You're Not Hollywood, A-Rod; Just Be Human

By Harry Kimball, Newser Staff

Posted Mar 9, 2009 3:07 PM CDT

(Newser) – Alex Rodriguez’s troubles have less to do with what he’s done than who he is, Michael Rosenberg writes for Fox Sports. “We all know he is desperate to be liked,” Rosenberg writes. “And yet, everything he does to be liked makes people hate him.” A-Rod’s indiscretions may soon seem negligible—“With every year, steroid use in the pre-testing era makes more sense,” Rosenberg writes—but his attitude is another story.

“Rodriguez seems like one of those sad souls who doesn’t know who he is,” Rosenberg writes, and trying to play the Hollywood image game just sinks A-Rod further into a hole, making everything “contrived: his public persona, his apology, even his family life.” The solution is tough but simple: the public “won’t forgive your flaws unless you acknowledge them,” Rosenberg writes. “They won’t accept you as human unless you admit you are.”

[Images (4)]

[Quotes (1)]

Dominican Republic's Alex Rodriguez climbs the dugout stairs after playing in an exhibition spring baseball game against the Florida Marlins. (AP Photo)

Alex Rodriguez kisses his 4-year-old daughter, Natasha. (AP Photo)

New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez. (AP Photo)

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Alex Rodriguez needs hip surgery, which is just too perfect. At this point, A-Rod probably does need surgery to make him hip. We all know he is desperate to be liked. And yet, everything he does to be liked makes people hate him.
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