The article which Parker is talking about is here.  I don't see any indication that these women did anything or even participated on this board.  Yet Parker seems to be blaming the victim.

I didn't click on your "racist" links, because I don't want to see what you're talking about.  But I think these are two totally different issues.  And it certainly does not say anything good about McCarthy and especially Wilson.

What a pair of idiots.

Was it removed?

Was Sosa at the Rangers game?

In addition, if you go back and read the post yet again, you might find that Al stated his point rather clearly. He isn't necessarily trying to expose Wilson as a racist. He's saying we all need to step carefully here on the Interweb, because any one of us could be held accountable for stepping over the line. Wilson stepped over the line.

And what was the result of bloggers such as Al exposing Wilson's "bad choice" (that's a term I use with my four-year-old)? An apology. A lesson learned. And I'd like to think that, from now on, Wilson, McCarthy and any other professional baseball players who have happened across this story will think twice about indulging in racist humor in public forums. That's a good thing.

Oh, and by the way, Wilson is not 20 years old. He's 26. He was drafted six years ago. He should know better.

(1) I know only small amounts of these two pitchers and all of it is about their major league careers.  I don't know this guy.  And we don't know him.  Already I know not to judge him based upon some internet posting.  

(2) I consider it pretty damn cool that Wilson puts himself out there for the fans.  Just think what it would be like if we had Rich Hill on BCB once a month!!  I am 24 years old and know what it is like to be so wired to my technology.  It sounds like Wilson (a) is similarly "wired" into technology and (b) decided to MySpace/blog as a service to his fans.  This immediately serves two purposes: a direct outlet to fan questions, comments, etc; and a direct and immediate link for the media to FURTHER judge and evaluate his performance.  This is something of a double-edged sword, and Wilson actually states over on LSB.  I cannot begin to comprehend the exhaustive microscope professional athletes are constantly under and it is quite obvious that if an athlete decides to open oneself up to even further scrutiny via blogging, a man must (a) be prepared for such further scrutiny and (b) critique any blogging material as if it is a doctoral dissertation prior to posting it.  

(3) I feel the only reason Al's post is in question is BECAUSE Wilson can easily access it.  Think Katie Holmes reads blogs about her scientology-crazed husband and is offended?  Or Keith Urban knows my girlfriend wants to bang him?  Probably not.  No one cares what you say about 99.9% of celebrities on the internet.  However, the reason this post is quite different, is the fact that Wilson HAS made that personal connection himself, from us to him, and probably has or will navigate over to BCB at some point.  Like it or not, athletes can and will receive excessive praise or punishment for daily activities you and I perform without notice.  This is part of the job, fortunately or unfortunately.  

(4) I am not sure who it was, but someone above poised the question of how can we be judgmental of such a small action (I'm still not sure exactly what the hell the "racist" picture contained) when we have greater problems in our world.  I have used slurs, made jokes about groups of people, you get the idea.  Who hasn't been a jackass at some point in their lives?  This is not an excuse, per se, but as a professional educator working directly with children, is often part of the natural progression into adulthood.  Mistakes, goofups, saying things we regret.  These guys are 20-something and expected to be perfect human beings, and albeit we should not expect this of them, we do.  Taking a step back and checkiing out the larger picture really makes me think, is this such a big deal?

(5) I am not sure if Al approached or appropriately titled this thread prior to (a) speaking with whoever works over at LSB or (b) if he knew that Wilson posted on LSB, asking him to respond about it.  Wilson did post a comment suggesting, (paraphrasing here) that when there's an issue in a relationship, come straight to the source, don't beat around the bush.  Now, if contacting either of these persons was not an option for Al, then so be it.  This is his place, his vehicle, he can do whatever the fuck he wants.  If you don't like the content, leave.  YES, this is baseball related.  I am not sure if (as I read it), calling one or both of these men's actions immediately "racist" prior to learning a bit more about the situation is warranted, but that is for you to decide.  MySpace is the #1 whoring website on the internet and has held that position for years.  Social network sites, for the most part, are taking our children and young professionals over, in multiple negative ways.  The most significant, however, is the ability to truly create a facade of who you are or are not based upon your mood or emotions at that time.  This has created an infinite number of responsibilities that most students fail to comprehend and own up to until it is quite too late, as Al commented on.  Thank you for that; in the schools I work in, social networking sites continue to be a daily battle.  That is a post for a different day, however.  

Overall, I think this is a relatively minor matter; I am not one to judge or take sides, but it appears from Wilson's comments on LSB that he truly regrets whatever action stirred the pot.  Hopefully this does not deter him from blogging, I indeed believe that LSB has to completely and totally enjoy such a unique and intimate experience with a ballplayer.  

****

I have been a member on this board for over a year and have recently become really sick and tired of all the bullshit posting that goes back and forth about administration, controlling users and threads/diaries, and people bitching about stupid crap.  I came here for baseball.  I come here for baseball.  Get along or move on.  I support this website and hope to eventually meet a few of you and Al at a Wrigley game.  I really just want the season to start so none of us are bored enough to pick on each other.  

Dan

(Since the photo has been taken down, that was the most offensive thing I could find about his Myspace page)

Dan

CJ already announced to the local media that he'll no longer be signing up for forums and chatting directly with fans, and Brandon McCarthy has now made his myspace profile private. In one fall swoop, you manage to cut up the player-fan connection that we had for a long time at LSB with your vindictive histrionics. Well done.

It is amazing, to me, that a man who ranted against political correctness before (http://www.yellon.org/archives/2003_02_09_archive.htm - thanks to fellow LSB poster Cmkelly for this) would suddenly become so offended by an innocent, if ill-advised picture on a player's private webspace. This reaks - of hypocrisy, of lack of foresight, and of political correctness.  And I am just here to say that you are guilty of all three.

As for everyone else, CJ's explanation of the photo is as follows.

"  the picture IS an inside joke about ME, and my bizzare ability to eat massive amounts of food.  originally my brother mailed it to me because as a kid I was in a watermelon eating contest and I won, at the Los Caballeros summer camp in Garden Grove, Ca.  "

Congratulations Al, your wild histrionics have made a innocent picture a news story here in the DFW. It has driven away two players that have been fairly open to the public, and it was much ado about nothing.