When I was thinking about this post, at first I thought I had two separate stories: Rod Blagojevich bringing his children to court on the day that closing arguments were to be made in their dad’s corruption trial. The other story was about Cubs pitcher Carlos Zambrano apologizing to his teammates on ESPN before making the apology in person. I thought they were two separate stories, but they really are both about incredible egos and making things worse.
In the case of Blagojevich; he has been convicted in the court of public opinion, and while that might not be enough to send him to the ex-governor’s wing of the prison with former Governor George Ryan, he has shown that nothing is beneath his slimy self-servingness.
All along, he has said that he would go on the witness stand to proclaim his innocence, meanwhile, he and foul mouthed wife Patti (aka “Lady Macbeth’), have appeared on television shows, radio, public speeches; keeping his name and face on the front pages and amassing as much money as they can (which follows what he did while governor). But, when push came to shove, he didn’t testify, and his defense team offered no defense, saying that the prosecution had not proved their case. It may work, but if not, look for an appeal on the basis of attorney ineptitude. One thing was obvious, the defense attorneys did not want Blagojevich subject to cross examination; based on his personality and big mouth, who knows what he might have confessed to (conspiracy, extortion, the Jimmy Hoffa disappearance, the Lindbergh baby kidnapping and murder case?).
But the latest stunt, bringing his two daughters into court in a blatant attempt to gain sympathy from the jury was pathetic and sad. To drag ones kids out like cheap props in a bad movie shows that this man will do anything to protect his own skin, even with them having the chance to hear prosecutors tell their side of the story about their father. Personally, I wouldn’t want my children anywhere near the courtroom if I were in such a situation. I would be embarrassed for the Indignant Children to even see me being prosecuted for a crime (yet another deterrent against jail along with an aversion to being anally raped, if one was needed).
Then, we have Carlos Zambrano, the man who threw his teammates under the bus after he surrendered 4 runs against the White Sox including a 3-run homer. He was suspended by the club; underwent anger management therapy; then went to Des Moines to pitch for the Iowa Cubs, and during that time, he did not speak with the media. Fine, that’s his right., but everybody agreed that he needed to address the team and apologize first, hopefully when he rejoined the big club this upcoming weekend.
Instead, “Big Z” made a tearful apology on ESPN, instead of in person to the team like he should have done. This has gotten him blasted by writers from both major newspapers and, while no one commented publicly, left a cold feeling in the Cub clubhouse. So now, Zambrano has further alienated his teammates and knowledgeable fans, and will probably ending up issuing an apology for the first apology.
I realize that politicians and professional athletes have monumental egos – it comes with the territory and is probably essential to them reaching the heights of their chosen professions. But in sports, especially a team sport like baseball, the support and camaraderie of your teammates is probably second only to your family. You play together; you travel together; you spend nine months of every year together. So, togetherness is important to success. Seldom do you see a team win if the players all hate one another. And children are the most important thing in the world to most people, just not Blagojevich. That he will pimp out his kids to try to save his own skin says it all about this vile little man.
Professional athletes and politicians have reputations that are just above auto salesmen and serial killers, but these two are among the worst of their bunch.