By Chris Cue
February 27, 2009

    
Imagine for a moment that you work for a company that is known
world-wide. It’s name is virtually one that’s familiar with everyone.
It’s successful, honored by many and it’s brand name alone generates
millions upon millions of dollars every year. As an employee, you are
expected to maintain that companies good name and do nothing to tarnish
it’s image in the public eye. After all, the consequences of poor
behavior by you could cost your company millions of dollars to repair
it’s products reputation and it’s well known brand name.

    
Now, imagine that you are one of this companies most well known
employees. You too are known by just about everyone. You reached this
fame by proving you are a consistent winner and therefore, your company
has made you their most recognized and highest paid employee. Life is
good right? Sure it is, right up until it’s discovered that you have
used illegal drugs in the past. Drugs that were smuggled into the
country by a relative and used by you. Even though your company did not
have any rules in place at the time forbidding the use of this drug, it
just does not look good in the public eye for you or your companies
name to be associated with this topic. Let’s not even mention that
smuggling, possessing and using this drug is against the law.  

    
It shouldn’t take a brick falling from the sky and hitting you on the
head to realize, “Uh Oh, I might have a problem.” Whether you meant to
or not, you’ve soiled your companies name and your own right along with
it. Damage control is desperately needed. So, you hire a public
relations firm to help manage this crisis for you. Your willing to pay
them handsomely to provide you with the advice you need to get out of
this pickle. Millions of dollars and both your companies name and your
own are at stake. What do you do? How can you get out of this situation
with the least amount of damage to your employer and yourself? The
public relations firm suggests that you come clean. Own up to the
mistake and take responsibility for your actions. Tell people that what
you did several years ago was dumb. Claim that because of your youth at
the time, you made an irresponsible decision and that since then,
you’ve grown up and changed your ways. Your not dumb any longer. You
hope that your employer will forgive you, that it’s customers won’t be
hesitant to do business with them and that the general public will be
equally as understanding. Everyone makes stupid mistakes and you hope
that people understand that and will find it within themselves to
forgive.

     A press conference is held. In that meeting with
the press, you use the advice of the public relations firm you hired
and admit it was a stupid thing you did.  You explain that it was a
mistake that won’t happen again because now you are grown up and
understand that stupid things like that are wrong. You say that you
have changed your ways. You hope that you can now be trusted to do the
right things and stay away from those associations of the past.

    
After the press conference, it’s clear that some people believe you and
some don’t, but the vast majority remain skeptical. Obviously, you
still have some work to do. In time, you hope to convince the skeptic’s
that you were earnest and that you can be trusted. It will be a long
road, but if you keep your nose clean and show that you’ve shed the
problems of the past, time will heal these black marks to your
character.

     Here is where you step off this nightmare.
That’s the end of this hypothetical situation as it relates to a
fantasy world you’ve imagined yourself in. Each of you is now tasked
with looking at that scenario and playing the role of adviser. You need
to decide upon the best advice you would give to someone in that
situation. What do you believe is the best course of action this person
should take that will ultimately end in a positive result?

    
Most would look at that situation and say to themselves, “There’s not a
lot he can do at this point except prove himself once again. He needs
to show everyone that he’s no longer young and stupid. He’s an adult
now who knows right from wrong and he’s broken away from the people,
places and things that have caused all of this trouble for him.” In
short, most would realize that all that can be done is to show that all
the ties to those people, places and things that got him into this
trouble have now been severed from his life. If given that advice, most
would follow it…..well, that’s what the smart people would do anyway.
Sad to say, there are always the not-so-smart people aren’t there?

    
Cue up the introduction music for one Alex Rodriguez. Please, join with
everyone and welcome the poster child for the not-so-smart contingent
of today’s society.

     After admitting that Texas was the
place of his poor actions. After telling everyone that his use of
steroids was due to youth and the stupidity that sometimes goes along
with such a tender age. After Alex throws his cousin under the bus by
telling all who would listen that it was his cousin who smuggled the
illegal drugs into the country and injected him with them, what does
Alex do to show that all of that is in the past? Well, we know he is
not in Texas anymore, so the location of his indiscretions has to be in
his past. We also know that Alex is now several years older, so the
hope is he has matured and no longer is susceptible to youthful
stupidity. But what about the so-called cousin? You would think that smart people,
no longer living in Texas, would realize that being seen with this
person today would be counter productive to the image your trying to
repair. Notice the phrase “smart people” was used. Alex
Rodriguez is not “smart people”. No, A-Rod proves to us all that youth
wasn’t the sole reason for not being the sharpest tool in the shed
several years ago.

     After his first Spring Training game,
a game where he is greeted with the expected cheers and jeers of the
fans, Alex does not think twice about who will give him a ride home
that day. Knowing (you would think) that he’ll be hounded by the press
thirsty for more information, Alex arranges for a ride home and thinks
nothing of leading the questioning press corp to the vehicle waiting to
pick him up. To the dismay of many, who do you think is behind the
wheel of that car? It’s none other then his infamous “cousin”. The
cousin he directly implicated with smuggling, possessing and
administering the illegal drugs that got him into all this trouble in
the first place.  The cousin, you would think, he’d like to not be seen
with any longer.

     Well, you can now kiss off the notion that
stupidity rests only at the feet of the young. You can round file the
idea that A-Rod is doing everything he can to be seen as someone
divorced from the negative associations of his past. You can also toss
the thought that he is thinking first and foremost about the Yankees
and his fellow players right out the window. There is no crime here,
but guilty by association carries a heavy hand in the court of public
opinion. What’s even more alarming is the fact that he had to be told that being seen with this guy wasn’t such a bright idea. 

This from a New York Post article by George King III tell us:

As for (Yuri) Sucart (the cousin), Rodriguez was told by the Yankees to keep him away.

“It was addressed and no further comment,” Rodriguez said.

GM Brian Cashman said, “It’s been handled.”

Said manager Joe Girardi: “That situation has been addressed, and I will leave it at that.”

     
It was addressed? It’s been handled? Why in the name of all that is
common sense, would this need to be addressed or handled in the first
place? Seriously, you can’t make this stuff up. Screen writers in
Hollywood would think this to be a non-believable story line. 

    
If this was you and these were your actions after causing damage to
your companies reputation, do you think you would still have a job? Do
you think anyone would believe that youth was the sole cause for your
past indiscretions or do you think that most would look at you as a
being nothing more then a village idiot?

     If Major
League Baseball, the New York Yankees or the fans of the game were
hoping that Alex Rodriguez could put this mess quickly behind them,
then it’s clear that their hopes were placed in the wrong persons
hands. Mr. Rodriguez will be greeted for many years to come with
non-flattering names like “A-Fraud”, “A-Roid” and a host of others, but
perhaps the most appropriate one of all should be “A-Dumb”.

Being generous, that one explains it all….