Josh Hamilton and the Media's Treatment of Addiction

Photo from 10 Step Baseball Power

'Josh Hamilton Drank Monday', the sub-header said on a Yahoo article from early on Friday. 'So what?', the passing reader might think, to a sub header that looks as revelatory as 'Bird Flew Tuesday' or 'Bonds Cheated Throughout Career'.

The truth of the line's power is in its insinuation and backstory.

Josh Hamilton, outfielder for the Texas Rangers, left the sport of baseball all together in 2003, having previously been declared one of its hottest prospects. Hamilton, for years prior and through large parts of '03-'05, when he remained out of the sport, was addicted, both to various drugs and to alcohol. He tells stories of spending a $4million signing bonus almost solely in the pursuit of mind-altering substances, of waking up in a ditch having passed out on crack and of having to borrow $2,000 from his father-in-law when a cheque to his drug dealer bounced.

He told all of this in a now-fairly-famous interview he gave to Sports Illustrated in 2008.

Since then, and in the years from 2005 when he was back in baseball, Hamilton has worked hard to clean up his act. He moved to the Rangers, who employed a sort of 'minder' to keep track of him. He gave the frank interview to SI and talked openly about how hard it was to kick addiction. He publicly admitted his relapses, asked forgiveness and sought the help he needed to overcome them.

In 2010 he was AL MVP. Last year he batted .298 with 25 home runs and 94 RBIs, despite missing a chunk of the season with a shoulder injury. The Rangers made the World Series for the second time in two years.

It now seems that, because 'Josh Hamilton Drank Monday', the media have forgotten all of that.

More than the stats, the sad thing about that fact is they have forgotten how hard Hamilton has worked to literally pull himself out of a ditch. They have forgotten the constant self-effacement, the recognition that he had a problem which needed to be fixed, the dedication to his mentor-reliant regime.

They have also forgotten that relapses are the symptoms of a disease that will be ever-present. Hamilton will always, for the rest of his life, be battling alcohol and drugs. A relapse is - like a sneeze during the flu - a symptom of his disease. Like other relapses he has suffered, it is reasonable to expect that Hamilton will admit to his mistake, continue to seek and pay for the help he has had over the last few years and move on.

It is reasonable to expect this... except if you are the media.

In Jeff Passan's article for Yahoo, the writer invokes Hamilton's new daughter, questions whether he will now get the long contract he wants from the Rangers, trawls up the bawdy details of his previous relapses and then, at the end, has the temerity to suggest that he understands Hamilton's battle, just before he signs off by proclaiming his actions those of 'just another guy who doesn't care'.

All of that written without any details of what or why 'Josh Hamilton Drank Monday'. All of that written without a care or thought for how hard Josh Hamilton has worked to be a 'guy who does care' over the last few years. All of that written, sadly, inevitably, with the aim of getting clicks on a sensationalist story.

A final thought for The Texas Rangers: what message do you send out to Josh Hamilton if you don't give him his extended contract? What message are you sending out to others trying to recover from diseases like this?

I hope, although I accept it is unlikely, that what 'Josh Hamilton Drank Monday' turns out to have been water, Fanta or iced tea. I hope that if it is not, he continues to be one of Major League Baseball's most exciting players. I hope he apologises, to his fans, family, team and those who see him as someone to look up to.

I hope that if one or all of the above turn out to be true, that in that climate of opinion, Jeff Passan attempts to write an article praising him or his abilities because, if he does, I'll be the first person to tell him what 'Jeff Passan Wrote Friday'.