As the Giants walked home, so did the baseball fans. The season ended and the baseball fans are now awaiting the 2015 season. Yet there is still much news circulating around the MLB during the offseason. One of the most attention-grabbing news concerns the return of Alex Rodriguez in the 2015 season.
There have been many controversies surrounding this athlete in past years. From 2001 to 2003, he had been taking performance-enhancing drugs, which violated MLB’s Drug Policy. He admitted his action during an interview in 2007 as he shook with fear and spoke the truth. However, even after speaking the truth, in 2013, Rodriguez again conducted the same behavior that he had exhibited previously. While recovering from a hip injury, Rodriguez took part in the Biogenesis baseball scandal in which several baseball players obtained human growth hormones from the clinic Biogenesis of America. Along with many others, Rodriguez was suspended for the entire 2014 season.
The question is: Would it be ideal for Rodriguez to play for the New York Yankees?
Peter Matarrazo’ 15, an avid baseball fan and a Ridge Varsity Baseball player, coherently explained his viewpoint: “I believe that Rodriguez should be allowed to play for the Yankees as of now. He acquiesced to his suspension and served it fully. Also, he is working hard for the 2015 season and it would be great to watch him play. I think he deserves a second chance.”
Not everyone agrees with Peter however. Devin Stieglitz’ 18 shares his views on Rodriguez: “Absolutely not. Rodriguez should not play for the Yankees ever. He never admitted to his mistakes for taking the PED’s. He also never realized his actions. In 2013, Rodriguez continued his past erroneous actions by purchasing PED’s…again. He is a misleading figure that I disagree with.”
Annabelle Pesarchick ‘18 agrees with Stieglitz’s viewpoint: “No. He is a cheater. As the saying goes, once a cheater, always a cheater. Rodriguez never admitted to his blunders and he hurt the team’s reputation.”
It is clear that many people at Ridge have different viewpoints on Rodriguez’s return.
Chad Griffiths, an avid Yankees fan and math teacher at Ridge admits that he finds it “hard to watch Alex Rodriguez who knowingly violated many rules for more than a decade and continuously lied about it and tried to cover it up. Even recently, we learned that he did more dishonest things that further hurt his reputation. Professional athletes should be role models and I am disgusted at the image he currently presents to kids. Even as a die-hard Yankees fan, I do not support Rodriguez’s return in the 2015 season.”