Sports and Forgiveness: Is the Baseball Hall of Fame Next?
How will fans react if next summer’s Hall of Fame ceremony in Cooperstown includes Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, and Carlos Beltrán holding plaques?
Concerns Across Sports Halls of Fame
There are ongoing questions about how sports halls handle controversial figures. For example, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame might face scrutiny if Chauncey Billups is convicted for alleged involvement in gambling and money laundering.
Hall of Fame Expulsions Are Rare
- O.J. Simpson was never removed from the Pro Football Hall of Fame despite controversies.
- Alan Eagleson remains the only individual expelled from the four major sports halls of fame.
- Hockey legend Bobby Orr’s corrupt agent resigned from the Hockey Hall in 1998, just before the board planned to expel him.
Baseball’s Current Climate of Forgiveness
Baseball appears to lean heavily toward forgiveness today. A clear example is Fenway Park’s dugout, where Alex Cora, considered one of the Red Sox’s greatest managers, has seemingly moved past his involvement in the 2017 Astros cheating scandal.
“MLB suspended Cora (a bench coach then with the Astros) and Houston manager A.J. Hinch for a year, but both are back in the dugout with playoff teams and nobody really brings it up anymore.”
Reflection
The sports world displays a rare tolerance for past misconduct, prompting debate on whether the Baseball Hall of Fame will follow suit and forgive players with controversial histories.
Author’s summary: The trend of forgiveness in sports, especially baseball, raises questions about how impunity and past scandals are reconciled within prestigious halls of fame.