The date was July 27, 1975. It was a time when The City of Miami was turning into the Mecca of Cocaine distribution and the Atlantic Ocean was its Red Sea. Machine gun fire, explosions, and dead bodies were a norm throughout town. Thanks to "The Madrina", Griselda Blanco, Miami is what it is today. The economy boomed, and a shadow was casted over Biscayne Bay by towers of financial stability. Today, you can count 31 construction towers along the Downtown Miami skyline. In what the Government calls a period of recession, there is no doubt in my mind that those skyscrapers are being funded by the remnants of the Cocaine Era. There is no doubt in the minds of many Miami residents either. Some say that the body count and crime rate was worth it, while some say they would've preferred to keep South Florida a swamp. Regardless of their opinion, Miamians continue to live in this tropical city and tourists consistently flock to our lucrative beaches.
The date was July 25, 1975. In the Washington Heights Section of New York City, Lourdes Rodriguez gave birth to, argueably, the greatest baseball player in MLB history. Well, that came into question on Monday, Feb. 9th, when Alex admitted to using performance enhancing drugs.
In 1980, A-Rod and his family moved to the southwest region of Dade County. He used to jump the fence at the UM stadium to watch the Canes play. He dreamed of one day playing for them, but never got the chance. Three days before the first semester started, Rodriguez signed a 1.3 million dollar contract with the Seattle Mariners.
To this day, Alex considers himself a part of the Miami Hurricanes and the City of Miami, his second home, considers him a part of it too. He has donated 3.9 million dollars to the school to renovate their baseball stadium, which as of February 13, 2009, bares his name - Mark Light Field at Alex Rodriguez Park. As a part of his community efforts in South Florida, he has done numerous charity events throughout his career and even wrote a children’s book.
With this I bring you the relation between the three objects of the story. Despite this city's dark past, people still embrace it and choose to raise a family here. Despite the city's dark past, people still come to enjoy their "fun under the sun" and their "night out in the city." The United States has forgiven Miami for being the gateway to the drug problem we have today, for washing our hands in blood, and for continuing to use the cocaine money to build this city. Thus, they should forgive Alex Rodriguez for using performance enhancers for merely two years of his bright career.
Alex, the City of Miami, as a whole, forgives you. If you say the pressure of signing the most lucrative contract in sports history (10-year deal worth $252 million) led you to taking PEDS, I believe you. Billie Bob Harrell Jr., committed suicide in Texas two years after he won the 31 million dollar lotto jackpot, because he felt the pressure of being rich. That's $221 million short of what you are making, so I understand and offer my empathy.
You never said you were perfect, but everyone expected you too. Not even God's first two humans were perfect, so I don't expect you to be so. I leave you with a quote that Alex wrote to kids eleven years ago:
"Nobody can act perfectly all the time. No doubt I'll make mistakes in the future. The thing is, we must always strive to do the right thing. In my case, that means playing hard and honorably. In doing so, I honor all those people who have supported me throughout my life."
3 comments:
Wow Miami is still cocaine funded?! Very bold statement... Yes fans should forgive him because he did the right thing about being honest. But I think using his contract as a excuse is bull s**t. Pros make good money to play a game by the rules, and thats all fans want.
Thank you for your comments, we always welcome feedback from our readers. As for the contract issue, I think he was tempted to use P.E.D.s because of the possibility of acquiring and retaining a great salary. Don't you think athletes can be desperate at times and do "whatever it takes" to ensure themselves a spot on a team and a loaded contract? Unfortunately, competitiveness can create unethical scenarios.
vDavid, I agree with your reason for A-Rod using P.E.D.'s. Once you make it to that level, the only force riding you harder than the fans is the need to make more money. This is especially true in major league sports where he thinks, "If I can hit 10 more homeruns each season, that's a million more dollars next year."
As I sit here watching his press conference on ESPN, he just made a statement I found very interesting. He said, "When I was in highschool I played football and was poor and if you could bench 300lbs they gave you a special jacket. I benched 300lbs so I could get that jacket and now I can probably only bench 225." This got me thinking about how making money and the will of human spirit run side to side and can be just as big of an influence.
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