Dateline Dayton – For not being a sports fan, lately I have been commenting often on sports- related news.
I would like share with you my thoughts on Ryan Dempster of the Boston Red Sox who intentionally hit Yankees “star” Alex Rodriguez with a pitch. I am sure Ryan was frustrated with the Rodriguez drug situation, which allows A-Rod to continue playing while he is appealing his suspension for using performance-enhancing drugs. Even under these unfair circumstances, no one should deliberately be hit with a baseball that travels to home plate at more than 90 mph
If Dempster is upset with anyone, he should be upset with Major League Baseball, which has allowed Rodriguez to continue playing ball while fighting his suspension. The double standards in major league sports is getting out of hand. It will not improve until fans insist on change by boycotting games, which I doubt will ever happen.
Many fans thrive on the nonsense and criminal activities of some players. The nonsense and criminal activity even is accepted by some in high school and college sports.
Another good example of how big-time sports works is Michael Vick, quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles. He was found guilty of dog fighting, sent to prison and is now being rewarded by becoming the starting quarterback for the Eagles. What kind of example does this set for the players coming up through the ranks, college, high school and younger? Could the poor example big time sports project be the reason many high school and college players are in trouble. Football needs to clean up.
Baseball suspended Pete Rose for life for gambling. Dog fighting is a gambling activity, not to mention the inhuman treatment of animals. Why wasn’t Vick banned for life from football? Okay, he wasn’t betting on a football game. Give me a break. Gambling and mistreating dogs, which I believe is worse.
A possible way to break the anything-goes player mentality would be to enforce the rules early in an athlete’s playing days. If coaches would make it clear to their players that he/she will not tolerate broken rules, players might behave.
The High School Athletic Assn. needs to demand that players breaking a rule, no matter how insignificant, must be eliminated from the team. They will not be eligible for college athletic scholarships, no matter how talented they are. The same would be true for colleges. Any player dropped from a team for reasons other than academics is ineligible to enter the major leagues. How many of today’s players would qualify if this were the case?
Everyone may deserve a second chance but not in the role of someone to whom youngsters look up and say, “I want to be just like him/her.”
Mr. Hennessey may be contacted at pmhenn@sbcglobal.net
