Monday, April 13, 2009

Alex Rodriguez


By Andrew Fletcher

OK, I realize that the title of the blog post should have more of a focus off the bat. Even though it only has two words, it does indeed have a focus. If I wanted to describe Alex Rodiguez and his relationship to sports scandals, the title would probably be as long as the blog post.

Now that I got that little disclaimer out of the way, here we go...

David Leonard has a section in Chapter 31 called "A Convergence of the Front and Back Pages." Anyone who lives in New York will tell you that Rodriguez graces the covers of the New York Post and New York Daily News almost daily. The Yankees blog "Replacement Level Yankees Weblog" even keeps track of Rodriguez's cover appearances here. In the past, Rodriguez's cover appearances would stretch down most of the page. Because he is still on the disabled list, he hasn't been in the public eye and that's why he only has five appearances since they started counting this season. But good news, folks: he's working out in Tampa today!

Leonard mainly focuses on Blacks and crime in his writing about the front and back pages, but Rodriguez's relevance is still there.

Leonard writes: "As with the sensationalized literature, the popular press ubiquitously offers the impression that athletes are committing crimes at disproportionate rates, although the bulk of the coverage centers on the alleged criminal activities of Black athletes (Benedict, 2003; Lapchick, 2003a, 2003b; Vlahos, 2003)" (526-27).

Rodriguez is neither Black, nor is he exactly a criminal - he's a deviant - but his disproportionate appearances in the New York covers would lead one to believe that he has in fact committed crimes. The fact that he was caught using steroids is almost irrelevant, because he has been hated by New Yorkers since he became a Yankee on Valentine's Day 2004.

Look at the above picture, for example. A picture of Rodriguez kissing himself as part of a magazine spread is above news involving President Barack Obama. Apparently Rodriguez is more newsworthy than the president of our country. How about that.

Then we have articles about Rodriguez not washing his hands in the bathroom and his comments about wishing Jose Reyes was batting leadoff for the Yankees got blown out of proportion. He is the media anti-darling.  Everything he says or does gets scrutinized. Some of this is Rodriguez's doing, but too much is just too much.

Do you think the media is to blame for its coverage of Alex Rodriguez, or is it his own doing? When is enough actually enough?

15 comments:

  1. This is a topic that we can talk about over and over again. It will never end.

    Personally, I think A-Rod takes a lot of crap from a lot of people. The media has everything to do with this. Granted, maybe he is a little flamboyant and tries to be a little too GQ for a baseball player, but the media loves to target AROD as the bad guy. They see him as the criminal, especially now with the steroid scandal. It's good news, and AROD just happens to be "that" guy. The Handbook offers some good insight on the media and crime in sports. "...it depicts criminality within sports as a spectacle, a serious problem worthy of dramatic intervention" (Bryant and Raney, 524). This is very true with AROD. People like to hear about what he has done wrong, or what else he has done that has made the front page of the paper.

    I think the guy really just wants to please everyone, but that's just not possible, especially in NY. He's a great player, there's no doubt. But when he does something wrong, the media is all over it. They make sure that the public knows of his wrongdoings. It's never going to be enough sadly, and for AROD, hes always going to be the puppet of the media. That's life. He may not be the brightest ballplayer clearly, but he's a damn good one. It's just too bad that the media doesnt care about how good one is when versus what they do off the field.

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  2. To first state my bias, I am most definitely not a fan of Alex Rodriguez. But then again, that’s just about everyone’s bias these days. Is the media to blame for all of the hostility towards A-Rod? Yes. Is A-Rod to blame? Yes.

    It would be different if A-Rod had done something wrong, like, really extra wrong (this is of course assuming that murder and taking steroids are not at the same moral level in your personal opinion). Crime, however, is not the only spectacle that the media looks for these days. Leonard cites other sources in Chapter 31 of the Handbook of Sports and Media who allege that the media “equally focus on the supposed problem of overindulged athletes, who lack discipline and commit crimes without regard for anyone but themselves (Benedict, 1999; Benedict & Yaeger, 1999; Messner & Sabo, 1994; Wenzel, 1998)” (Raney and Bryant 527). I think this is something that athletes need to be prepared for, especially ones who are getting paid so much money. The press always loves a scandal, whether it’s based on public or private details. Is it fait to the athlete being covered? Maybe not, and I don’t think that having tons of cash should automatically make all of your affairs everyone’s business. But you have to see it coming, and respond accordingly.

