Generally, A-Rod did very well under tough circumstances and as long as no contradicting information comes to light, he accomplished his goal of putting this behind him – at least in terms of legitimately being able to say he has addressed it and decline further questions on this topic. (The hot pursuit of the unnamed cousin I’m sure has already begun).
He answered the questions regarding the how, what and where details in a fairly satistfying way. He took more than 25 questions and generally was candid and open. His emotion about his teammates seemed genuine.
The Taylor Hooton Foundation partnership is smart and I’m sure, sincere. More details and emphasis on that would have been helpful.
Two points could have been made more effectively. When asked if it was cheating, he evaded, repeating the “young and stupid” framework he frequently defaulted to. Saying, “we knew we weren’t taking tic- tacs” was a flippant way of admitting he knew it was cheating. People are inclined to forgive their heroes when they admit they made a mistake. A more direct response to the cheating question would have been compelling in its display of humility – and more importantly, would have been more believable.
Finally, on the question regarding his message for parents, he said he was sorry and that he hoped kids didn’t make the same mistake. A much more compelling and effective response would have been to say, “look at what my bad judgment cost me: my credibility, the respect of the fans and players of the game I love and now all the accomplishments of my career are called into question – all because of a mistake I made. Don’t do it – it’s not worth it.” And that would have been a good launching pad to discuss his partnership with the Taylor Hooton Foundation to help kids not make the same mistake he did.
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