I didn't see this anywhere in the Natsmosphere except for our friends at Nationals Enquirer and I wanted to make sure my handful of exclusive readers didn't miss this sad, sad story.
Yes, I'm fully aware that Elijah Dukes' situation is almost totally of his own making. Some will argue the circumstances of his upbringing are to blame, but I've covered way too many athletes who have come from bad backgrounds and become top-notch and productive citizens.
Yes, I'm fully aware that I was never completely comfortable with Dukes in a Nationals uniform. Like many, I kept waiting for the proverbial shoes to drop. He had some definite "wow you" skills as well as so many holes in his game that those skills could be worked around by the opposition.
I still wish it had worked out. I heard enough interviews with the guy to come away with the conviction that he's far from stupid.
And I still find the Elijah Dukes story very, very sad.
3 comments:
The saddest part was his apparent unwillingness to do the work it takes to become a successful MLB player. Since he first joined the Nats he seemed to have put that other garbage behind him and this latest incident appears to have happened simply because he is dead flat broke.
If this isn't enough to give him the kick in the butt he needs to wake up and begin working on realizing his true potential while he is still young enough to do it, nothing will.
"Since he first joined the Nats he seemed to have put that other garbage behind him and this latest incident appears to have happened simply because he is dead flat broke."
You seem to have forgotten the several times during his Nats tenure when he was called into court to answer to charges of non-payment of child support. The only difference now is that he has no income stream to be garnisheed.
Anon - not paying child support is hardly in the same league with beating your wife and sending her pictures of a gun and saying "You dead, dawg."
Dude isn't ever going to win father of the year, but it has been several years now since he was involved in a violent incident.
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