For most sports fans, being on a professional sports team is only a childhood fantasy that is never realized. It’s easy to only see the fame, glamour, travel and money that come with the life of a star MLB player, but there are drawbacks to the job as well.
This criminal defense blog has multiple posts involving professional athletes who have run into trouble with the law. And unlike when an average Joe is arrested for something like drunk driving, when it happens to a high-profile athlete, he has to live through the stress of an accusation, investigation and sometimes a trial in the heat of the spotlight. He also has to face consequences on the professional level.
The Los Angeles Times reports that many teams in the league have taken their own action in response to DUI and alcohol-related incidents that involved MLB team members. In fact, did you know that our team, the Colorado Rockies, has a strict rule against consuming alcohol in the baseball clubhouse? So just when sports fans might be enjoying a celebratory drink after a Colorado victory, the very players who achieved that victory are not allowed to participate in a similar manner right after the game.
The Colorado Rockies is not alone in this rule. Eighteen MLB teams and some NFL teams have rules against team members drinking. These restrictions are a response to DUI arrests and drunk driving accidents that have occurred after games in the past. And the rules could potentially spread. Officials of the MLB are still considering putting a league-wide ban in place in order to avoid legal troubles among its players and accidents but also to protect the reputation of the league.
What do you think about teams — players’ employers — setting drinking rules for their players? Does it sound reasonable?
Source: Los Angeles Times, “Baseball is moving toward alcohol-free clubhouses,” Kevin Baxter, March 19, 2012