Leave Josh Hamilton Alone

Josh Hamilton has been a Cinderella story, an inspiration to many because of his epic fall and subsequent climb back to the top. He has mentioned Christ as one of the main factors for his redemption, a life devoid of drugs and alcohol that has allowed him to reach his full potential as a baseball player and a human being.

Photos suggesting a relapse have surfaced on a prominent blog, and his poignant, refreshingly truthful admittance of his momentary regression has proven his character and has made him a more endearing story.

Deadspin stamps a Scarlet Letter upon Hamilton's chest

Deadspin, a surprisingly witty blog, was given photos revealing Josh Hamilton crushing it with several girls in January. The blog chose to post the photos of Josh's drunken escapades, fully knowing the repercussions of it's actions. Without a doubt, these photos needed to be released, Josh Hamilton's life has been an open book and he had to face his mistakes.

These photos most likely were released by the girls he terrorized with that night, and this source also revealed that Josh had asked at some point in the night for cocaine. However, it's important to note that there was no mention of infidelity.

Hamilton faces the allegations

Hamilton addressed his mistake the same day the photos were released. He took full responsibility for his actions, and admitted that he thought he could handle just one drink, but unfortunately just one drink for Josh ends up becoming 10 to 12 drinks. The overlying theme of his apology was that he is only "human," he admitted the onus is squarely placed on his own shoulders, and that is exactly what an apology should be like.

His apology was open and unrequited, so truthful it was bizarre to hear coming from an athlete. In a world where public figures are guarded and use wordplay to hide their deceit from the public, Josh refused to lay the blame on anyone else. His honesty allows us to look at what really happened; he has an addiction he struggles with every day and he made a mistake; he drank and had what looked like to be a good time. There seems to be no sign of adultery, and his wife has already forgiven him for what he has done.

His story is more inspirational now than it was before, he is in a constant struggle with his demons and these photos show that he has had only one bad day over a course of several years. The man faces more temptation every day than Eve at a Jamba Juice, the fact that he has had only bad day since his recovery and his willingness to admit this fact displays to the public that the man isn't just "human" as he proclaims, he is superhuman.

His wife and his teammates have forgiven him, and his God happens to be a forgiving guy too, I think it's time for the rest of us to forgive him as well.