I'll lead this off by stating that I really respect the sincerity that came across in Tejada's apology. This wasn't a press conference for him to make an excuse about the culture, the pressure to live up to contracts, etc. It was him letting everyone know that he realizes he made a huge mistake and that understands that this mistake doesn't just bare consequences for him, but to the fans, the team, the league, and—what I found particularly touching—the country. Maybe it's some misguided American exceptionalism or patriotism in me, but I was impressed that he apologized to Congress. While I, like everyone I'm sure, would rather not hear apologies after the heat is on, at least this apology wasn't the same canned rhetoric or of pressure, culture, and ignorance.
Ok, enough of my moralizing, or whatever that just was.
Some good news from his lawyer:
The maximum sentence for this misdemeanor offense could be one year in prison, but as Tuohey explained, Tejada's previously clean record should provoke a significantly lighter sentence.
"The federal sentencing guidelines, enacted by Congress some years ago, have a major influence on the sentence that is available and recommended, based on the nature of events," Tuohey said. "In this case ... those guidelines which both sides recommend be followed, call for a sentence which in effect is probation, zero to six [months].
Some interesting revelations about the immigration issue and Tejada's attempt to become an American citizen (which was news to me, but I'm not sure if I just missed that somewhere in the past):
Immigration law is treated separately, and the district court will have no influence over what action, if any, will be taken by immigration authorities.
"We have discussed the matter with immigration authorities," Tuohey said. "We have carefully reviewed the standards for the various elements of immigration. Mr. Tejada will be a very proud citizen of this country before long, and nothing that has happened is going to prevent that. Because of the nature of the offense -- it is considered a petty offense -- it should not have any affect on his immigration status."
So there we go. He pleaded guilty, he apologized, and now he's going to become a US Citizen and we should have a SS all season long.
Now I just hope that once Spring Training starts we can move on and get to baseball.
1 recs | 14 comments
CHEER!
entropic soul - February 12, 2009
nt
Also, I just want to say that I am behind Tejada 100%.
entropic soul - February 12, 2009
Ditto
How nice to see an athlete who actually seems sincere in an apology.
The fan blogger at the Chron (Chip Bailey) is predicting a rebound year for Tejada. Obviously, for the team’s sake, I hope he’s correct, but also for Tejada’s sake. I think he was burdened far more this past year than anyone knew.
Danyah - February 12, 2009
What we need
to think most about is…. Tejada has had a hard road to make it where he is now. He has done nothing but give back to the community, to his resident Country, and has promoted a well-respected image. With him admitting this, I believe he is totally sincere. I don’t think there is any person in baseball that feels more ashamed of their choices than Miguel Tejada. Best of luck in 09’ I will be supporting you. Thanks for being the person you are Miguel, Barry Bonds could have learned a thing or two from you.
NocturnalMatt - February 12, 2009
Sometimes Richard Justice makes me sick.
The other day, in his blog (as I noted previously), Justice said he would forgive Tejada and hug him the next time he sees him.
Now Justice wants Tejada to see jail time. From Justice’s article:
“Had it not been pursued, it would have sent a terrible message. So let Tejada cool his heels behind bars for a few weeks.”
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bb/6259542.html
I shouldn’t be surprised that Justice gyrates 360 degrees in his statements from day to day. But this false moralizing in order to get his readership fired up is pretty sick.
clack - February 12, 2009
That's about as quick and drastic a turn-around as I've ever seen from him
Usually he gives it a couple of weeks before he does the ol’ RJ about-face.
AstroAndy - February 12, 2009
Usually I'm not too critical of Justice
but this is a joke!
What the hell is he thinking?
entropic soul - February 12, 2009
I wish I could say I was as satisfied as you all.
A sincere apology following a plea bargain seems kinda cheap to me after years of “sincere” denials, especially given the nonsense about throwing the $6000 of HGH away without using it. It’s sad when we have to parse the statements and behavior of our favorite players in order to find shreds of integrity we can cling to. And I’d include Oswalt’s condemning PED-users while reserving judgment on Clemens in that category.
Austin Astroholic - February 12, 2009
He has pleaded guilty to a relatively minor offense.
I would be interested in knowing if anyone has been convicted of false statements, not under oath, to congressional investigators in the last 20 years or so. So, it’s hard to say that Tejada received special treatment….other than perhaps being singled out as an “example.” Given that, I’m satisfied that he apologized for making a mistake. For better or worse, I doubt that many ballplayers would have tattled on other ballplayers if they were in the same situation.
As for “the nonsense about throwing the $6000 of HGH away without using it,” all I can say is: can you prove that isn’t true? The prosecutors stated on the record that there is no evidence to disprove his statement. In our system, people are innocent until proven guilty. I’m not sure that throwing $6000 away means much to someone who has made $60 million over the course of his career.
It’s worth noting that lumping HGH together with steroids is misplaced. HGH might promote healing but the scientific evidence is that it has no impact on performance. At that pont in time, I would not be surprised if ballplayers didn’t think of HGH as “cheating” but rather another useful medicine for injuries. I saw an article quoting outfielder David Justice, who said that is the way it was represented to him. He said a PhD (McNamee) employed by the team told him HGH is used by the medical profession to help heal injuries. Justice said he would have usde it, until he heard about the needles to inject it, which he didn’t want to do.
clack - February 12, 2009
other convictions for same
I can’t say for sure, but I’ll bet there have been. My sense is that he’s part of a process that is leading to an end game and is not an example.
ol Pete - February 12, 2009
I found this reference in a NY Times article....
D.C. Office of U.S. Attorney has successfully prosecuted 28 cases of making a false statement to a federal authority in the last 5 years. Only one of those cases involved Congress. It was a former FDA commissioner who filed false financial disclosure forms to a congressional committee.
clack - February 12, 2009
Tejada
I was frankly surprised the club didn’t use this as a way to get out of Tejada’s contract this year as a cost savings move. I’ll bet since the contract he signed was before the investigation there was a clause related to personal behavior giving the club the ability to outright release him, and then maybe offer to restructure…that would be the case if we had someone else to play SS if we released him, which we don’t I suppose…
AstrosFan - February 12, 2009
I don't think they have much basis to use a "morals" clause...
Most of those types of provisions are related to conduct which occurs during the employment with the team. The “conduct” here is something which occurred long prior to Tejada’s employment with the Astros. Maybe the Orioles could have raised that issue if Tejada still played for them. And then you have the question as to whether a misdemeanor charge like this rises to the level of being subject to a morals clause. I read that Tejada and his lawyer met with McLane, Tal Smith, and Wade on Saturday to talk about Tejada’s plea. I suspect that he knew what the Astros reaction would be before he decided to plead guilty. If the team had said it would trigger a morals clause, he might have had to re-think his decision.
clack - February 12, 2009
Glad he apologized
I’m of course sad to see a Houston Astros player do something amoral, but I really respect the fact that Tejeda gave what seemed like a sincere apology. I wish Clemens would fess up! I wonder if this will impact the sale of <a href=" http://www.myticketin.com/Event.aspx?EventID=7563" >Astros tickets. I hate that kids who love the Asros are having to see this. But hopefully this doesn’t negatively affect the team as a whole since it looks like we might have a good season coming up in Houston.
astrosfan11 - February 14, 2009
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