Mercy for Jose Canseco?

Mercy for Jose Canseco

I was writing a blog on whether Utah should be able to play in the BCS Championship as I was listening to the television on Jose Canseco. There was a discussion on ESPN about whether we should “believe him”.

I watched the segment today on how Jose Canseco felt sorry for what he did, in writing the book which eventually opened the flood games on steroids in baseball, and ended up tarnishing the names of some big players that would have been legends in the hall of fame. Anybody who knows about this stuff know what I am talking about.

The segment on ESPN showed Jose sitting on a bed, watching past videos of himself in his prime, and other players that would soon be rejected like they had the plague after the steroids era had been blown wide open. Canseco talks about why he wrote the book, and how he was upset at Major League Baseball. He also talks about how, after it was all over, he realized what a mistake it was. He said if he had the chance to talk to some of those guys whose careers he ruined, he would apologize.

The question asked to a couple of guys on ESPN was…do you believe him?

Now, let me make this clear before I continue…I don’t like Stephen A Smith…you can imagine that that “A” stands for because he clearly seems to be full of himself. So even though I am no big time sports journalist, I am a fan of the sport, and like anybody, we have our opinions. My opinion of him…he’s a jerk.

They asked Smith and another guy (not important) if they believed Jose Canseco. Both STRONGLY agreed that Jose is not worth believing. But here is the great hypocrisy that Stephen said. He said that he believes that EVERYBODY deserves a second chance…except him.

To me, this is one of the dumbest things you can say. If this country is about second chances, the GIVE a man a chance to prove himself. It is so amazing that the man who was directly responsible for the Major Baseball League changing the steroids and doping rules can be viewed as such a dirt bag. Stephen Smith also said that Jose was motivated by greed (or money). Here’s something maybe Smith never thought of…would YOU be sitting your hindparts on that set of ESPN if you weren’t getting paid? Would YOU be doing those shows for NBA on ESPN if you weren’t getting paid?

See, it seems that it’s ok for Stephen A Smith to bankroll money from ESPN for reporting news (which is the JOB of a reporter, not creating news or judging people) but for a former baseball player to voice his opinion and be honest about the cheating in the game is criminal.

Sometimes the sports media is so crooked in what they say and do. When all these thing broke out, guys on sports television kept saying that these baseball players ought to “just tell the truth”. They kept saying that “we are a forgiving country”. Where is all that talk now? Jose Canseco exposed cheating in professional sports, and say what you want about him, it needed to be said. If he did it to pay his bills, so what? Stephen A Smith will go on some tantrum like some spoiled brat and act like he’s giving a sermon, when all he is doing is talking louder than the other person. I saw how hard it was for the lady on ESPN to get a word in. Advice to Smith: you’re not right just because your mouth is bigger, you’re just more ignorant.

But having said all this, I don’t want to make it sound like Jose is without flaw. I mean, isn’t is kinda…timely that this comes out just before the World Series? And the segment was so scripted that he just might get nominated for an award. I mean, when I looked at it the first time, the first thing that went through my head was; this looked soooo scripted.

So you really would have to question his sincerity, and then wonder, what is Jose looking for? Does he have another book due out soon? It would not surprise me if he did.

So we’re left to answer this same question that they asked on ESPN. Do you believe Jose Canseco?

I understand that we are not talking about a saint here, but last I checked, nobody in sports, or ANYWHERE is a saint anyway (unless you play FOR the Saints…). To me, there is a fine line in sports writing or conversations and then judging another person as strongly as they did on ESPN.

Just as they can call Jose a scammer or opportunistic jerk, I can equally say that Stephen A Smith is a self-centered, loud mouth idiot. The problem is that people seem to like “shock jocks” like Stephen A Smith and Skip Bayless. They go well together…like peanut butter and mud.

If you asked me if I believed him, I might say I hold reservations, but I also try to blog in away that still gives respect to people. To me, humanity ALWAYS comes first, and if a guy screws up, ok so he screwed up. No need to crucify him every week at 8pm on your favorite local station. We’re talking about a human being folks, and whether you like him or not, you still have to see that. I am no big fan of Al Davis, but he is still human. I have my sports opinions, but I try to keep it sincere. But apparently the Good Lord sent Stephen A Smith to earth to proclaim the judgment of other mortals that fall short.

Note to Stephen A…judge not, lest ye be judged….

Anyway, I may have reservations about Jose Canseco, but every man deserves a second chance…EVERY man, regardless of the bone headed things Smith says…