a terrible person... SMH

A guy that gets arrested, knocks up woman after woman after woman, and threatens a woman's life is a scum bag plain and simple...

That's a smear job by the media

 

[pdm 87]

Why should I scold and scorn a man who knows full well the mistakes he's made and yet own up to those mistakes 100%, made a true concered effort to turnhis life around, and still admit his struggles are not over but still take every precaution to not fall down again??? That's why Josh Hamilton is praisedover said (alleged)steroid users. Just how many of these guys lost their family, livelyhood and everything else to performance enhancing drugs? These guys duckand dodge certain questions in order to save face and god forbid lose endorsements... Hamilton may as well have been dead in a street gutter with a needle inhis arm due to his mistakes, but here he is, trying to just have a normal life again.

Now I won't go and call the man a saint, he's not perfect. But at least you don't hear him saying "I didn't know exactly what it was I wassmoking." or "I'm not here to talk about the past."

And trust me, being someone that has seen the god awful effects meth addiction can do to a person, there is nothing ESPN, SI or any media outlet can say thatwould compare to the humiliation and suffering this guy has had to go through...

 

[dmxfury]

Fans sadly only care about the effect on the game itself. Not about how a player "really is". Bonds, Sosa, McGwire, etc all affected the sport ofbaseball. Hamilton's addictions, etc did not taint numbers, etc. So that is why.

 

[651akathepaul]

Because people thrive on seeing the best come down and the worst rise up. There's no middle ground. The favorite vs. the underdog. Pick your cliche. Addthat on top of the fact that sports media, not just ESPN (although the most exposed) love to find drama where otherwise you would never look.

 

[651akathepaul]

Because people thrive on seeing the best come down and the worst rise up. There's no middle ground. The favorite vs. the underdog. Pick your cliche. Addthat on top of the fact that sports media, not just ESPN (although the most exposed) love to find drama where otherwise you would never look.

 

[marionthebarberian]

cocaine = steroids ....NOT...

 

[grizztheboss]

Steriods=Drugs either way they both damage your body I'm disappointed with both of them

 

[wildkycat]

Comparing the 4 guys mentioned...

Bonds has been a jerk his whole career, never admitted to any wrong doing.

McGwire...

A-Roid....well, we'll have to wait and see. but guys like Pettite and Giambi have managed to get passed their situations and for the most part, have been"forgiven" by fans.


Hamilton doesn't compare to these guys. As was mentioned, he never cheated baseball...he only cheated himself. It's not like this dude's careerwas derailed because he kept getting arrested for weed or something. Son was sleeping in ditches and $*@!.

Hamilton's story reaches far more "people" than it does sports fans. I mean, i'm sure there are regular folks who have overcome their drugaddiction and gotten back on their feet and made a better life for themself, but Hamilton is unique to us (sports fans) because we always here about theathletes who "never were" because of drug addiction. Had he not picked his *+$ up and gotten his $*@! together, he woulda been added to thatlist...hell, some people woulda never even known who he was.

How many, or what other athletes have done what Hamilton has done?

What makes his story so good, is that we're finally seeing what this guy was supposed to be. He was destined for greatness. As good as he's beensince he's been so far, the scary part is to think how good he would be right now at his age (27) had he not succomed to drug addiction.

I never really had a great perspective on how serious a drug addiction is until I read his book, and I'm sure I'm not alone. Let's just hope hestays on the path he's on.

Nowitness, you haven't read it yet, have you?