Written by Chris O’Dell
With the majority of the Texas Rangers roster assembled in the clubhouse earlier this month, manager Ron Washington admitted to his players that he had made a tremendous mistake. The Texas skipper informed his team that he had taken cocaine at some point during the first half of the 2009 season and failed a random drug test.
The MLB-administered test was a urinalysis that is part of a testing regimen for non-playing personnel. It was implemented in 2008 by recommendation of the Mitchell Report.
Knowing he would most likely test positive, Washington chose to voluntarily inform MLB about his drug use and also warned team executives about the situation. He becomes the first known manager in baseball history to test positive for cocaine or any recreational drug.
However, the tale of the high-profile downfall of sports personalities is quickly beginning to sound like a broken record. Not unlike the entire Tiger Woods soap opera fiasco or the Michael Vick dog fighting scene, Ron Washington is yet another story of a sports personality choosing a wrong life path.
Despite damages to reputations, endorsements, role models and future contracts, each of the above-mentioned men also have the chance to redeem their once-respected reputations, and it all starts with getting back to the games they love.
After serving nearly two years in prison, Michael Vick was released from jail and signed a contract with the Philadelphia Eagles to become the team’s backup quarterback. He worked his way onto the field in a variety of ways last season and now has several teams interested in trading for the services of the former Hokie. More importantly, Vick has kept his name out of any negative news headlines since his release from prison.
Like Vick did last season, Woods will soon make his comeback at the Masters and, in the process, will try to put the past year behind him. The sport’s best golfer has been participating in workshops to help deal with his adulterous behavior and plans to rebuild his marriage with his wife Elin.
Although several major companies, such as Gatorade, have dropped Woods from any endorsements, the 14-time major champion will soon be back in full swing with the chance to make people forget all about his past transgressions.
With baseball season now upon us, Washington will soon try to put his positive drug test behind him and return to the game he has played and coached his entire life. Things will be made easier for him after the Rangers organization backed their manager and decided to keep Washington in the dugout for the upcoming season.
The team could have fired its manager and begun searching for a new skipper mid-season last year. However, team president Nolan Ryan and general manager Jon Daniels showed the kind of mercy that is rare in the business of sports these days.
“I told [Jon Daniels] and [Nolan Ryan] about my shameful behavior, and I offered them my resignation,” Washington said. “Remarkably, these two men, after a lot of thought and prayer, allowed me to stay here through last season.”
Even though nobody in the world of sports would have faulted the Texas Rangers for firing Washington, the Rangers chose not to conform to the idea that one mistake means automatic job loss. They stuck by their manager and have shown him the loyalty that they hope he will show the team in the coming years. The decision comes as a surprising but positive suggestion that people make mistakes but can also be forgiven for those mistakes.
“I am not here to make excuses,” Washington said. “I’ve learned about myself personally, and I recognize that this episode was an attempt to dodge personal anxieties and personal issues that I needed to confront. I’m so sorry for what I did.”
The Texas Rangers open the 2010 season at home against the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday, April 5. When the team hits the field for the first of 162 games in the new season, Washington will have the support of not only his bosses but also his players.
“We support him 100 percent,” third-baseman Michael Young said.
