Braves can’t go lightly on discipline for McDowell, Lowe
Roger McDowell has helped Braves' pitchers but that won't help him now. (Jason Getz/AJC)
(Originally posted: 3:11 p.m. Updated throughout: 7:15 p.m.)
For the past two days, the Braves have been a staple on TMZ, with storylines about a coach’s alleged homophobia and a pitcher’s alleged drunk driving and street racing. Suddenly, they sit uncomfortably in the same talk show green room with Lindsay Lohan, Charlie Sheen and, “Sara Evans’ Ex: She Surrounds Our Kids with Drugs!”
And you thought Dan Uggla hitting .180 was a concern.
Derek Lowe has been charged with DUI and reckless driving. He allegedly was racing his Porsche through Buckhead Thursday night. This came a day after pitching coach Roger McDowell was accused of spewing anti-gay slurs and inappropriate comments to some fans at a recent game in San Francisco.
Lowe was at Turner Field Friday night and apologized. He will make his scheduled start Sunday, the Braves rationalizing that decision with the standard explanation of letting the legal process run its course (perhaps down Peachtree).
McDowell was not at the stadium. He has been placed on “administrative leave,” which doesn’t sound any worse than maternity leave. I guess the Braves don’t want to use the word “suspension” yet. At the very least, we can be certain Lowe won’t be driving McDowell to sensitivity classes.
Now, does any of this mean the Braves’ franchise is morphing into something between the Cincinnati Bengals and “Celebrity Rehab”? Hardly.
But it would be nice to see both the team and Major League Baseball take these matters seriously, rather than merely dismiss them with players, general managers and coaches making contrite statements and explaining that everybody makes mistakes, so let’s just move on.
I’m not trying to bury Lowe and McDowell. I’m not suggesting they be thrown out of baseball. But how is it that MLB allows Cincinnati pitcher Mike Leake to make a start two days after he’s arrested for shoplifting? And yes, while Lowe will get his due process — and likely eventually will plea his charges down to something resembling an expensive parking ticket — isn’t it just a little weird that he will take the mound Sunday, three days after being arrested and spending the night in jail?
Did Lowe ever consider skipping his start?
“No,” he said.
The Braves and MLB are moving slowly with McDowell. That’s understandable. There are multiple witnesses. Details are varied. One of the parties has turned this into a sideshow, bringing his 9-year-old twin daughters to a news conference the other day as props. He also has hired noted attorney Gloria Allred, who is fresh off representing a porn star and a kindergarten teacher for scoldings of Tiger Woods.
That woman has headline GPS.
But we know something happened because McDowell already has admitted, “I apologize to everyone for my actions.” Those aren’t the words of an innocent man.
He needs to be hit with a suspension, and hit hard. The absolute minimum: 30 games without pay, a significant fine and court-mandated Saying Stupid Things Rehab. If even half what has been alleged is true, most of us would be fired.
Commissioner Bud Selig just suspended Ozzie Guillen two games for Tweeting. Is he really going to go lightly on McDowell?
General manager Frank Wren was predictably guarded Friday. They are still sorting out details, and he acknowledged, “The commissioner is taking the lead on this.”
When asked if there was any chance McDowell could lose his job, Wren said: “I’m not going to get into any final determination of anything at this point.”
Asked the same question, manager Fredi Gonzalez said: “No, and it shouldn’t.”
Fredi didn’t get the memo.
This isn’t merely about us living in politically correct times. Baseball is still dealing with the beating of a Giants fan in Los Angeles. The NBA fined Kobe Bryant $100,000 for homophobic slurs. Feelings are a bit raw.
The Braves recognize their brand has been damaged. They haven’t been hit like this since John Rocker spoke so eloquently about the 7 Train to Flushing.
Said Lowe, “It’s been a rough couple of days for this organization and clearly I have a lot to do with that.”
He does. And such actions should not go unpunished.
By Jeff Schultz
♦
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251 comments Add your comment
Steve
April 29th, 2011
4:53 pm
Nice try John. Most of us know the truth. Think what you want.
jfreak13713
April 29th, 2011
4:53 pm
OMG! A gay slur? Really? Let me say this to MLB and the Atlanta Braves if you fire this man you will lose my business and support forever! I am a life long Braves fan and attend games often but if you ruin a good man over something so silly a “name” calling then you will have to find another fan because I will go support another team.
