Alex Rodriguez became just the seventh man to hit 600 home runs the other day, but possibly more importantly, A-Rod is now the third man on that list to have used steroids.
Coincidentally, my family and I have been talking about legacy lately, and the fact that especially with athletes, the first thing that comes to people's heads when they think about someone is almost all that matters. For example, when you think of Michael Jordan, you think of the fact that he's the best ever, when you think of Babe Ruth, you think home runs, when you think of Joe Montana, you think championships. Those few words define an athlete's career. The problem is however, negative aspects of a person are usually accentuated in our minds, at least when we are talking about people in the present day. It's human nature to think about the negatives rather than the positives in people, because humans always want to be better than others, and one of the easiest ways to do that is to focus on the negative attributes of others. Why do you think celebrity gossip magazines are so popular? People want a way to prove to themselves that celebrities are no better than the average person, or that they themselves are just as good as celebrities. That's why we hear about the times when celebrities have legal troubles or party too much, as opposed to when they give millions to a charity.
Some of the best examples in sports of negatives overriding the positives are Tiger Woods and LeBron James. Tiger Woods was and is on track to be the greatest golfer of all time. For so long, that was his identity and now, after recent developments concerning his Las Vegas extra-curricular activities, the first thing people think of when they think of Tiger is adultery. Then there's LeBron James. He's had such a tremendous career - as much success as he could have had in Cleveland - and has always been a man of tremendous character who stayed out of trouble, but the free agency madness ruined his reputation. The infamous "Decision" changed the view people had of him from a loyal, even-keeled, great player to an egotistical, self-absorbed prick. The main question is however, whether those negative views will survive and override the positive views when all is said and done.
Although humans like to think about people in a negative aspect for the most part, in the end, the positives usually end up shining though. Although we like to take down celebrities and athletes when they're actually working, when it's all said and done we actually like to glorify them. That is, unless they've cheated us, the fans. For example, the example I always like to use is the accusation of sexual assault against Kobe Bryant back in 2003, which is very similar to Tiger Woods' situation. Although the assault cause was dropped, a civil lawsuit had to be settled. Kobe Bryant may not have been guilty of a crime, but he did have to admit to adultery. Nevertheless, Bryant fought back to build up a solid reputation, and was successful, as today the assault case is merely an afterthought, if even a thought at all, when people talk about Kobe Bryant.
Can we expect the same treatment of Tiger Woods when all is said and done? Although Tiger's adulterous acts were to a much greater extent, like Kobe, Tiger's actions never affected the public. He always won fairly, and has given us great golf to watch so far. Maybe that's why in a recent poll done by Harris Interactive, Tiger still topped the list of America's favorite athletes. But, he had such a huge fall, from the world's premier athlete to this lowlife, that it's tough to tell whether he'll be remembered as a golfer or an adulterer. If he comes out of this catastrophe and ends up taking over Jack Nicklaus as the major wins leader in golf, it will be interesting to see what people's perceptions of him are decades down the road.
But the same can't be said for those whose actions cheat the fans, with the most popular example of those actions being steroid use. Steroid use in baseball has tarnished the reputations of almost every baseball player that played during that era in some way. Whether a player's name has ever been connected with steroids or not, people assume that most players were using steroids, and therefore the question of whether a player did use or not is constantly looming.
It seems rare that any player can or ever will escape the seemingly humongous shadow that steroid use casts. Barry Bonds is rarely seen as the true "Home Run King," by fans because of his steroid use. When we think of Bonds, we think of a juicing, selfish jerk rather than a great home run hitter. The main reason for this is because Bonds cheated the fans, and his decision to use steroids affected the fans tremendously. As the records set in that game were proved phony, and the players that had been glorified as heroes were exposed to the public as the villains that they were, the sport of baseball fell apart. Steroid users essentially took baseball away from the game's fans for about a decade with their actions.
Step back to the original story: A-Rod's 600th homer. A-Rod became the youngest player to reach the milestone with his hit, and he certainly appears to be on pace to be the Home Run King by the time he hangs up his cleats. The question is, as it is with Barry Bonds, if he'll ever be able to shake off the fact that he used steroids, and be viewed as a great home run hitter as opposed to a doper and a cheater. After A-Rod hit 600, the papers and media outlets jumped on him for his steroid use, so it'll be tough to imagine them not going hard on him if he ever reached 762.
The only reason that the view of A-Rod would be more positive than the view of Bonds - if A-Rod were to actually eclipse Bonds' record - is because Rodriguez confessed. Both are known as self-absorbed, although Bonds is more-so, and the only main difference between the two would be a confession, and possibly A-Rod's shorter time using PEDs. Although his confession came two years after he had told Katie Couric that he had never used PEDs, and was sloppy to say the least, A-Rod at least eventually admitted to doping, unlike Bonds, who doesn't seem like he's ready to admit his supposed wrongdoings any time soon.
Fans are willing to forgive and even sometimes forget, if athletes are willing to admit to their wrongdoings. Steroid use however, has been a touchy subject, and one that many fans may never forget. As much as fans like to look at athletes as demi-gods, sometimes even despite their wrongdoings, I just don't see A-Rod - whose problem wasn't just an individual one, but part of a larger problem that plagued and ruined America's pastime for so long - ever being seen as the Home Run King above Steroid User.
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