When John

Rocker, the David Dukes of Major League Baseball, had his

penalty for being stupid out loud shortened, Baseball

Commissioner Bud Selig said this, "I disagree with

the decision. It does not reflect any understanding of

our sensitivity to the important social responsibility

that baseball, an institution that has endured for more

than 100 years, has to the public. It completely ignores

the sensibilities of those groups of people maligned by

Mr. Rocker and disregards the player's position as a role

model for children."

Jeesh, what a hypocrite.

Bud Selig, one of the many leaders of the most

irresponsible, reckless, immoral, selfish institution in

the free world - professional sports - should

be ashamed of himself. How ironic he uses the same free

speech to openly speak out against a man who just

happened to get in hot water for using his free speech.

What Rocker said is hardly

defensible, but why should it be punishable? It ranks

towards the bottom of the pack of the bad things that the

boys of summer do, or the boys of winter or any of the

multimillionaire boys of sport. Bud Selig is laughable in

his estimation that sports figures are still seen as role

models for children. Sports figures have long been good

for nothing except to be used as a bad example of greed

and being the ultimate spoiled brats.

Sure, the marketability of

professional athletes cannot be denied and the interest

of youth in their actions is overwhelming. But, so are an

abundance of other negative images for children. The

influence of professional athletes on our kids is more

like that of hard-core rap or rock music, the tobacco,

alcohol or pornography industries.

Kids have an interest in

all those things, too, but that doesn't mean it is a good

thing. I am not trying to disparage any particular pro

athlete, because there are plenty of great role models

there, but I am talking about the reputation of the whole

organization.

It would be like going to a

brothel and saying, "I met a lady-of-the-night who

had a heart of gold." No matter how many you found

like that, you would be hard-pressed to improve the

reputation of the institution.

Commissioner Selig notes

that baseball is honorable because it has "endured

for more than 100 years." That is a drop in the

bucket compared with the longevity of the world's oldest

profession. Selig and the commissioners of the rest of

the leagues need to see themselves like this, not like

they are a bunch of John Wayne heroes swaggering about.

Just because people watch, don't get all high and mighty

and think it is because you have any honor about you at

all. We just don't have anything better to do.

John Rocker and the

"John Rocker Incident" are two totally

different issues. John Rocker the person was swallowed up

a long time ago. The "John Rocker Incident" is

an example of individuals of professional sports,

thinking they are better than others, worth the money

they get paid and totally bulletproof. He is a product of

the system, not an enemy of it. And now he, like so many

others, has to rise above the monster that big money and

big fame have created.

[Visit Billy Murphy on

the Internet at https://billymurphy.homepage.com .]