Sunday, January 20, 2008

What Authentic Contrition Looks Like

I've spent bandwidth here in the past discussing the public phenomenon of denying misdeeds & public figures who refuse to take responsibility for their actions (as evidenced here, here, and here). I've spent even more bandwidth recently discussing the public melodrama between Roger Clemens & his former trainer Brian McNamee regarding Clemens' alleged use of steroids. So I felt the need to share this.

Former Major League Pitcher Dan Naulty participated with Former Senator George Mitchell's investigation & was named in the Senator's Report on pages 232-233 (or 280-281 of "print pages" of the PDF document). I find Naulty to be an admirable person for having truly come clean about his past. I commend to you this interview that aired Sunday morning on ESPN's Outside the Lines.

I present you with former Major League pitcher, Dan Naulty:



One element that is so disturbing in the midst of these events resulting from the Mitchell Report is the lack of sincerity & authentic contrition in terms of players "coming clean" about these allegations. According to Naulty, at the time he was being interviewed, George Mitchell told him that he was the ONLY current or former player who had been fully open and honest about his history with performance enhancing drugs. What does that say about the sport, and its participants, who I follow & root for so passionately? That is REVOLTING. Revolting. It is little wonder that baseball has little to do with Naulty's life these days, at least as evidenced by the decor in his home.

I am pleased that Naulty does this public purging of his past in the name of Christ. According to an article he wrote in the New York Daily News:

The 37-year-old Naulty now lives in Colorado with his family and is pursuing a Ph.D in Biblical studies after earning two M.A. degrees at Trinity College and Theological Seminary (Ind.) and Iliff School of Theology (Colo.). He hopes to teach at a university or seminary and publish his story in book form.

If you want to listen to more of Dan Naulty's story, you can listen to a lengthy interview right here.

No comments: