Josh Hamilton
- Thread starter CrimsonCowboy
- Start date
UNCBlue012
Well-known member
I actually really like Josh Hamilton, so this sucks. He seems like a pretty good dude.
Braves1976
It's OVER 5,000!
Yea, hopefully he can get himself back on track away from the drugs.
Braves1976
It's OVER 5,000!
Well said!
zbhargrove
Well-known member
What an ignorant a**hole post. Whether you choose to believe it or not, drug addiction is a legitimate disease and a nasty one. Its not something you can just turn on and off with a switch. When I was in rehab, many of the others there had been in other programs... sometimes 6 or 7 times. With relapses in the double digits. When these people are clear headed and sober, they are some of the most delightful people you would ever come across. No one wants to ever go back to using, but unfortunately, we all go back to the same friends... same family members... same circumstances in life. I was lucky because I was able to completely cut EVERYONE off and move away to a new place with new positive influences. Most do not have that luxury. And BECAUSE Hamilton is a millionaire, you can bet he has a TON of terrible influences around him daily... its also very stressful to be constantly in the public/media eye. If anything, Hamilton's circumstances make it MUCH EASIER to relapse than the average person trying to get clean. Sometimes it takes relapsing 10 times... sometimes it takes one... sometimes it takes completely hitting rock bottom and becoming homeless... but I don't think Hamilton would give two sh*ts if you sympathize with him or not... and its definitely not for your judgmental a** to condemn the man.
The one time I relapsed... I went immediately to my wife, confessed, and got back into counseling. If I had wanted to hide it, no one else would have ever known... but I knew that would be against my program and I'd have to live with that failure... but I guess you may as well call me a liar as well. I may sound angry, but its because I am... because I HAVE lived it and you're an arrogant prick who knows dick about this issue. Your attitude is EXACTLY what's wrong with a large part of our society and one of the main stumbling blocks to actually helping the problem. You're not an addict, so why do you give a FCK, right?
cajunrevenge
Well-known member
I would be highly disappointed if MLB disciples him for relapsing and he confessed of his own free will. This has nothing to do with MLB and everything to do with his well being as a person.
I'm sorry, but money has very little to do with it...other than it being readily available. You have to understand addiction. It never goes away.
Great post... Just know you have support here.
jpx7
Very Flirtatious, but Doubts What Love Is.
I agree; and, moreover, I think this is actually a pretty good opportunity for MLB to make a clear statement, through their actions, that they take addiction seriously—meaning that they are punitive with their response, but supportive. Demonstrating that they can be a resource for players in need—and not just something the MLBPA fights with every few years when a CBA comes up for renewal—would be a refreshing posture for the league, with something along the lines Dalyn suggested being a good start.
zbhargrove
Well-known member
Thanks... I'm one of the lucky ones... I have a fantastic support system. Its been 9 years, and while I don't ever like to say I "beat" my addiction... I am very comfortable with where I am in a completely changed life. Definitely took a few failures to get there, though.
While I sympathize with the disease (father was an addict and I grew up with it), I do think he should be punished. Confessing shouldn't avoid punishment and I think that sets a bad example.
Im guessing that he didn't confess on his free will bc I believe as part of his agreement to come back, he would be tested 3x per week. I believe this is his second relapse since returning. I hope MLB is supportive of his disease, but they can be supportive while not allowing him to play. Besides, his treatment is far more important than baseball.
Dalyn
Fredi Gonzalez Supporter
It would also open the door for the new commissioner to acknowledge gambling as an addiction and allow Pete Rose back into baseball.
bravesnumberone
Well-known member
Ditto to what everyone has said here.
I don't understand at all the argument that he has money and resources available to him to prevent ever relapsing. Doesn't work that way at all. How many unbelievably talented musicians, actors, etc. have we lost to drug addiction?
