Yankee Fans in Position to Send Excellent Message to The Baseball World

By now, we have all seen thousands of headlines and news reports about Alex Rodriguez and his use of steroids from 2001-2003, a period of time where he put up the best numbers of his career. 

After the media frenzy over the Sports Illustrated article that uncovered A-Rod’s steroid use, he came out the next day and publicly admitted that he had in fact used steroids from 2001-2003.  

Now, some are hailing A-Rod’s act of admitting his wrongs and apologizing as ‘classy’ or ‘commendable’ or in some way making what he did less shameful because he admitted to it.

Lets not be fooled folks.  A-Rod was clearly trying to fly under the radar on the whole steroid issue right from the start and without any hesitation on 60 minutes he starkly denied using steroids or ever even thinking about using steroids, an interview that could be seen as almost comical today.

What happened earlier this week was not a case of A-Rod stepping up and being a man about the situation. It was a case of his ultra-high-priced PR company explaining to him that the quickest and easiest way to squash a story and move on is to come right out, admit it and apologize.  

After all, it is no longer a breaking news story or a story of uncovering and speculating about some wrongdoing when the guy has admitted it publicly and everyone knows exactly what he did. 

A-Rod should not in anyway or form be commended, praised or even forgiven just yet for his actions, and Yankee fans have a duty to the game of baseball to see that through.

One of the worst things about the whole Barry Bonds situation was that the fans in San Francisco did not take it upon themselves to punish Bonds by disowning him and booing him due to his steroid use.  They cheered him and worshipped him as if he had never done steroids and was still baseball royalty.

Yankee fans, as is the case with any group of baseball fans, want to see their team win, which is, of course, understandable.

However, they also have the opportunity to show that they are bigger than just their desire for their team to win.  

Yankee fans have the opportunity to show that they are first and foremost fans of the game of baseball and they can do so by sending a clear message to the baseball world that A-Rod’s actions will not be condoned, no matter who he is or what team he plays on.  

By disowning A-Rod for at least a little while, Yankee fans can send an excellent message to young kids and baseball fans nationwide that steroid use is not cool and that this behavior will not be overlooked by even the most loyal of fans.  

If A-Rod steps onto the field at the new Yankee stadium to the sound of massive cheers, it will send a terrible message to any kid out there who is contemplating using steroids to better perform on the baseball field. 

It will show that despite cheating and shaming the game of baseball, as long as you are a great player and perform well, the fans will love you anyway.

On the other hand, if A-Rod is disowned and booed by Yankee fans for at least some time, it will show that Yankee fans are first and foremost fans of the game of baseball and it will send an excellent message to all young kids around the nation.

We shall see how Yankee fans respond to this unique position they will be in on opening day.