I don’t care if their feelings got hurt or they were offended by his remarks. NONE of them care about my feelings or my children when they parade around in drag or leather and force me to explain to my child what the hell is going on do they? NO! And you know what thats ok because they have a right to be gay in this country and that is what I explain to my kids. But their right to be gay does not limit my right to not support or even not like them because they are gay as long as I do no physical harm. We are now at a point where someone getting their feelings hurts warrants lawsuits and others getting fired because he does not agree with a certain lifestyl.
Go ahead Braves fires this man and you will lose me and my family forever! Do you not think worse things are said in New York or Philly. Tired of the PC!
FJR
April 29th, 2011
4:54 pm
@Lowe needs to go
It’s hard to convince your cabbie to drag race down peachtree. Also the cab typically won’t go as fast as Lowe’s porsche.
FJR
April 29th, 2011
4:56 pm
jfreak,
you also missed the part where he is accused of threatening violence to a bystander “not the people he called gay” and said “kids don’t belong at the f’ing ballpark”
Again, those are just allegations, but it’s more than just a gay slur. Admittedly the AJC’s headlines have been pretty terrible int hat regard, focusing on the gay slur, probably as an attention grab.
John
April 29th, 2011
4:56 pm
@Steve – and I sure hope no one in your family is on the road when a simple DUI is being committed by someone. I find it odd and pathetic that you classify a DUI as “simple”.
John
April 29th, 2011
4:57 pm
@Steve – Thanks for confirming your bigotry, just making sure.
Sheryl Emmett
April 29th, 2011
4:57 pm
Braves = Class. McDowell = Homophobic Idiot. You cannot have one of your employees destroying your organization’s well-earned character with that crap gushing from his mouth. Big mouth = no brains and tiny you know what. He has to go.
John
April 29th, 2011
4:58 pm
@Steve – thank for confirming your bigotry, just making sure.
Action
April 29th, 2011
4:58 pm
“It can’t be done now, and it certainly can’t be done in San Francisco.” Bashing is bashing, pal…no matter what city. Just sayin’
Joey
April 29th, 2011
4:58 pm
So, it’s okay he threatened a straight guy with a baseball bat, but oh hell, he insulted some gays, so we got to suspend him?
I wish McDowell had the money to retire (and he may), walk in a press conference with the PC Police waiting pantingly for him to grovel, and tell em all to go to hell.
Jeff Schultz
April 29th, 2011
4:59 pm
Frank Wren statement: “We’re disappointed as an organization by the developments of the last three days. We have a long-standing reputation in this community and in major league baseball that we’re very proud of. We just finished speaking with out players, our manager and our coaches, and we all strive to represent the Atlanta Braves, this city, our fans throughout Braves country in the proper fashion. Unfortunately mistakes have been made and we will deal with them at the appropriate time after careful consideration of all the facts. I can assure you we are all mindful of the platform that we have in this community and will be more diligent going forward.”
FJR
April 29th, 2011
4:59 pm
@john
I’d hate to see what he calls a “non-simple DUI” Flying a jet fighter armed with nuclear weapons down 75/85 during rush hour while chugging a handle of Jose Cuervo?
Lowe needs to Go
April 29th, 2011
5:02 pm
Hey Joey,
It is just the media that is making the Mcdowell issue all about the gay slur. If he gets fired/suspended it will be about more than just that.
Thrash
April 29th, 2011
5:07 pm
Lowe should apologize…. for buying a lame Porsche Panamera! Geez, thats a car you shouldn’t be caught dead in.
three jack
April 29th, 2011
5:14 pm
The wussification of America continues. If the 4 guys in San Fran are so sensitive that this hurt their feelings, then McDowell probably told the truth. Much ado about nothing, get over it wusses!
JSS
April 29th, 2011
5:21 pm
Send Lowe the pictures of the Dany Heatley carnage. Road Atlanta offers track time if he has a need to blowout the Black Forest muscle.
And these blogs are a haven for Homophobia. McDowell needs to sit there and really get a grip on that hate issue he exhibited in San Francisco. You guys and ladies can pooh pooh that deep seated bias all you like; but you are making the same mistake that you made with racial bigotry. It does nothing but hinder the potential of this region…
Can it be true?
April 29th, 2011
5:22 pm
Not supporting anything he might have said but what happened to freedom of speech?
chief pitchanono
April 29th, 2011
5:23 pm
Yeah it seems like the Braves are falling apart, right after they seem to have things going right on the field, but hopefully the guys stay focused and don’t let all this effect their performance. Everybody makes mistakes, and I don’t see this being anything more than an isolated incident with both of them. A month from now all this will be old news and they will move on with or without Mcdowell. Nothing against Freddy, but these are the times when it was comforting haveing old Bobby around. I do like that they are takeing their time with the Mcdowell thing though, its important that they get all the facts in that situation and make the right move. There is allways two sides of the story and we have heard very little of Mcdowell’s take on it. I suspect that if their is any doubt about his actions he will only be suspended, but there has got to be a allot of people who heard this including some of the players so if they feel that he really said most of what is being reported then I suspect he will be fired. Keep your heads up Boys and go red bird hunting! The rest will take care of itself.