The picture earlier in the thread says it all. Take a multimillion-dollar baseball star like Hamilton, and he's going to get exposed to an awful lot of bad things. I've known people and had friends with substance-abuse problems, but never gone through it myself, so I'm not in a position to say what it's really like. I can only imagine a person under a microscope like that and constantly in the public eye has a lot of **** to deal with anyway, even without a disease like drug addiction lingering.
Hamilton was a great story when he first came roaring back, so I really hope he gets back on track and has a strong support system. The hell with baseball at this point, but I hope he can continue to be a part of the game going forward and that MLB will be supportive. It's a chance for the sport to really be progressive on this front.
I don't understand at all the argument that he has money and resources available to him to prevent ever relapsing. Doesn't work that way at all. How many unbelievably talented musicians, actors, etc. have we lost to drug addiction?
The picture earlier in the thread says it all. Take a multimillion-dollar baseball star like Hamilton, and he's going to get exposed to an awful lot of bad things. I've known people and had friends with substance-abuse problems, but never gone through it myself, so I'm not in a position to say what it's really like. I can only imagine a person under a microscope like that and constantly in the public eye has a lot of **** to deal with anyway, even without a disease like drug addiction lingering.
Hamilton was a great story when he first came roaring back, so I really hope he gets back on track and has a strong support system. The hell with baseball at this point, but I hope he can continue to be a part of the game going forward and that MLB will be supportive. It's a chance for the sport to really be progressive on this front.
cajunrevenge
Well-known member
Thinking about this for a bit, what happens when he isn't playing anymore. He will have a **** load of money and free time. If he can't stop from relapsing when he has 25 million on the line I don't imagine retirement will go well for him.
Jsebe10, you say that experienced first hand what drug addiction can do. Maybe you should explain your comments.
For those of you who are battling addiction, I want to thank you for staying in the battle. Hang in there.
But, but, but it does!!!
Whitney Houston, Ike Turner, Chris Farley, River Phoenix, Len Bias, John Belushi, and Elvis Presley were all able to buy their way out of cocaine addiction.
Ted Kennedy, Jacqueline Kennedy Onasis, Paul Newman, Patrick Swayze, Michael Crichton, Peter Jennings, Bob Marley, Dennis Hopper, Alec Guinness (yes, Obi-Wan himself), and Farrah Fawcett all bought their way out of cancer. And of course you had such well-paid athletes like Babe Ruth and Harmon Killebrew as well as other noted baseball men like Casey Stengel and Hubert H. Humphrey that had so many excellent resources available that made their cancers just disappear.
Wait, you mean all that DIDN'T happen???
It appears that Commissioner Manfred is going to make Josh's suspension light: ~25 games. This is the EXACT course of action I think many more qualified people than those of us here would recommend. Everyone's goal is to HELP Josh, not punish him. Going overboard and trying to make an example of players battling addiction has proven fruitless time and time again in the past. The message you want to send to kids and story you hope is eventually told is that with a lot of help, understanding, and compassion from others around him and in the game that he finally gains enough control over himself to fight those urges off and help his team and others by fighting the fight.
I simply don't understand why everybody doesn't agree with jsebe10 - MLB absolutely ought to walk away from all those pampered and coddled players who helped turn baseball into a $9 billion industry. The hell with...
Dwight Gooden, Fergie Jenkins, Tim Raines, Paul Molitor, Darryl Strawberry, Dave Parker, Keith Hernandez, Willie Wilson, Pedro Guerrero, Darrell Porter, Vida Blue, J. R. Richard, Gary Matthews, and many others should simply have been tossed aside and left to fend for themselves - MLB would be so much better off if that would've happened.
His social status also makes the temptation infinitely stronger.
jsebe10
Well-known member
My drug addict father decided to get coked up one night and muder my mother in front of me and my brothers. I've got two brothers addicted to drugs and one that got wet one night and hung himself. So yes, it may have been an ahole post but I don't sympathize with anyone EVER that has struggled with drugs, much less a person that gets paid millions doing what he loves to do.
That's awesome. My Dad was an alcoholic....so I know how hard it is. My motto is...one foot in front of the other...that's all anyone can ask of you.