OPINION:
A notice hit the business wires in early February about Alex Rodriguez.
This is not an uncommon occurrence. It seems like a new business deal involving A-Rod is announced quite frequently. He may not have become Babe Ruth, but maybe he’ll wind up being the 21st century John D. Rockefeller — or maybe Bernie Madoff.
This was the latest one — the Slam Corp., a SPAC (special purpose acquisition company) that reportedly is backed by A-Rod — had reached its goal of raising $500 million by offering 50 million units at $10 each.
His partner, the hedge fund Antara Capital, is also backing the SPAC.
My question would be — why?
Why would anyone give A-Rod money for a “blank-check company?”
Aren’t they aware that A-Rod cheated and defrauded his teammates and former employer multiple times? And this is a guy you want with a “blank-check company”?
So I reached out to the representatives of Antara, considering the possibility they were somehow unaware about their partner’s business history, and asked them the following:
Do you know that Alex Rodriguez admitted to using steroids in 2009 to ESPN after denying it in a “60 Minutes” interview in 2007? And then was suspended for a full season by Major League Baseball in 2014 for using steroids in evidence uncovered in the Biogenesis investigation?
Do you realize he cheated and lied to his teammates, union brothers, employer and the public?
Are you concerned or worried about doing business with someone who may have earned most of his $441 million over his baseball career under fraudulent circumstances?
Nothing. No response.
So I moved on to his next business partner, the CGI Merchant Group, who announced in December that A-Rod and Adi Chugh, founder of Maverick Commercial Properties, had joined CGI’s Hospitality Opportunity Fund — reportedly with $650 million to invest in hotels.
I asked their representatives the following:
Do you know that Alex Rodriguez admitted to using steroids in 2009 to ESPN after denying it in a “60 Minutes” interview in 2007? And then was suspended for a full season by Major League Baseball in 2014 for using steroids in evidence uncovered in the Biogenesis investigation?
Do you realize he cheated and lied to his teammates, union brothers, employer and the public?
Are you concerned or worried about doing business with someone who may have earned most of his $441 million over his baseball career under fraudulent circumstances?
Nothing. No response.
This might seem ridiculous. After all, of course they know about A-Rod’s cheating and fraud. Right? Unless, perhaps, it has been scrubbed from the Internet conversation.
Take, for instance, the announcement in January of 2020 that A-Rod had joined Anheuser-Busch as a co-owner and chairman for the Dominican Republic’s Presidente beer, which was acquired by Anheuser-Busch in 2012.
Danielle Genovese is a reporter for Fox Business. She reported A-Rod’s deal with Presidente, and wrote the following:
“Throughout his 22-year career, the athlete rose to the pinnacle of ‘America’s pastime.’”
Nowhere in the story was the mention of A-Rod’s denials and confessions of steroid use and his season-long suspension from “America’s pastime.”
So I contacted Genovese via email and asked her the following:
Do you know that Alex Rodriguez admitted to using steroids in 2009 to ESPN after denying it in a “60 Minutes” interview in 2007? And then was suspended for a full season by Major League Baseball in 2014 for using steroids in evidence uncovered in the Biogenesis investigation?
No response.
The same for Fox Sports, where A-Rod is employed as a studio analyst.
Their website calls A-Rod “one of the most prolific offensive players in the history of the game.” It details his high school accomplishments, including captain of the football team. It reports that A-Rod “is CEO of AROD Corp, a multi-faceted business conglomeration.”
Steroid use and suspension? Nowhere to be found.
I contacted the Fox Sports public relations representatives via email — their only contact information of their web site to ask if they were aware of the steroid use — the lies, the fraud, the suspension. Nothing. Zero.
But I expected more from ESPN, which also employs A-Rod as a baseball analyst. On their website, they also mention his “prolific 22-year career.” They also report that he is the founder and CEO of A-Rod Corp., “an investment firm that spans a variety of industries” and his various charitable activities.
His steroid use, lies, cheating and suspension? Nothing.
So I contacted ESPN public relations via email as well. I’ll let you guess what happened.
There is a world where none of it exists. There is only A-Rod the slick baseball analyst, A-Rod the slick businessman, A-Rod the slick philanthropist, and of course, A-Rod, the slick J Lo accessory.
⦁ You can hear Thom Loverro on The Kevin Sheehan Show podcast.
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