You Call THAT Punishment?

Wait, wait, wait. Let me get this straight. Texas Rangers pitcher Kenny Rogers gets to assault two cameramen who were just doing their jobs and he still gets to go to work?

Two days ago, Rogers went ballistic and assaulted two cameramen who were filming the Rangers during the team’s warm-ups before a game against the Angels. Rogers has been hostile to the media all year, with several circumstances that have made him hostile to nearly everybody it seems.

But these were cameramen, not reporters. These aren’t the guys who stick a microphone in his face after a bad pitching night. These are not the radio talk show hosts who question whether or not Rogers is ducking starts because the team has stopped contract negotiations.

These are guys doing their jobs at the invitation of the Texas Rangers. And Rogers assaulted them. If not for catcher Rod Barajas, Rogers would have attacked a couple of other cameramen. And this was all caught on tape.

But it gets worse.

First, team management decides to wash their hands of situation by letting MLB determine the punishment for Rogers. Sure, the general manager and owner put for the necessary “we don’t condone this sort of behavior” blah, blah, blah. But what else did they do? They sent Rogers to his room that night to think about what he had done.

Next, Rogers has been absent from the public eye other than being present during games while awaiting Commissioner Selig’s punishment. A statement was released through his attorney about how sorry he is:

In a statement Friday before the ruling, Rogers' attorneys said: "Kenny Rogers would like to make a statement. However, in light of the ongoing investigation, it is not advisable for Kenny to comment directly and publicly at this time.

"On Kenny's behalf, though, we would like to express to Mr. Rodriguez, Ranger fans, all baseball fans and his teammates that Kenny is truly sorry for the incident that occurred and regrets that it happened."

Still, the Gambler has yet to apologize personally or take responsibility for his actions.

Finally, da Commish rendered his verdict: A 20 game suspension (with pay, I might add) along with a $50,000 fine—the longest suspension in some time.

The tragedy is that it won’t stick. The Player’s Union is appealing the suspension, which means Kenny gets to pitch if he wants to. And as I wrote about before, both the fine and suspension will most likely be reduced.

And Congress is worried about steroids in baseball? What about the message being sent that rich, spoiled athletes can get away with behavior that would otherwise land them in jail or on probation? What about the message of entitlement being taught to young athletes that say no matter what you do, as long as you’re a star or at least a productive member of the team, you will be protected from everyday rules and commonsense?

What is damaging the youth of this country is not “the national public-health crisis" of steroids that Virginia Representative Tom Davis and his buddies in Congress are flapping their slack jaws about. It’s the lack of discipline levied out to professional athletes.

Kenny Rogers should be suspended 20 games without pay, fined $100,000, barred from participating in the All-Star Game, sentenced to anger management classes, and brought up on assault charges. But I guess the wind isn’t blowing hard enough for Da Commish to send a true message. Congress hasn’t gotten involved.