FJR
April 29th, 2011
5:26 pm
@can it be true?
Freedom of speech is only a concept that applies to the government. Non-governmental employers can fire you for speech all they want.
Caseyatthebat
April 29th, 2011
5:27 pm
Mr. Holmes……..It seems to me that if we paid a little more attention to what’s in the Bible we’d have far less trouble with things like this.
JSS
April 29th, 2011
5:28 pm
@ Jeff Schultz…
Check your filter…
FJR
April 29th, 2011
5:31 pm
@caseyatthebat
agreed, I’m pretty sure that the new testament is more clear on threatening bodily harm on another than it is homosexuality.
jerry
April 29th, 2011
5:42 pm
If they were all like McDowell, he is correct on one point. Kids would not belong in baseball parks.
Cam's (Fig) Newton
April 29th, 2011
5:43 pm
Guy on blog earlier sadi the lil weasel with Allred provoked him (McD). He looks like a San FRan F——ot. F it Ill beat his arse and that Tranny Allred’s too. is it me or does she look like Dr. Frankenfurter from Rocky horror Picture Show?
jerry
April 29th, 2011
5:46 pm
FJR@……………
Names for the Bible – Capitalize all names for the Bible, for parts and versions of the Bible and all names of other sacred books.
Examples:
· Bible · Scriptures · Word of God · Holy Bible · Old Testament · New Testament
· Gospels · Ten Commandments · Lord’s Prayer · Gospels · Gospel of Luke
· King James Version · New International Version
Einsteindawg
April 29th, 2011
5:47 pm
Good luck Mr. McDowell. On the bright side, our starting pitchers are now free to throw strikes. To date our starters must be leading the league in pitch count. At this rate, they’ll be worn out by August.
Cam's (Fig) Newton
April 29th, 2011
5:48 pm
Hey Jeff, just askin, but is liberal speech the only free speech allowed? Lets face it….you cant call names anymore, even if someone is a walking violation of the laws of nature. Good thing the police dont enforce those laws.
JP
April 29th, 2011
5:48 pm
Call Dr Phil and let them all meet together for a big counseling session. Dr Phil will send McDowell to a rehab center to work out his inner demons.
FJR
April 29th, 2011
5:50 pm
@jerry
this is the comments section of a blog, not a MLA works cited page. I barely capitalize proper names.
jerry
April 29th, 2011
5:54 pm
fjr i notice you do your initials on this blog. but what the hell, i pretty much knew that you knew it all.
Joey
April 29th, 2011
5:55 pm
Maybe the President should have them all over for a beer . . .
extremus
April 29th, 2011
5:55 pm
Frankly I would have been very happy if the worst trial of Freddi Gonzalez’s first season of tenure was simply getting the offense back on track. These two occurrences happening so close together (and let’s face it, not by some wet-behind-the-ears rookies) could be a sign that things are now too lax in the Braves clubhouse. I hope not, but you didn’t read about this kind of stuff very often under Bobby Cox’s watch (and when it did happen, the situation was handled quickly and decisively, often with the offending individuals finding career opportunities elsewhere). Regardless, a lot of eyes will be on Gonzalez and on the Braves as an organization regarding how they respond to this and whether they can swiftly get past it and move on with baseball.
JacketFanMarcus
April 29th, 2011
5:59 pm
This stuff wouldn’t have happened under Bobby Cox!!!
jp
April 29th, 2011
6:03 pm
Mr. McDowell needs to be reminded that children attend Major league baseball games. If what he did is even partially true than he needs to be taken and dropped off in the Castro District of San Francisco and let him rant his slurs there to see what happens to him. I bet a few big guys there would like to use baseball bats on him in ways he can’t even imagine. After that, locker rooms and showers my take on a whole new meaning…..