    This is how there is equal blame on himself for all of the bad coverage. Judging by how he is portrayed, and how he handles himself, I think that A-Rod was just not prepared for the spotlight he jumped into when he signed for ridiculous amounts of money, first in Texas, then in New York. Had he stayed in Seattle, and taken a less substantial contract, we may not even be talking about him like a criminal today. But by becoming an object of competing teams and competing dollar amounts, Alex Rodriguez set himself up to fail. It is his fault that he created a greedy, superficial image of himself. American’s love an underdog story, and when you sign for $252 million (or $275 million, for that matter) you are not really an underdog anymore.

    Enough is enough when it comes to a personal life if you ask me. Yes, I like hearing in passing from a commentator about a player’s “normal” life, but I don’t care entire-SportsCenter-segments-enough. Tell me about the game, stop wasting my time.

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  3. I personally am a Yankee fan and when I am home the first thing I do in the morning when I walk downstairs for breakfast is flip to the back page of either The Daily Post or Newsday. I have to admit when any other team but the Yankees (in particular the Mets) has the back page I am a little disappointed. Even if it is not the center of attention, I like seeing my team. I want a picture from the game in the paper, not A-Rod's most recent night out with Madonna, although I hear he is now being linked to Bravo's Bethenny Frankel (who? more like, who cares!)

    I lied, I know exactly who Bethenny Frankel is, but that's not the point. The point is Alex Rodriguez is getting paid all this money to play baseball for the New York Yankees. I don't turn on my television every night to ABC to see the latest episode of the Bachelor starring A-Rod. No, I turn on YES to watch the New York Yankees.

    I am coming mostly from an entertainment aspect here; let's leave the 'roids discussion to the government and Bud. But really, why do I have to hear all about A-Rod's life outside of baseball? It's because the people in power want to write about it, and the people in power in the media world are the writers and those they write for. Power has been rethought like this : "the development of contextual cultural studies of sport, that is, the exploration of particular linkages or specific articulations and rearticulations of hegemonic power within specific temporal conjunctures and spatial locations" (Bryant and Raney 503).

    So basically, that is just a really complicated way to say the power has shifted to the writers and the targeted audience. The writers find what will draw the readers in, like which athlete and what kind of news he has to be associated with. If newspapers sell more when A-Rod is on a cover, then A-Rod will be somewhere in that paper and what better way to drag the readers in than with gossip. A-Rod breaks up Madonna's marriage...thats nice, but what did he do in last night's game? In New York there are some die-hard sports fans, but there are also people who enjoy drama and gossip. Journalist are not dumb, they know what will get papers off the stands.

    For someone like Alex Rodriguez, the New York media will tear him apart for everything he does, whether it is on the diamond or off. So what if he dated Madonna or Bethenny Frankel. Really reporting should be on the team and last night's game. Unfortunately for A-Rod whether it is something personal like his divorce or a date or something public like his performance in last night's game it is always going to be in the paper and blown out of proportion.

    Amanda Pugliese

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  4. It has become extremely difficult for A-rod to live his life normal because of all the coverage around him, which is almost always negative because of his position. He is the star player for the Yankees, which has always brought with it a lot of pressure. I would have to say that A-rod is 25 percent to blame and the media is 75 percent to blame because the media is so out of its element with their A-rod stories that the guy does not even stand a chance anymore.

    To start he takes a lot of heat because he makes over 25 million a year, however whose idea was that? The Rangers spoiled him in Texas and then the Yankees took it one step farther. Its not A-rods fault that he is worth 25 million he is just an amazing athlete who attracts a lot of press because of this. The market (New York) A-rod is in I believes is just too much for him because of the medias pursuit to smash him every chance they get. He is not the first player to go through a divorce and definitely not the first to be late night visiting with Madonna. I think the fact that A-rod was the first player to receive this kind of money is part of the reason he takes a lot of heat. The Yankees are thirsty for a championship and A-rod has not been able to deliver that yet and we all no that we can’t rely on Jeter anymore because he just does not have the bat he used to.

    I believe the problem is obvious and stated in the Handbook of Sports and Media as it says “ It depicts criminality within sports as a spectacle, a serious problem worthy of dramatic intervention.” (Bryant and Raney 524) These athletes are regular people who are abused by the media because they are easy targets. Some players bring it on themselves, however the media jumps on opportunities to spoil one’s career because of the attention drawn to failure and scandals. I would bet good money that most people would rather see A-rod in the news for cheating on his wife then if he went 3-4 with a homerun.

    Either way both individuals are to blame and I think for the athletes sake the media needs to relax on the negative and focus more on other news that will actually affect the country like the war in Iraq or Obama’s new economic plan.


