Lester Comes Clean - Beckett & Lackey Remain Silent
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
So Jon Lester has admitted to drinking “rally beers” in the Red Sox clubhouse this season. What about Josh Beckett and John Lackey? Their silence speaks volumes.
While Lester tried to downplay the beer drinking, he did admit to the Boston Globe that, “it was the wrong thing to do.”
So where are the comments from Josh Beckett and John Lackey? Every hour of every day that goes by without so much as a single word from wither pitcher only paints them in a more negative light.
A little perspective here. It’s not as if drinking beer and eating fried chicken in the clubhouse is an outrageous offense. It’s not. However, it is a crime against the team and something that common sense would tell any pro athlete not to do.
Having said that, Beckett and Lackey could do themselves a big favor by simply admitting, like Lester, that it probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do. And, while they’re at it, they may even want to throw in that dreaded “s” word. You know? Sorry.
Pro athletes need to understand that public perception of them can be skewed quite easily and that public perception of them can be quite negative because of the amount of money they are paid to play a kid’s game.
But they also need to understand that they can put controversy quickly behind them and turn the public’s sentiment toward them from negative to positive quickly by using one simple word – sorry!
Look at the steroid era in Major League Baseball. Andy Pettitte seemed genuinely contrite when he admitted to using HGH. The former Yankees’ lefthander is generally thought of quite well by the fans who watch and the media that covers the sport.
Conversely, Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds are two players who have refused to acknowledge any wrong doing and the public perception of the two former stars couldn’t be worse.
Should Beckett and Lackey choose to remain silent, they will suffer the same fate. In fact, there is a good chance that both will be booed loudly at the Red Sox home-opener in 2012 should either of them still be on the roster.
Maybe Beckett and Lackey thought that they could avoid guilt by either refusing to talk about it or issuing a flat out denial. Too late! Lester outed them in his apology saying, “consider us a unit when it comes to these accusations.”
Then again, maybe both pitchers aren’t sorry for their actions. Maybe they feel like there’s nothing to apologize for. They would be wrong in thinking that way.
For Josh Beckett and John Lackey, there are now 3 options available to them. They can apologize and put all of this foolishness behind them where it belongs. They can hope to be traded in which case they may never have to face the wrath of Red Sox Nation. Or they can continue to keep doing what they’re doing and remain silent and hope and pray that this thing goes away. The problem is that it won’t go away. Red Sox Nation will remember this and will want their pound of flesh. And I’m talking some Popeye’s fried chicken greasy flesh. If you know what I mean?
Follow us on Pinterest Google + Facebook Twitter See It Read It