Home of the Rant

We all make mistakes. True. Surely we all can agree that at certain times in our lives we’ve done something stupid that has caused us embarrassment of some kind. Parking tickets, speeding tickets, getting caught cheating on a test in high school; these are things that can be classified as mistakes, mistakes we learn from.

What cannot be classified as a mistake is using, and thusly being tested positive for, cocaine.

That, is a crime.

By now everyone has to have heard about Texas Rangers Manager Ron Washington testing positive last summer for his use of cocaine. Managers, like players, under the new collective bargaining agreement are subject to drug testing to ensure the “integrity of the game.” Washington says, once he got word that he was to be tested, approached the Rangers and Major League Baseball to confess what he had done and to offer his resignation. The Rangers after what I’m sure – what I hope – was a long discussion about the legal implications, the ethical implications, and the moral standing of the franchise, decided to keep Washington on as its manager.

Now that, is a mistake.

It shouldn’t come as much of a shock I guess. Major League Baseball is fairly well known for its, um, problems, throughout its history. It’s no secret that professional athletes as a whole are not looked at as beacons of moral authority considering their social behaviors. (That is not to say all players have this reputation. Or even most. Or even some. But we admire them for their physical talents more so that who they are or what they stand for. And that’s, okay, I suppose.)

It shouldn’t come as much of a shock that behavior like this – while I’m sure was taken seriously in the moment and maybe even still today behind the curtain of public relations – is being treated casually as a person that just happened to make a bad decision at one point, and that’s that.

It certainly isn’t that. It certainly isn’t something that should allow a person to keep his six-figure job being the face of an organization. It certainly isn’t something that should be reason to keep Washington in a position as a highly public figure and as the focus of the community. This wasn’t merely a mistake.

But, if by saying this, am I then saying people don’t deserve second chances? No. People do, they absolutely do. How else can we expect to evolve as a society if we don’t allow people to make mistakes and then move forward from them? But this isn’t a mistake. It’s certainly not a mistake that even the purist of character can overcome. This shows bad judgment. Bad judgment in the worst way. And something so egregious, something so flippant to the natural order of society and disrespect to your standing in a community, shouldn’t be met with a shoulder and a hug. We’re all allowed to grow and move forward, but that doesn’t mean we’re allowed to do something as bad as this and then to keep our jobs. Being a Major League manager is not an entitlement.

There are excuses being made every day for professional athletes. Tiger Woods was given the excuse that he was “only human” and he wasn’t perfect. Athletes that commit crimes of violence are often given the way out of “well, it was in the heat of the moment.” Ron Washington was given “he made a mistake.”

I admire – or better put, I’m glad – that Washington is not shy about taking blame for what he’s done. That’s nice. I don’t know who else there would be to put the blame on. And I find it nice that the Rangers players are all standing behind their manager. Though, I’m not sure what else they’re supposed to do or say. I guess I am just disappointed.

Disappointed that while yes, it does say something about the organization of baseball to stand by someone that has screwed up, it says so much more that there isn’t any kind of legal ramifications or punishment being handed down. Washington and the Rangers are just allowed to say they’re sorry and move along as if there’s nothing to see here. (Perhaps those are to come and they’re being deliberated. To that point, I’m not sure, and I’m just speaking from a knee-jerk reaction. Though, if they were to render some kind of punishment, I’m not sure what they’re waiting for, it was nine months ago.)

Sometimes fans talk about the need for politicians, celebrities, athletes, to be held to a higher standard, as being a role model for the youth of American. No, they just need to be held to a standard. Ridiculously poor judgment is a fire-able offense. And being “only human” means making mistakes, but never committing a crime in the first place.