I respect Arod...

[Popeye]

Bonds and Clemens will never have my respect.

[High5]

Yeah, 6 years later after it's all over the news. Not sure what this has to do with the Hawks, though.

[gsuteke]

Please post this in the "other sports" forum

This one is a no brainer. Take the extra time and put it where it goes please.

[Diesel]

Bonds and Clemens will never have my respect.

admittance after you're caught does not get the slow clap. Point is had he not been outted, he would have never said a word.

Hell, I give Bonds and Clemen more respect because at least, they're sticking to their story!

[Plainview1981]

Yeah, 6 years later after it's all over the news. Not sure what this has to do with the Hawks, though.

Yeah, it does mean anything now. A-Roid is a loser.

[Popeye]

admittance after you're caught does not get the slow clap. Point is had he not been outted, he would have never said a word.

Hell, I give Bonds and Clemen more respect because at least, they're sticking to their story!

At least he didn't say he took them unknowingly and other bullsh*t ala Bonds and Clemens.

Yes he waited till he got caught, but he admits he made a mistake and lets move on.

How simple can it be?

[Popeye]

Please post this in the "other sports" forum

This one is a no brainer. Take the extra time and put it where it goes please.

My fault, i forgot..

[gsuteke]

My fault, i forgot..

NP

Thanks alot

[tonegully]

For real.

Who really cares. Wasnt the years everyone was using steroids smashing home runs and baseball had its biggest following going in this decade?

I bet over 70% of the players took some type of steroid. Let them use it, people want to see home runs anyways.

[AHF]

admittance after you're caught does not get the slow clap. Point is had he not been outted, he would have never said a word.

Hell, I give Bonds and Clemen more respect because at least, they're sticking to their story!

I agree with D that denying you cheated until you get caught doesn't earn you extra respect. All this shows is that A-Rod has learned a lesson from Bonds and Clemens. When you are as big a name as these guys and when you have done this much cheating your cheating is going to come out, and you are only going to do more damage to your image by continuing to lie than you will be falling on the sword ala Andy Pettite. If you admit what you got caught doing and then beg for forgiveness that will be bad but not as bad as being investigated by the government and having the American public resent your every continued lie.

[DrReality]

Heard on the radio that three of the greatest baseball players, Arod, Bonds and Clemons all took steroids. What is wrong with this picture?

[Diesel]

I agree with D that denying you cheated until you get caught doesn't earn you extra respect. All this shows is that A-Rod has learned a lesson from Bonds and Clemens. When you are as big a name as these guys and when you have done this much cheating your cheating is going to come out, and you are only going to do more damage to your image by continuing to lie than you will be falling on the sword ala Andy Pettite. If you admit what you got caught doing and then beg for forgiveness that will be bad but not as bad as being investigated by the government and having the American public resent your every continued lie.

As far as Bonds is concerned, he was going to be hated either way. The Media has painted Bonds to be a bad guy because during his career he has rarely talked to them. As far as I remember, People have always hated Bonds. Even when he was a pirate, they hated him. So I don't think it's for him to make moves in an attempt to try to pursue fan approval.

Moreover, not everybody was a Hank Aaron fan. He has talked about the amount of hate mail he has received.

[tonegully]

Heard on the radio that three of the greatest baseball players, Arod, Bonds and Clemons all took steroids. What is wrong with this picture?

Nothing.

Baseball needed them homerun chases.

[CBAreject]

As far as Bonds is concerned, he was going to be hated either way. The Media has painted Bonds to be a bad guy because during his career he has rarely talked to them. As far as I remember, People have always hated Bonds. Even when he was a pirate, they hated him. So I don't think it's for him to make moves in an attempt to try to pursue fan approval.

Moreover, not everybody was a Hank Aaron fan. He has talked about the amount of hate mail he has received.

