According to most available sources (those being the usual gang of anonymous, not authorized to officially speak, but familiar with the goings-on, sound familiar?) Alex Rodriguez appears to be faced with a dilemma.
If such "reliable" sources can be believed, Major League Baseball is threatening A-Rod with a liftime ban, ala Pete Rose, if Rodriguez fights whatever punishment/suspension MLB is about to slap him with over his ties to the now defunct Biogenesis "anti-aging" (see PEDs) clinic in Florida. Those same sources seem to think a rather lengthy suspension, perhaps 200 games, is what MLB is considering.
So just for kicks, put yourself in A-Rod's shoes. What would you do? Once a super-star, you've recently turned 38 years old and are fully aware your production on the field has been in serious decline for the last several years. But the Yankees still owe you about $100 million in guaranteed money as long as you don't flat-out quit.
If your're looking at a roughly 200 game suspension scenario, you realize that will wipe out the rest of this season, likely all of 2014, and you'll be pushing 40 before you can put on the Yankee pinstripes again. In the meantime, a couple years away from the game are likely to erase whatever skills you still have left. In other words, even accepting such a suspension is likely akin to kissing your baseball career goodbye anyway, though you'd still be able to collect mega-bucks from the Yankees for a few more years -- not that you need it -- because you're already incredibly wealthy.
Right now, it appears Bud Selig and his henchmen are giving you a choice. If you resist, a death sentence will be imposed and carried out immediately. If you accept their arbitrary punishment, in effect you'll still be getting a death sentence on your baseball career, but it will take a couple more years as you twist in the wind and see your name, career stats, and reputation shredded by the media. Tick, tick, tick. What to do indeed?
Incredibly, there's a clause in the collective bargaining agreement between MLB and the players' union that forbids either of them from disclosing the details as to why a player was suspended for "violating" the drug policy. Translation? Whatever happens, it will be like one of those secret courts that have been semi-outed in recent years. Nobody will ever know the whys and wherefores, it's just a done deal. Case closed. I can understand this from MLB's standpoint, but what kind of players' union in their right mind would ever sign on to such a thing? Aren't they supposed to represent these guys? Demand full (public) disclosure of conclusive evidence before allowing one of their own to be convicted and punished? What the hell is going on here?
Given those choices, if I'm Alex Rodriguez I stand firm and fight. At this point there's really nothing to lose. Stare down MLB and see if they indeed follow through on their threat of a lifetime ban.
If they do, there's certainly no shortage of shrewd attorneys that will be chomping at the bit to take on such a case in real courts. For that matter, despite his considerable wealth, it likely wouldn't cost A-Rod a dime for such legal prowess. Such a case would have the potential of rocking MLB like it's never been rocked before. Yes, it would no doubt take years to wind it's way through the judicial system, up to and including the Supreme Court, but such a ruling, if favorable, could well be in the billions of dollars. Tell me some very smart attorneys wouldn't take that on a commission basis, and I'll tell you you're wrong. They'd be all over it.
Thing is, if it came to real courts, all this secretive nonsense would quickly go out the window. Everybody would have to show their hand. Depositions under oath would be taken and the discovery process, full disclosure, and all of that would kick in. And then people would be forced to testify and be cross-examined. All the evidence, or lack thereof, would eventually be laid bare for the world to see. Can you imagine how messy that might get?
So yeah, if I'm A-Rod, I look MLB in the eye and say "no deal". There's no criminal charges in play and I've already got enough money to last me 10 lifetimes in the lap of luxury. I would further tell them that if you attempt to end my career, you just opened a Pandora's box and I hope you're ready for whatever pops out. Because whatever it is, it ain't gonna be pretty.
It will be interesting to see which choice Alex Rodriguez decides to make. Even more interesting if the immovable object winds up meeting the irresistible force. Something's got to give.
We'll see.....
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