Alex Rodriguez: Steroid Use (2014)

Controversy

Alex Rodriguez

If you are somewhat into sports you have probably at least heard of the Alex Rodriguez case involving performing enhancing drugs (PED'S) and Major League Baseball. On January 12, 2014 Alex Rodriguez was suspended for the entire 2014 season and the post season that follows for illicit drug use without testing positive under the union-negotiated testing system. Rodriguez was one of the games top players and was a sure fire pick to eventually break the all-time home run record, he was also the highest paid player in the game. The thing that Rodriguez was actually suspended for was violating the players Basic Agreement under baseball management’s right to police the game and do what is in its best interests. The way that people found out about Alex's long time drug use was from Biogenesis which is an actual lab that developed drugs for athletes as well as convincing testimony from other people. Rodriguez originally appealed the case saying that it was embarrassing to him and his family that the MLB was trying to do this to him but the arbitrator eventually gave him the verdict that he would be suspended for the entire 2014 season because he not only cheated but he also obstructed efforts in trying to enforce intensified anti-drug measures in the league. Some people may argue that it has become "part of the game" and that might be so but a study done in early January claims that 65% of people agree that being caught with steroids should automatically strip them of being inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. A-rod continues to give the courts a hard time and says that he will continue to fight them. On top of that he is trying to force the Yankees to let him into spring training with them so that he can train with the team; they still also owe him 60 million dollars not including this upcoming 2014 season. On a side note the New York Yankees knew exactly what they were getting themselves into when they gave him that huge contract in 2009.

Individualism
Individualism basically is the individual aspect of the person meaning that the focus is on those individuals’ beliefs and goals rather than a group or team. They promote the individuals desires and self-interest as opposed to being group oriented and really focusing on that individual. From an individualist point of view they would only look at Alex Rodriguez and not the outside sources surrounding him. Because Alex is appealing the court an individualist would agree with this because they believe in self-interest and by him doing this he is trying as best as he can to fulfill this. One can also say that by him doing steroids it was a form of self-interest because it made him better at his job and he was looking out for himself and not caring what anyone else thought. You can even argue that Alex Rodriguez is an individualist because of the things he has done so far. For example, he is going against the courts even though that it will be very difficult but he is looking out for his own good and will try anything in his power to make sure that he will happy at the end of the day. n the other hand the New York Yankees need to take into consideration their self-interest by asking themselves if keeping A-rod even after this whole suspension will be good for the franchise as a whole. Before this mess happened the Yankees felt pretty good about having him on their team knowing even then that he was hooked to steroids in some way. But if and when he comes back I do not think it’s the most ethical idea to keep him around simply because it will shine negative spotlights on the organization and also unwanted attention will come along with that.

Utilitarianism

National Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum in Cooperstown, NY

Utilitarianism states that by doing what is morally right will benefit the most amount of people and generate the greatest amount of happiness. In other words doing what is right should be placed above all else. So referring back to the A-rod case the best cost and benefit situation for him would be to do his time away from baseball like they have sentenced him to do and after that is all over try to change and really show everyone that he has changed and he has suffered the consequences therefore he should get another shot. This would benefit him greatly simply because he will be able to finally just play again instead of being looked at as this monster everyone portrays him as today. Obviously it will not be smooth sailing at first but eventually people will get used to the idea of him playing again. In the New York Yankees point of view for the cost and benefit situation I believe that they will benefit from releasing him simply because it will take some of the spotlight off of them because they already get a lot as it is so by doing this it will not be their problem anymore. From a cost perspective they are still required to pay him 60 million dollars which is a good chunk of change but nonetheless they would have to pay him if he stayed there anyways. Being in a utilitarian point of view this is what is morally right not only for A-rod but for the New York Yankees as a team as well.

Kantianism

Kantianism says that all actions are performed with some type of overlying principle. Going off of this Kant himself believed that everyone is a fundamentally rational being. He went on to say that any action that is not rational cannot in any way be a good act no matter what that act may be. The formula of humanity says that a rational person should never be treated as a means but as an end. This can apply to this particular case because even though people may think that A-rod is wrong for what he is doing he still deserves the equal right to express what he thinks is right. Alex Rodriguez and the New York Yankees id not abide by the Kantian principles because they did not act rationally at all. For example, Alex should have come clean right away when he actually did steroids and the Yankees were not being rational when signing him because all though they knew he would help the team they also knew his past and that that would outweigh his achievements in the end. The things that need to be done in order to fulfill the Kantian principles is for the Yankees to discard of A-rod as soon as possible because it is not good for their persona so therefore getting rid of him will help them to establish the Kantian principles.

Virtue Theory

Rodriguez admitting to using performance-enhancing
drugs for baseball

The four main virtue theories that are looked at heavily are courage, honesty, temperance and justice. Comparing these to the New York Yankees front office aka the decision makers I believe that they have some of these qualities but not entirely all of them. What I mean by this is that they do have courage because it takes a lot of it to go through something like this and still run a pretty successful baseball team as well. I also believe that they are trying to attain justice by backing up whatever the MLB imposes on A-rod because they know that he is wrong for doing the things that he is and they also are not going out of their way to help him. Some of the things that they can improve on are to be more honest when it comes to situations like this. I know that some of the players knew what A-rod was doing and didn't come forth and also some of the trainers knew as well. The way that they can fix this is by making sure to be upfront in other situations so that things will not escalate like they did in this particular one. As far as temperance is concerned I believe they do possess that because they knew what they were getting themselves into signing Alex in the first place so even though this is a huge thing they had to be ready for it.


References

http://ethicsalarms.com/2014/01/12/the-alex-rodriguez-suspension-barry-bonds-and-the-slippery-slope/

http://ethicsalarms.com/tag/alex-rodriguez/

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-intelligent-divorce/201308/cheating-baseball-who-is-blame