Lessons in the Roger Clemens’ Tragedy
So, to listen to the radio and sporting news this weekend and hear that Rusty Hardin, the attorney defending Roger Clemens in against his congressional indictment; it seems that an adamant defense is proof of innocence.
Hardin said something to the effect that the sheer tenacity with which Clemens proclaims his innocence, in the face of jail time, should provide enough proof to anyone of his innocence.
I guess OJ’s tag line was “if the glove don’t fit, you must acquit”….
…perhaps Roger’s will be “if I don’t admit..you must acquit”.
Ahhhhhh, if I only had this defense back in the day with the nuns at grade school. “No really, really Sister Marie Bernard, we weren’t throwing that ball when the window broke, we were just standing there with our baseball gloves on waiting on confession to begin.”
(Of course my denials may have seemed more sincere if I were wearing the same white suit and pink tie that Rusty Hardin sported in the evening news.)
This reminds me of a kid I observed a few months ago. I was hanging at his mom’s house and this little 5 year old boy got mad at his 3 year old sister. He stormed off and came back with a plastic bat. POW!
Popped her square in the shoulders.
I generally do not get involved with parenting other people’s children but I am not too keen on watching a person hit another person.
I said, “Hey dude, you can’t do that.”
“Do what?” he asked as he looked at me with a bit of fear in his eyes.
“Ya’ can’t hit people, especially people you love, ” I calmly replied.
“I didn’t hit her,” he said, more flatly than defiantly.
“Dude, I was sitting right here when I saw you walk off and get that bat and come back and hit her, don’t tell me you didn’t hit her,” I retorted.
“I didn’t, I swear I didn’t,” was all he said as he dropped the bat and walked off.
I believed then and I believe now, that the little fella’ would have denied until the cows came home. Lying to him, at least in his small 5 year old brain, is far better than being seen as “bad” or as “guilty of doing something wrong”. He was (is) a good kid but being a “good boy” in the eyes of those around
him is far more important than telling the truth.
Give the kid a break, he is only 5 years old. He will learn, or he may learn.
He just needs multiple opportunities to be found as “being bad” or “acting bad” and realize that he is still very lovable beyond his actions.
DISCLAIMER: I don’t think little kids can be “bad” only their actions.
Now we see some of these athletes (and bike riders) who have grown up with a “facade” (mask) of being “good boys” or of having their entire social status built upon the game they play rather than the man (or woman) they really are. They will, like that little 5 year old boy; go their graves without ever admitting they did anything wrong.
Give the kid a break, he is only 5!
Adults behaving this way is a pretty sad thing to witness.
DISCLAIMER: I have no bone to pick with any of the baseball players who took performance enhancing drugs (PEDS). I took ‘em back in college for competitive powerlifting and I admitted it then and I admit it now. They work. I didn’t do it to make an extra $2-$20M a year on my paycheck. I did it to make an extra 20 pounds on my deadlift and squat.
The naivete of the general sports fan is incredible to me. PEDS work, they offer an edge, players (and bike riders) want an edge. You cannot take PEDS and magically get bigger, faster, stronger, more bullet-proof. You still have to train your brains out and eat and sleep appropriately.
I don’t care that congress has their collective noses up in baseball’s affairs. I would rather they spend their time and my money on other matters. But that doesn’t mean that I think it is ok to lie to congress. I do not.
This whole story may end up being beneficial to Clemens as he may be able to “clear his name” in the court of public opinion. Indicted is not convicted.
All I can think about as I type this is that I hope that 5 year old boy learns to realize that he is lovable and loved even when he steps out of line.
…happy parenting…
