For those who may not know who Josh Hamilton is; he is an outfielder for the Texas Rangers. In my opinion he is the second best player in Major League Baseball right now. And he is the only public person that I know of who admits that he is an addict who is in recovery.
Unfortunately, he had a bit of a relapse two weekends ago.From all accounts he only had a few beers; which is fine for most people, but for a person in recovery it is a very bad thing.
Being a recovering alcoholic/drug abuser is difficult for everyday average people. I imagine it is 100x's more difficult when you are in the public.
Personally, I think very few people who are not in recovery can understand for those who are recovering.
From what I have seen there are actually people who can have one alcoholic beverage and that is all they need; for me and others like me that makes no sense.
Since Mr Hamilton is in the public spotlight and in recovery his actions are viewed by many who do not understand what he is actually going through. And from what I have read in the last week or so many writer's have judged him way more harshly than they should have.
http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/33714192/34755087
The link is too what I believe is the most egregious of the articles/blogs I have read.
Apparently, Josh Hamilton contract is ending after this season and Mr Jon Heyman believes Josh Hamiliton owes the Rangers for keeping him employed while he is in recovery.
Basically, the point I got from the article is that because Hamilton is an addit ; had a slip and the Rangers have helped he along the way to deal with his addiction Mr Heyman believes he owes the Rangers.
I might have understood this reasoning in Josh Hamilton's early career when he was still in the Tampa Bay (then Devil) Rays minor league system; when Josh was still actively using cocaine, heroin, pills and drinking. Mr Hamilton finally seemed to have his bottom, got into treatment and had been clean for a number of years before he relapsed.
He turned himself into an exceptional player, got married, had kids and claimed to be a Christian. I have long since become a Josh Hamilton admirer and a few beers will not change that.
What Josh did was wrong for him if he truly is an addict and really wants to remain in recovery. What he did was very hurtful to his family and close friends.
From what I have read and seen about the situation Mr. Hamilton did nothing illegal. From what I have heard; he publicly apologized for his actions and to me he truly seemed regretful.
But to suggest that Josh Hamilton owes the Rangers because he he is an addict and they have helped him deal with his recovery is just irresponsible and overly judgmental.
What's next Jon Heyman if you find out that an athlete is gay will you demand he owes the team he plays for?
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