A Good Reason To Boo A-Rod
By Kevin Thomas | November 3, 2017, 15:27 EDT
Few names elicited more boos at Fenway Park than Alex Rodriguez. I never felt inclined to boo him, until this past week.
To be fair, Rodriguez did not deserve some of those boos back in 2004. Red Sox fans were once excited when Boston nearly traded for A-Rod. But the deal fell through. Making matters (much) worse were the despised Yankees swooping in to get Rodriguez.
It wasn’t his fault, but fans needed to vent their emotions, and A-Rod was an easy target.
Rodriguez has flaws, as we all do, but his were well-publicized. He wrecked his marriage (alleged infidelity) and his career (a year’s suspension for being tied to performance-enhancing drugs).
In recent years, A-Rod, now retired, has worked on his image – something that seems very important to him. He is a baseball analyst on television. He also tweets often about times spent with his two daughters, who live with his ex-wife.
It’s always good to hear from a dad enjoying time with his children.
Rodriguez is also with another woman. Maybe you’ve heard of her. Jennifer Lopez.
They are being called the new “power couple.” In my world, a power couple is one that commits to each other, in a true relationship of love, respect, and humility.
Power, in this case, appears to mean publicity, image, and celebrity.
Rodriguez (A-Rod) and Lopez (J.Lo) are on the cover of the latest issue of Vanity Fair. They are “J-Rod.” Get it?
Give them credit. They are two people very good at being famous – sort of like the Kardashians, but with talent.
Flip through the magazine pages and there are photos of the two at their stylish best. But the final photo got me booing. It has Rodriguez sitting on a counter and Lopez leaning into him. They are both looking at the camera, with serious (sexy?) expressions — while Rodriguez is lifting Lopez’s dress to reveal much of her rear end.
Power couple? Not my definition. This is not just prudence speaking, but modesty and discretion. Rodriguez, the father of two daughters, poses in this position, in a national magazine. That is not a “powerful” man.
I’ve written about Rodriguez before, but my background information came from sports websites and newspapers. Now I’m researching into the depths of hard-hitting articles from People magazine.
From an article last month, Rodriguez praised Lopez as a role model for his children.
“They look at her like she’s a Messiah,” he said.
Messiah?
How will they look at the Messiah, in the photo of their dad pulling up her dress?
Later in the story, Rodriguez talks about his girls getting the chance to hang around a star like Lopez.
“My girls essentially hit the lottery,” Rodriguez said. “What 12-year-old and 9-year-old wouldn’t feel like ‘Oh my God, I’m the luckiest human being on the planet?’ They’re super thrilled!”
Really? What kids feel so lucky to have their parents divorce so they can hang out with J.Lo?
And about that picture in Vanity Fair? What is the message dad is sending to his daughters? Girls, this is the way men should treat you … this is true love … discard modesty if it gets in the way of being famous …
The deviant ways of powerful celebrities are being scrutinized lately, with Harvey Weinstein’s and others’ sexual misconduct. I doubt if the Vanity Fair photo of Rodriguez and Lopez will attract much criticism. They’re just being sexy together, right?
But isn’t the concern these days about dignity, and how men treat women? What part of pulling up a woman’s dress, as a pose for a national magazine, speaks of respect?
And by taking part in the pose, what is Jennifer Lopez, the role model, saying to other women, especially to young girls, say 9 and 12 years old?
It is a mixed message because, in a world obsessed with image and celebrity, virtue is forgotten.
Kevin Thomas is a writer and former teacher living with his wife and children in Standish, Maine.