What we can all learn from A-Rod and others like him.

This week the sports world was in a mix of emotions. On one hand you have the man who won 8 gold medals this past summer at the Olympics in Michael Phelps. He is loved by kids, adults, everyone for his achievements. He was on every commercial, and someone to truly look up to. But then we have a photo of him taking a hit off of a bong at a party on the campus of South Carolina University. Now, when this story broke, people were disappointed, shocked, you name it. So Phelps comes out and admits he did it, it was wrong and he is very sorry.

Will people forgive him? Yeah, I'd say so. I mean if he stays clean, then wins some medals, he will be back in our good graces. But what if he denied it? What if he said he wasn't really doing that at all? How would the public have reacted then?

Then we have Alex Rodriguez. It was found this week that he tested positive for performance enhancing drugs in 2003. When hearing that, i thought it was going to get ugly from here. I thought it would be another Roger Clemens thing, where they have all the evidence and witnesses in the world, but because he cames about his "name" and legacy so much, he still denies it no matter what.

But thats not what A Rod did. He came out in an interview with Peter Gammons yesterday, and admitted the whole thing. Even saying that he took it from 2001-2003, and not just the one year they have proof. I watched this interview in its entirety, and I was so surprised at how genuine repentant he was. He was sorry to his fans, he was embarrassed, and he said it is no one's fault but his own. If you haven't seen it, watch it here:



But what we can learn from this is, it is not good hiding who we are. It is only hurting ourselves. At one point in the interview, he says that it just feels good to be clear and honest. Hav you done that yet? Does it ever scare you that you might be found out for something that you are doing in your life? That people won't think as highly when they hear you "name"?