A-ROID, BONDS AND TEJADA, TOO
Feb 10th, 2009 | By admin | Category: 5WPR news, In The NewsTejada will appear in U.S. District Court tomorrow morning to sign a plea agreement, and is expected to avoid jail time.
Meanwhile, the FBI is also considering launching an investigation into whether or not Roger Clemens also lied to Congress during a series of high-profile hearings into steroid use in baseball that were held back in 2005.
Additionally, Barry Bonds is scheduled to go on trial next month for obstructing justice in his steroids-related case.
Tejada - who was caught last year lying about his age - has hit 271 home runs in 11 seasons with the Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles and most recently, the Houston Astros.
As with Alex Rodriguez’s stunning admission yesterday that he lied to the press about his steroid use, it is unclear how Tejada’s situation will impact his playing career and professional endorsements.
One PR executive says that apologies may help with fans, but are unlikely to bring back nervous sponsors.
“The Mickey Mantle era of sports idols has been over for a long time, and in a world of Bernie Madoff, government bailouts and bank collapses, our sports heroes too are not true heroes or trustworthy,” said Ronn Torossian, CEO of 5W Public Relations. “A-Rod’s televised confession was handled in a wise manner, and he will continue to make millions on the field … but certainly not off it with endorsements.”
Ronn Torossian is CEO of 5W Public Relations, based in New York, one of the 20 largest independent PR agencies in the United States, named to the INC 500 list of fastest growing privately held companies.