What do you mean "moreover"? Moreover implies you're continuing some train of thought on the subject of jerk athletes and steroid abusers. Hank Aaron has nothing to do with Barry Bonds or jerks or steroids. People hated Hank Aaron because he was a black man poised to break the most prestigious record in sports held by one of the greatest white athletes of all time. He didn't get hate mail from the media; he got it from racists. Barry Bonds is hated by fans and media alike because 1) he was an a-hole, 2) he was a cheating a-hole, and 3) he was a lying, cheating a-hole. It had nothing to do with race and everything to do with character.

Here's another Dieselesque analogy. "Yeah, A-Rod has some questions to answer now that this news broke. Jackie Robinson had a lot of questions to answer in his day. Branch Rickey talked about how Jackie had to answer a lot of questions when he broke in with the Dodgers."

Bad analogies aside, Ted Williams wasn't a media darling, either, and hence, he was snubbed for multiple MVP's. Regardless of his surly demeanor, Ted Williams is regarded by many as the greatest hitter of all time. Jerk or not, you have to respect his professional approach and honest production. See, being a jerk doesn't preclude an athlete from being admired. Being a pleasant fellow isn't a prerequisite for being revered. Sure, Bonds was already considered a jerk, but that doesn't mean he was beyond respect. Using steroids dashed most of the reverence his admirers had and lying about it scuttled the rest.

Keep throwing combinations of words together, Diesel. Eventually, tens of thousands of posts later, after hour upon hour of spreading your doughy buttocks out on your computer chair, you'll happen upon a permutation that resembles a coherent argument.

[Diesel]

What do you mean "moreover"? Moreover implies you're continuing some train of thought on the subject of jerk athletes and steroid abusers. Hank Aaron has nothing to do with Barry Bonds or jerks or steroids. People hated Hank Aaron because he was a black man poised to break the most prestigious record in sports held by one of the greatest white athletes of all time. He didn't get hate mail from the media; he got it from racists. Barry Bonds is hated by fans and media alike because 1) he was an a-hole, 2) he was a cheating a-hole, and 3) he was a lying, cheating a-hole. It had nothing to do with race and everything to do with character.

Here's another Dieselesque analogy. "Yeah, A-Rod has some questions to answer now that this news broke. Jackie Robinson had a lot of questions to answer in his day. Branch Rickey talked about how Jackie had to answer a lot of questions when he broke in with the Dodgers."

Bad analogies aside, Ted Williams wasn't a media darling, either, and hence, he was snubbed for multiple MVP's. Regardless of his surly demeanor, Ted Williams is regarded by many as the greatest hitter of all time. Jerk or not, you have to respect his professional approach and honest production. See, being a jerk doesn't preclude an athlete from being admired. Being a pleasant fellow isn't a prerequisite for being revered. Sure, Bonds was already considered a jerk, but that doesn't mean he was beyond respect. Using steroids dashed most of the reverence his admirers had and lying about it scuttled the rest.

Keep throwing combinations of words together, Diesel. Eventually, tens of thousands of posts later, after hour upon hour of spreading your doughy buttocks out on your computer chair, you'll happen upon a permutation that resembles a coherent argument.

Had you followed my true train of thought, it was about trying to be fan favorites. Both Bonds and Aaron were hated by many fans of baseball because of the homerun chases. In that last post, I made no mention of "jerk athletes and steroid abusers". The Moreover, I used was to suggest that both Aaron and Bonds had their share of hate from the public. In fact, it's quite ironic that many of the same people who had no love for Hank Aaron as he was trying to break the HR record, now consider him the" true Home Run King". If you need a Dieselesque statement to go with that, I suggest this one: IF you didn't love Hank then, don't pretend to love him now. Hank is not a lesser of two evils. Most importantly, had Hank followed the wishes of those fans then, there wouldn't have been any mention of him in the History books. My hope is that no athlete would depend on the mood of a fickle fan base when trying to do something great. Finally, I appreciate your attempt to correct me (even though this is not some English class) but next time, make sure that you're using the right context when you go after that correction.

[Atlsportfanz]

It's kinda sad that Jose Canseco comes out looking like the really classy one in all of this. Everything he has said or written about it has been just about spot on.