    Chris Myers

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  5. I feel indifferent towards A-Rod as a player, I neither love him or hate him. But when it comes to A-Rod as a person I’m just tired of him. A lot of irrelevant news has been made important as the years go on, and it just seems to be getting worse. This is especially true in the world of sports. The text states referring to journalists, “In their estimation, if the public understood the private lives of their sports heroes, they would probably not support them, sending a message of accountability.” I do not agree that this is the main guise of every journalist. I think it’s pretty unlikely that their main goal is to destroy our heroes.

    I think the journalists are to blame for the over-exposed A-Rod, but I think A-Rod himself is more to blame. A-Rod keeps giving the press things to talk about, the press could not report these things but they know it will sell. Most of the magazines A-Rod appears on are because of his own doing. Yes, it was annoying that the press reported on A-Rod and Madonna for so long, and I do feel bad that these over exposed celebrities cant lead normal lives. But, if A-Rod didn’t want to be in the public eye he could have not gone to that Madonna concert. A-Rod is making himself an easy target by his actions.

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  6. "In an environment of sports idolization and a media more invented in images and ratings..." (Leonard, 524)

    These images took top billing all over the internet and mainstream media in the New York area. From the front pages of the most popular newspapers to the evening news, this photo shoot was big news.

    Does A-Rod not have an agent? A media consultant? Anyone with common sense?

    He is undoubtedly the most embattled player in the major leagues. He is loved by some and hated by many more.

    A player can, and will, be boiled down to a single image. Now, when I think A-Rod, I think about him kissing himself in a mirror.

    But when you think about it, this isn't all that surprising. If you realize that sport is a business, a business of entertaining, he is just the lead actor in a long, played out 162 game drama.

    "Sport as a spectacle" (Bryant and Ranney, 524) is the best way you can explain it.

    He may be hated by many, but he's the lead story for every sports cast when he does the littlest anything. For that reason, MLB must love it's media darling because, as they say, no press, is bad press.

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  7. I've been a huge Yankee fan forever. I never loved Alex Rodriguez as much as the "dynasty players" though. I never had a problem with him. I always thought he was a nice enough guy. I met him for about half a minute and he said hi to everyone, signed autographs, and gave a little girl his batting gloves. So I always cheered for him and ignored the booing trend at Yankee Stadium in 2005 and 2006. But Jeter's been my guy since I was eight years old, and Mo, Pettitte, Posada, Bernie, Paul and Tino were such a big part of the reason I loved the Yankees, so they were pretty tough to top. This is true for many yankee fans I think. When you have so many championship teams in a row, or so many good teams in a row, you tend to get attached to the players that got the team there. You also tend to favor the players you grew up with. For this reason, I think that Alex Rodriguez never had a great shot at winning over the new york crowd. He was coming into an area with so many beloved players already, that he would have to be nearly perfect to break through. And we all know that the words A-rod and perfect just don't make any logical sense when put in the same sentence (unless separated by the words "will never ever ever ever ever ever be"). Was all of the negative attention his fault? No. Was a lot of it his fault. Hell yeah it was.

    Not his fault - the constant attention because he's the best player in the league.

    His fault - the constant attention because he's the highest paid player in the league.

    Not his fault - the fact he can never be the star of the yankees no matter how good he is - because it's Derek Jeter's team.

    His fault - the reason people will never respect him more than Jeter is largely because A-rod nationally-slammed him in an interview with Esquire Magazine in 2001 in which he said Derek Jeter was underpaid and not a threat to opposing teams.

    Not his fault - He's reasonably attractive (to some people) so it makes sense that the media would want to know about his dating life.

    His fault - He cheated on his wife with a stripper in Toronto and is now connected to a hooker ring for not only buying sex from prostitutes, but for dating the madam. Nice.

    Not his fault - He was the only person who's name got leaked to the media for being on the list of 104 players who tested positive for steroids. Therefor he took the entire brunt of the scandal and was practically victimized in front of the entire country.

    His fault - He used steroids in the first place. Idiot.

