Fumble: MLB’s inaction on A-Fraud

Given that Major League Baseball held Alex Rodriguez out as proof (as its highest paid player, $28 million U.S. per season) that you can be clean of performance enhancing drugs and still excel, it was hugely disappointing this week to see MLB’s muted reaction to the Sports Illustrated revelation, backed by the player’s own admission, that he did in fact use drugs. Rather than get MLB’s Commissioner Bud Selig out in front of the story in a leadership position, it was left to virtually unknown Major League Baseball Executive Vice President of Labor Relations Rob Manfred to issue a short statement that the league is “disturbed,” has “grave concerns” and is “fully committed” to eliminating drug use in baseball. It was left to others to define the issue from a communications perspective, from disgraced former Cincinnati Reds great Pete Rose to President Barack Obama. MLB’s head-under-the-covers reaction was a clear Fumble. One baseball writer, Minneapolis-St. Paul Star-Tribune’s Patrick Reusse, called for Commissioner Selig to resign in favour of someone who will actually fix this mess, which resulted in a telephone call from Selig on Monday. Reusse reported in a subsequent column that Selig was “frustrated,” made several statements “not fit to publish in a family newspaper” and at one point spat out “what do you want?” That’s just unacceptable. A footnote: Rodriguez also Fumbled when he accused Sports Illustrated writer Selena Roberts (who broke the steroids story) in an ESPN interview of “stalking him” and being “cited by the Miami Beach police for trying to break into his home as his daughters slept.” Miami police denied it all. It left A-Fraud, as Rodriguez is now referred to, looking even more foolish.