[AHF]

As far as Bonds is concerned, he was going to be hated either way. The Media has painted Bonds to be a bad guy because during his career he has rarely talked to them. As far as I remember, People have always hated Bonds. Even when he was a pirate, they hated him. So I don't think it's for him to make moves in an attempt to try to pursue fan approval.

No argument there. Had he not taken the drugs, he would be looked at like a less objectionable version of Ty Cobb. However, I think that is a much better legacy than what he has. He decided to enter the numbers race, though, in part to boost his popularity when roids giants like Mark McGwire were getting more publicity than him while he was the vastly superior player all-around. That turns out to be short sighted from a PR perspective.

Moreover, not everybody was a Hank Aaron fan. He has talked about the amount of hate mail he has received.

There were plenty of racists who didn't want Hank to break the Babe's record. No doubt about it. The class with which Aaron has carried himself, however, has endeared him to the vast majority of baseball fans over time.

[AHF]

It's kinda sad that Jose Canseco comes out looking like the really classy one in all of this.

I don't know that I would ever describe Canseco as classy but it is a sad commentary on the state of fair play in baseball when Canseco ends up being the morale police on any important issue. It shows a total failure of leadership that this day has come, IMO.

[Admin]

What do you mean "moreover"? Moreover implies you're continuing some train of thought on the subject of jerk athletes and steroid abusers. Hank Aaron has nothing to do with Barry Bonds or jerks or steroids. People hated Hank Aaron because he was a black man poised to break the most prestigious record in sports held by one of the greatest white athletes of all time. He didn't get hate mail from the media; he got it from racists. Barry Bonds is hated by fans and media alike because 1) he was an a-hole, 2) he was a cheating a-hole, and 3) he was a lying, cheating a-hole. It had nothing to do with race and everything to do with character.

Here's another Dieselesque analogy. "Yeah, A-Rod has some questions to answer now that this news broke. Jackie Robinson had a lot of questions to answer in his day. Branch Rickey talked about how Jackie had to answer a lot of questions when he broke in with the Dodgers."

Bad analogies aside, Ted Williams wasn't a media darling, either, and hence, he was snubbed for multiple MVP's. Regardless of his surly demeanor, Ted Williams is regarded by many as the greatest hitter of all time. Jerk or not, you have to respect his professional approach and honest production. See, being a jerk doesn't preclude an athlete from being admired. Being a pleasant fellow isn't a prerequisite for being revered. Sure, Bonds was already considered a jerk, but that doesn't mean he was beyond respect. Using steroids dashed most of the reverence his admirers had and lying about it scuttled the rest.

Keep throwing combinations of words together, Diesel. Eventually, tens of thousands of posts later, after hour upon hour of spreading your doughy buttocks out on your computer chair, you'll happen upon a permutation that resembles a coherent argument.

+1 on the "moreover" stuff from D, that always cracks me up

Not to jump on D (cause we love ya man!) but while we're on the subject, what about making statements and then ending with a question mark?

[Admin]

To the original point of the thread, I will give A-Rod credit for admitting that he took them. I think that he felt at the time that his reasons for doing so were legitimate and if we ever find out how wide spread the use of steroids were back then I don't think he'd look like such a bad guy ... but the fact is that there weren't any good excuses for him to take them, unlike the excuse that Andy Pettite used which can be understood.

He loses my respect when: he took steroids, he publicly denied taking steroids

He gains some of my respect back when: he at least did the right thing and admitted taking them rather than lying about it like Bonds and Clemens and the rest of his accused brethren.

But all in all I'll never look at him the same way, much the same way that I feel about Giambi and Clemens. I didn't lose respect for Pettite because I understand why he did it and it was a short term thing to heal from an injury, something that I see real medical use for things like steroids and HGH, even if it wasn't allowed by MLB.

The one question I'll ask here is this, has anyone here ever done something illegal or unethical and denied doing it until they were caught and then confessed? As a society we love to vilify celebrities and athletes (the same way we worship them) even though we're often guilty of the same types of things, even if it's simply to a lesser extent.