    While Alex didn’t commit a serious crime like rape or murder, the chapter on Athletes, crime, and sensationalism through the media in the Handbook can be very closely linked to this issue of obsessive media coverage of an athlete for scandalous reasons. “While there is a fair amount of literary engagement with the issues related to crime and athletics (athletes), there are sizeable gaps in terms of both theoretical and critical analysis. Beyond tendency toward sensationalism and pure descriptive narratives, there are many possibilities. The absence of a thorough interrogation of the interplay between athletes, race, and crime, as well as the relationship between a discourse of criminal athletes and that of law and order, truly undermines our comprehension of the issues.” (Raney and Bryant, 536) With the issue of athletes and crime at hand, this passage is saying that without further evidence and investigation and proof, it is unfair to speculate so harshly on certain athletes as having a link to criminal activity. The literature lacks enough content and quality to provide the readers with enough understanding of the issue – this creates biases and miscommunication, and sometimes complete fabrications of the truth. If the literature was more accurate, and taken more seriously and not just hyped up to attract more readers and make more money, maybe the issues would be taken more seriously by everyone. More or less, the media is definitely at LEAST 50% to blame for the way that they cover stories about these athletes. Most of these players didn’t even stand a chance.

    Alex Rodriguez is certainly not to blame for absolutely everything. But he doesn't make things any easier on himself. The 252 million dollar contract, the gambling, the hookers, Madonna, the bro-mance with Derek Jeter, the steroids .... nobody could come back from all of that and still be well liked. Should he be on the cover of the sports section and be front page NEWS everyday. Absolutely not. It's ridiculous. And really, really, annoying. But it's the media. This is what they do. Debating that won't get us very far. Alex Rodriguez certainly isn't to blame for getting the media to take a look at him. But all of the stupid nonsense and illegal activities and ludicrous comments ("I wish Jose Reyes was batting leadoff for our team" – very smooth) made the media whip out their microscope and glued it to Alex Rodriguez's face. Now, if he goes to the supermarket, the media will be watching. If he chews a piece of gum, we'll know about it. And if he sneezes, we'll probably be able to watch it in streaming video on youtube about a half hour afterwards. Is it right? Of course not. But, with all of his flaws, he's like christmas/your birthday/winning the actual lottery in terms of story ideas for the media. I think that Bill Simmons puts it best: "No modern athlete brings more to the idea table. He plays in New York for a team that stopped making the World Series as soon as he arrived. He has made statistical history but cheated to do it. He's our highest-paid athlete in a tanking economy. He's the star client of this generation's most despised agent. He's handsome and articulate, only his polished personality is so contrived nobody can connect to him. If gossip rags and blogs had a Thank God for This Athlete fantasy draft, he'd unquestionably be the first pick." (ESPN The Magazine, April 20, 2009) I blame the media for making me so sick of Alex Rodriguez that I'm afraid to turn on Sports Center. But I don't blame them for taking advantage of the situation. It's just way too easy.

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  8. BY MICHAEL CEA

    Like everyone else, I'm gonna begin with my opinion on the man himself. As a Yankee fan, I feel like I'm caught between a rock and a hard place. While earning over 25 million dollars a year automatically puts you in the spotlight, it's deserved because you're expected to deliver. And as a fan, i was one of the people who expected him to be worth the amount being payed. However, his problems off the field have been blown up incredibly by the New York media. And for that, he has my sympathy.

    Unfortunately for A-Rod, his lack of production, specifically in the playoffs, has had a lot to do with all the negative attention he gets with his off field problems. Posing for a magazine cover like he did, the Madana scandal, and the steroid use are things that just add fuel to the already burning fire. THe media, as we all saw, take everything and run with it. It almost gets annoying. The pictures that Andrew posted depict it perfectly, and once it starts, it's very hard to stop. It seems like everyone is sick and tired hearing about A-Rod and all of his off the field antics; everyone except the media.

    "... if the public understood the private lives of their sports heroes, they would probably not support them, sending a message of accountability" (Raney and Bryant 524). I can understand why they would say this in the book, however I'm not sure that I agree with it. While there are those people who can't stand hearing the name Alex Rodriguez, let a story about him, there are those who live for the next headline about A-Rod. It's a vicious cycle that seems to be on repeat. BEcause of his injury the stories have been hibernating for a while, but once he returns to the lineup, so will the headlines.

    I don't feel that anything A-Rod did can justly give him the label of a criminal. While what he does in his life might not be the smartest decisions, the media takes it and runs with it. ANd the day he brings the Yankees a World Series title, the negative headlines will disappear, at least for the off season.

    BY MICHAEL CEA

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  9. There are celebrities and athletes that are very media friendly and some that really aren’t, and I feel as though Alex Rodriguez is in a category all on his own. There has been so much media coverage on him in the past few years and it’s gotten even heavier within the past few months. I honestly think that there’s a combination of both categories that play into the fact that A-Rod has had so much media attention.

