Jose Canseco’s latest desperate attempt to sell books has gone too far. Fans and media alike must stop taking the allegations of individuals such as Canseco as absolute truth. In a desperate attempt to increase sales of his new book “Vindicated: Big Names, Big Liars, and The Battle to Save Baseball”, set to be released on Monday, Jose Canseco has alleged that both Alex Rodriguez and Magglio Ordonez have used steroids.
According to freelance writer Joe Lavin, who somehow obtained a pre-released copy of the book, with the request of Alex Rodriguez, Canseco introduced Rodriguez to a know supplier of steroids.
Canseco then proceeds to tell a tale of how Rodriguez tried to seduce his wife.
Both allegations are in a book where Canseco states how much he hates Alex Rodriguez.
Canseco also alleges that Magglio Ordonez has used steroids. This comes after Canseco allegedly asked the Detroit outfielder to invest in a movie he was promoting in return for his name being kept out of Canseco’s upcoming book.
As if Conseco’s allegations held any weight to begin with, his new bizarre and unfounded allegations have taken his credibility down yet another notch.
Normally people would take the allegations of someone with as little creditability as Canseco with a grain of salt. They are allegations by a man who has lied in the past and who has a lot to gain financially by a popular release of his new book.
But in the circus otherwise known as the `MLB Steroid Scandal’, groundless allegations seem to be taken as the truth.
When a player is named in an allegation made by just about anyone, that allegation is written about and spoken about as if it were a cold hard fact.
If you were to step back and look at the whole steroid scandal that has unfolded over the past winter, you will see that this entire situation has been driven almost solely by the allegations of men who have repeatedly been proven as liars and who have had a lot to gain by making these allegations.
Kirk Rodomski and Brian McNamee both avoided serious jail time in return for their testimony/allegations. Canseco is looking for a monetary return with his outrageous allegations through increased sales of his upcoming book.
Other than possibly Andy Pettite, we are taking the allegations of men, who have sketchy pasts at best, as the truth.
Alex Rodriguez’s `speechless’ reaction to Canseco’s claim is about the only reaction you can expected of him.
If Rodriguez vehemently denies Canseco’s claims, he will look guilty. If he ignores the claims he will also look guilty by not addressing the issue. `Speechless’ is just about the only reaction a person in Rodriguez’s situation can have.
Until fans and the media alike stop interpreting the allegations of men such as Kirk Rodomski, Brian McNamee and Jose Canseco as the absolute truth, we will continue to be stuck in a situation where allegations, no matter who they are made by, are immediately considered truth. This type of situation makes it very difficult for the players and MLB to move on from the steroid era once and for all.
2 replies on “Jose Canseco Has Gone Too Far”
You are optimistic Thinking that baseball can this quickly and easily move pass the steroid issue is a bit näive or, at the very best, unrealistically hopeful thinking. This is a shadow that will hang over the sport for a number of years and the best thing the sport can do is to come out of the closet and address it as openly and honestly as it can and hope its legitimate stars will eventually bring the full attention back to the game.
You are clearly biased in this and that is alright for your piece, but unless you know and have speaked to either player personally you are just as influenced by whatever stream of information you choose to follow as the rest of us and you cannot really know which player is giving us the more honest rendition of their story.
A Sad Broken Shell of a Man Canseco reminds me of O.J. Simpson. While Canseco never allegedly killed anyone, he has become a media spectacle with his books about steroid usage in baseball. Canseco had two choices if he had this information: 1. Go to Bud Selig and George Mitchell and state that he had information about Alex Rodriguez and Magglio Ordonez, or 2. Write a book defaming two stars of the game who are, thus far, without reproach concerning steroids and make money off of creating scandal. It doesn’t surprise me in this era of entertainment, with the paparazzi getting hundreds and thousands of dollars for pictures of celebrities in not-so-flattering situations. But to take this steroid buzz for a ride is sad. Jose Canseco is an attention-seeking personality, and he needs the spotlight to survive. Much like a lizard needs a heat lamp, Canseco needs the bright lights of TV cameras and media attention to make him happy. In any event, Canseco did this purely for monetary gain and he has indeed gone too far.