Josh Hamilton – Hypocrite or Human?

I’m curious as to what some of you others think about Josh Hamilton and the recent exposure of his bar escapades in January. Apparently, Josh admitted his mistake promptly to his wife and employer – MLB and the Texas Rangers. He was honest and upfront about his failing. But now, as his mistake as been exposed publicly, I hear the guys in sports talk really demeaning Hamilton and calling him a hypocrite. Much of the berating does not seem to stem from simply his failure, but the fact that he is percieved as some type of Christian holy roller because he credits Christ with helping him in recovery from alcoholism and drug addiction. I’ve been a little shocked at how hard people have been on him and how little grace they have for him, particular because of his faith association. It seems if he had never mentioned “God” in his recovery, nobody would care so much that he had a misstep in his recovery. But, b/c he has credited God with his recovery, it seems the world leaves him no room for grace and has no regard for his faith unless he lives a perfect life after his conversion. Does the world really expect us to live perfect lives? Are we hypocrites b/c we fail our own high standard, or are we simply human? I find it hard to believe that ANYONE keeps their own standards perfectly, regardless of how low a standard they set. I don’t think we need to view everyone as hypocrites, but merely as human. Just b/c we believe in a certain standard (high or low), does not always mean we will be able to maintain that standard. We all fail. Let’s have a little grace. God knows we need it.

Hockey Fights

Thanks to a good friend, I was able to enjoy the Carolina Hurricanes game last night.  I’ve never heard it so loud in the arena as last night when Rod Brind’Amour wristed a shot past the Ranger’s goalie to put the Canes up 4-2 in the third period.  The crowd was going nuts.  It was as if they really wanted to see the Canes players “go for blood.”  Everyone seemed to be hoping for one more goal – just to rub it in to the Rangers.  The intensity was amazing, and I had this sense that the atmosphere was going to lead to a good hockey fight as the Rangers  would be frustrated by the imminent loss and raucous crowd.  Sure enough, there was a little scuffle that began between two players – one of which was a Ranger who had been constantly booed by the crowd every time he touched the puck.  The fight didn’t amount to much – just a little pushing and a couple of harmless jabs before the refs stepped in.  But isn’t it odd that hockey is the only sport where fighting is encouraged, and often goes unpunished?  The two players involved last night weren’t even penalized.  Had this been another sport, there probably would have been ejections, fines, suspensions, who knows?  How does hockey get away with it?  I must admit, I don’t mind it.  It seems tame enough, but there does seem to be a double standard going on.  And it’s a terrible example of sportsmanship and a terrible model for kids to follow in solving their disputes.  Yet why do I enjoy a hockey fight so much????