    According to David Leonard in chapter 31 of the Handbook of Sports and Media, he says, “The media continues to harp on alleged crimes committed by athletes” (Handbook 531). Now, I understand that he didn’t commit a major crime or anything, but he still did something that is not accepted within the sports world and is clearly against the rules. I could sit here and discuss the steroids debacle forever, but that’s only one element of A-Rod’s press coverage. However, going along with the quote, the media does continue to harp on not only alleged crimes committed by athletes, but the media harps on just about any information they can get about athletes.

    The media feels the need to accentuate and overemphasize any potential ‘juice’ that they find out about a professional athlete, regardless if it is relevant to their athletic career or not. Also, if the media gets a hold of some sort of scandal or controversy regarding a professional athlete, they usually will just take the story and run with it, even if it may not be from the most credible source.

    Yes, athletes, celebrities, and even Alex Rodriguez deserve media attention sometimes, but there is definitely a time and a place for everything. Once a person decides to become a professional athlete, they are knowingly putting themselves out there into the public eye. I understand that there are some topics that are not necessary for the media to cover, but athletes know what they are getting into beforehand. It just depends on what the media decides to do with that information, but it is out of their hands at that point. However, there is a line that is sometimes crossed, but it is not easy to depict. The media should just stick to the facts and to the athletes’ careers, but for them it seems all too easy to accomplish. But, the athletes should also know when to keep their mouths shut and not instigate more trouble. If both of those goals were to be reached, then maybe, just maybe there will be less negativity with media coverage and they’ll know when enough is enough.

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  10. A-Rod is not my favorite person in the world. But, I'm not a Yankees fan, so essentially, I couldn't care less about his baseball performance or his personal life. But there are thousands of people out there who do care, and the media knows this. This is why they focus so much attention on him. Like Leonard said, it's "an environment of sports idolization and a media more invested in images and ratings" (Leonard 524).

    As far as whose fault it is, I think that Rodriguez and the media are equally at fault. In a sense, the journalists know that this is what the people want. The people who like him want their chance to defend him, and the people who hate him want their justification. Reporters are going to write about the things that are going to sell their newspapers. But A-Rod is partially at fault, too. You can't help but think, "Is he stupid?" He's been in NY for 5 years, he should know how the press works. He needs to be extra careful about everything he says or does, because the media is more than ready to pounce on him for one mis-step. It's unfair, sure, but that's NY. He's our villian.

    A-Rod is definitely not a criminal, but New Yorkers don't care. We want to see him screw up. The state is as much to blame as A-Rod or the press. If he was on a small market team in a quieter city, he wouldn't receive nearly as much attention. And if he had performed up to expectations since he arrived here, he wouldn't receive all the backlash, either.

    So while I agree that the coverage of A-Rod should be focused on his playing career, I know that that will never happen, as long as he stays in NY and receives an ungodly amount of money. But it is as much his fault as it is the medias.

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  11. Something athletes need to realize today, and most of them do, is that they are under more of a microscope and more scrutiny than any athletes before them. This, no doubt, is caused by the growth of media in our society. But how much of the blame should be put on the players, and how much should be put on the media and the public?

    There are now media outlets whose sole purpose is to defame athletes and point out their every flaw. "For example, fuckedsports.com and badjocks.com are both sites that exclusively report on criminal accusations against athletes." (Leonard 528).

    And this isn't a concept that is all that new. Over the last 15 years, we've seen media groups like this rise, and players have had to adjust. Is it completely fair? No, I don't think so. But if you are an athlete getting paid 7 or 8 figures to simply play a sport, there are other things that come with it, such as, oh, I don't know, personal responsibility.

    A-Rod knows that the media is all over him and will rip him apart for everything he does which is bad. I mean he's not even playing, and ESPN will go into length for 5 or 10 minutes discussing when he's going to work out, step on the field, maybe play again. A-Rod may not necessarily be criminal, but he is an idiot.

    I hate to say things like that or judge someone I truly do not know, but he continues to feed the press stuff which will make him look terribly, so what else is the public supposed to think? Leonard talks about the convergence of the front and back pages in sports media, and I think that it's a line which has become completely blurred over the last 15 years. "Numerous examples, from the coverage of the O.J Simpson trial and Rae Carruth murder trials, to the lesser known bar fights and traffic violations, reveal this convergence of the front and back pages," (Leonard 527).

    While we still have strict sports reporting without all the outside influences, sports has become less about the game and more about the drama surrounding it. ESPN (The worldwide leader in sports) doesn't start with "sports", it starts with "entertainment". The bottom line is that whether it is fair or not, stories will run about players' personal lives because many folks in the public find it entertaining. Is it wrong? Maybe. But should players like A-Rod or Allen Iverson know that, and adapt? If they don't want to continue to get ripped to shreds, yes.

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