It was the summer of 2003, I was playing for the Tampa Bay Rays and was having some pretty significant arm problems, but the issues I was having were in no way comparable to the troubles Major League Baseball as a whole was experiencing at the time. That was the first of many seasons where the use of performance-enhancing drugs, or PEDs, was front and center on an almost daily basis, with the character and careers of many of the game’s all-time greats being consistently called into question.
Many of the legendary players of that era were being constantly inundated with intense media and fan scrutiny while some were even subjected to congressional testimony and secret investigative committees. Perhaps none of these guaranteed first-ballot Hall of Famers (at least at the time) was under more fire than Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa. Daily, these two renowned power hitters were under an intense microscope of doubt loudly calling into question the manner in which each man had arrived at such unbelievable seasons over the previous several years.
I can recall watching this circus play out on a daily basis and feeling empathetic toward all of these icons as their legacies were being permanently tarnished, but perhaps the greatest level of empathy went out to Mark and Sammy. I’d been there. I’d been the concentrated focus of media and fan vitriol. I, too, had felt like a wounded wildebeest on the African plains trying desperately to stay alive against the relentless attack of ravenous hyenas attempting with all of their might to drag me into the dust and devour me. I had been there and knew what each man was going through, and my heart went out to them.
During that period of time many events stand out, but perhaps none more than an interview I saw a good friend of mine give on ESPN regarding Sosa and McGwire, which is the focus of this column. As I sat in the Tampa Bay Ray’s clubhouse one afternoon before a game, I turned my attention to an interview Gary Sheffield was giving. As always the interviewer was regurgitating all the typical questions of the day attempting to add more fuel to the growing forest fire surrounding PEDs in Major League Baseball, and Gary was doing his best to be as subdued as possible. But to this day, one particular answer he gave still makes me shake my head in amazement.
As I sat and listened, Gary was asked, “Who do you think is under more media scrutiny [as it relates to PEDs], Mark or Sammy”? Gary responded to the commentator, “I think Sosa is under much more scrutiny than Mark.” “Why is that?” asked the interviewer. It was at this point that Gary gave a response which to this day is so telling as it relates to racial tensions in this country. Gary looked directly into the ESPN camera and with a scowl firmly draped across his face rubbed his forearm in reference to the dark color of his skin.
In Gary’s mind the media – the same media that had crucified me for years and on some occasions still does today, the same media that has penned literally thousands of hate-filled articles in my “honor” as a result of comments I made that they have deemed bigoted – were now behaving in a bigoted, racist fashion toward Sammy Sosa. My only thought with a heavy eye role was, REALLY?!
But the sad thing for Gary, many individuals within the African-American community and for our country as a whole is that many have actually been indoctrinated to believe such a thing. Many who are marching in New York, protesting in Ferguson, Missouri, and elsewhere all over our nation have been brainwashed into understanding that they are innocent, hapless victims and that everyone else in this country in some way shape or form is out to get them. Even to Gary Sheffield, the mainstream (largely liberal) media, which had spent years making me their own personal punching bag because of comments made that were seen as racially offensive, had now become racists themselves.
Many in our great nation wonder when racial tension and unrest will cease to permeate so many facets of our society. Many wonder when the race-baiters, the sowers of dissension and strife, the Al Sharpton(s) and Louis Farrakhan(s) will stop indoctrinating many within the African-American community with a mindset that they are merely unfortunate victims of a society that consistently conspires against them.
Many wonder when a focus on personal responsibility will become the dominating theme that is promoted as the way to once and for all eradicate the racial discord that consistently plagues this country. I am close friends with many individuals in the African-American community that would never consider themselves a victim of anything. These are men and women who have come from stable (usually two-parent) households, have educated themselves, have worked hard and in doing so have become fruitful, productive members of their communities. They were raised to understand that you get out of life what you put into it and that no one owes you anything.
When racial unrest arises time and time again it usually involves a similar cast of characters. Individuals are generally involved that were not raised in the most stable of environments and often lack a necessary level of ethical and moral values. They generally did not place a high level of importance on education, which thereby affects their financial capabilities. These components will more than likely place the individual in unfavorable situations.
Had such an individual or that individual’s family placed more value on stability of family, on proper morals and ethics, on education and work ethic, perhaps that individual would no longer have to live in an area where crime is high and run-ins with police and other lawless individuals is inevitable.
I learned a long time ago to only spend my time focusing on things I have control of, which more often than not consists of my direct action and my direct action alone. Many in this country think that racial tension can be solved by regulating and mandating everything and everyone under the sun, while convincing individuals that the consequences to their behavior are always someone else’s fault and that they are merely innocent victims. Until that narrative changes and personal responsibility becomes the cornerstone of the discussion, racial tension in this country will never end.
Media wishing to interview John Rocker, please contact [email protected].
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