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| 2010 AL MVP Josh Hamilton |
First off I want to say that addiction isn't even kind of funny. The chemical dependance on substances is tragic and the ability to resist it with even a measure of success should be applauded. The pressure Josh Hamilton must have gone through to remain sober as long as he did is immeasurable and shouldn't be looked down on.
All that being said, the mistake he made in a bar in Dallas on Monday should be criticized. The details regarding Hamilton's relapse are pretty foggy and probably will remain that way because it looks like it came with relatively little scandal. Something that is known is that at one point his teammate Ian Kinsler stopped by the bar to discourage Hamilton from further drinking. The fact that Hamilton was cognizant enough of the wrongfulness of his decision making to let Kinsler know what was up indicates a lot. Scandal or not, the sheer awfulness of this decision can't go unmentioned.
Seeing as this is at least loosely about sports I'll keep my opinions within that scope. In terms of an athlete's contract, this couldn't have come at a much worse time for Josh. Internal debates within the Rangers organization, once seemingly split down the middle, likely shifted decisively in one direction about what's going to happen with the 2010 MVP. It simply can't make sense for an already strained franchise to invest heavily in a player who's afflictions are already laid out for them. The "three or four drinks" Hamilton ingested in a "weak moment" may have cost him millions and millions of dollars. I hope for his sake that the fan base and newspapers recognize that as punishment enough so he can focus on his recovery. Godspeed!
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