FJR
April 29th, 2011
6:10 pm
@jerry
what’s your deal with capitalization?
braves bobblehead 3
April 29th, 2011
6:32 pm
Braves 2011 I agree, this could have been defused but when feminist and media protagonist Gloria Alred gets involved expect a show. If McDowell is guilty, suspension and fines, we have people in sports that have killed people and received less media attention than this. I think it’s shows very bad judgment on McDowell not to just walk away at hecklers, and if this attitude is not corrected then I would fire him, not now.
jerry
April 29th, 2011
6:33 pm
fjr@
no problem
i just sometimes wonder why know-it-alls don’t know
when they are being needled. i mean it makes me
think maybe they don’t know it all.
braves bobblehead 3
April 29th, 2011
6:34 pm
Also the kids not belonging at the game is disturbing considering baseball is a family sport and whatever your sexuality is, people attending the games pay his salary, and maybe he needs some of that salary to be removed.
JSS
April 29th, 2011
6:47 pm
Can it be true?
April 29th, 2011
5:22 pm
“but what happened to freedom of speech?”
I know you’re just being snarky with that comment. So “Can it be true?,” with that “Freedom of Speech” comes the reality of consequences. You can bare witness to it, and in no other franchise should it not be more evident simply because of the lesson of John Rocker. That is not political correctness, that is that obviously overused term: “Common Sense!”
Greg
April 29th, 2011
6:47 pm
I don’t agree with his behavior, but it seems like the heckling from fans is a bit out of control as well.
Don’t dish it out of you can’t take it back.
Mike
April 29th, 2011
6:54 pm
If it was just a gay comment – so what? Fine the guy and let it go. But if he did actually threaten fans, one with a baseball bat and intentionally use such profane language in front of children, then he is toast. No place for this. If a heckling fan persists, then you walk away. Maybe the word could have been given back to the park officials and they could have had security calm down the fan or remove him. But you don’t curse and threaten in front of kids. No place for this.
Gwinnett Fred
April 29th, 2011
6:58 pm
@Greg – the trouble McDowell is in is NOT for the “dishing back” to the hecklers – it’s to the reply to the family that asked him to quit using that language in front of their 9 year old daughters.
Also, it’s pretty lame for anybody in uniform to basically invite someone in the stands to come on down and have it out seeing how the instant anybody leaves the seats they are arrested for tresspassing. Boy howdy, that takes a lot of courage to point a baseball bat at someone in a threatening manner and invite them to come see you where you know they are not permitted.
As for Lowe- he’ll hopefully lose his licence for at least a year (like Joe Schmoe that gets a DUI while committing other offenses at the same time) – that and have to watch “Blood on the Highway” about a half dozen times while in defensive driving school. About 40 hours of picking up trash along Peachtree Street at night hoping he isn’t hit by a drunk driver might make an impact on him too.
JASon
April 29th, 2011
7:04 pm
I think the comments about children not being allowed at the ballpark are worse. I don’t even think “homo” is a derogatory term for gay people. What Kobe said was 10 times worse. So I think this will blow over.
Greg
April 29th, 2011
7:05 pm
The lesson the young kid should be learning is that 1) Her dad is too sensitive to attend live sporting
events and 2) how to identify an empty and harmless threat.
McDowell's Seinfeld Loogie
April 29th, 2011
7:16 pm
The pvssification of this country is truely frightening.
Boswanger
April 29th, 2011
7:16 pm
FJR, you missed the point. I understand your knowledgeable legal explanation, but Roger is not a lawyer, he had a mic in his face and said what came out. He may well have said something he should not have said, but probably not to the degree to which he is accused. You get a high dollar publicity hack like Allred in there, with kids reading prepared statements, now what does a 9 year old know about sex acts anyway. Big payday is all I smell. Get off the PC bandwagon and do what a lawyer is supposed to do, wha is right…..look at the scales. Kudo to Frank Wren for doing this right, investigating, interviewing, etc.
Whatever is right will prevail.
On another matter, people died and lost their homes Wednesday night, lets keep things in perspective here. Come on, lets take the high road…
Gwinnett Fred
April 29th, 2011
7:19 pm
Sure hope the “presser” was more than just the two prepared statements that were posted. If so, that’s pretty lame. Hope they fed you guys for wasting your time having to cover this if that’s all that came out of it.
Jeff Schultz
April 29th, 2011
7:30 pm
Folks, the new column has been posted (replacing the old one). Let me know what you think. Thanks, Jeff.
http://blogs.ajc.com/jeff-schultz-blog/2011/04/29/braves-place-roger-mcdowell-on-administrative-leave/
Wxwax
April 29th, 2011
7:34 pm
Walking up to a fan with a bat in your hand and saying “How much are your teeth worth?” is really serious stuff. He showed a serious lack of judgment. The gay stuff is secondary.
braves rule
April 29th, 2011
7:36 pm
just get the braves to cut a nice check to the money hungry family looking for a quick payday—suspend mcd for 2-3 games and this will all go away quickly.