It’s time for Washington Nationals General Manager Jim Bowden to go.
Bowden’s arrest for driving under the influence on Monday morning in Miami probably won’t be decided by the courts for months. And even if found guilty (and assuming this is his first offense), Bowden likely faces a suspended sentence, small fine and loss of driving privileges. The penalty is rarely harsh because most Americans invoke the “there but for the grace of God go I” mentality of everyone having driven when they probably shouldn’t.
Bowden has the right to be considered innocent until proven guilty. But this is a town of politics and many careers have been forfeited for a lot less. Major League Baseball should mail Bowden’s remaining paychecks to his new address and tell the Nats GM to leave if they want to send the right message — zero tolerance for putting the public at risk. If MLB doesn’t have the guts, then the team’s new owners should terminate Bowden immediately.
Drunk driving is more serious than the Barry Bonds’ steroids scandal that has us obsessed because it sends a bad message to youth. Well, 18 people in the District were killed in alcohol-related crashes in 2004, according to Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Maryland lost 286 people with another 359 in Virginia and 16,684 nationwide.
More than one fourth of all U.S. crashes in 2000 were alcohol related with 513,000 people injured. Alcohol-related crashes cost Americans $114.3 billion that year.
I’m not anti-drinking. And in my youth, I hate to think what could have happened a few times I got behind the wheel. In fact, I once rode in a car where the driver was arrested for drunk driving and later rightly convicted.
I was stupid. So were many of you for doing the same thing. Thankfully, I learned to hand over the keys on the rare occasion I have two or more drinks nowadays.
Now it’s Bowden’s turn to learn a hard lesson. If baseball wants to do the right thing, it doesn’t give a second chance to a team official. A rookie player would be bad enough, but Bowden is a team leader who should know better.
Sound a little harsh for our Washington Examiner guest columnist who may not be guilty? Tell that to the families who buried a relative or friend because of a drunk driver. I lost one friend in 2005 to a drunk driver. It’s not easy to see a life wasted.
Americans face so many mixed messages when it comes to alcohol. We hear about the times someone is arrested on a plane because of an alcohol-driven incident, but I could tell you of the many times I have seen clearly intoxicated passengers sold drinks. It’s a moneymaker airlines don’t want to surrender despite always complaining about safety. It’s ridiculous.
Sports are no different. I remember one fan in front of the press box at FedEx Field during a Redskins game who drank at least 12 beers while I was watching. Two beer vendors circled him every few minutes like buzzards because he tipped well. I shudder to think how that guy got home.
Drinking and sports are synonymous. Tailgate parties. Champagne in the victorious lockerroom. Beer commercials during every break.
We’ve worked so hard to hinder tobacco from reaching our youth. Why are we so blind to alcohol? It’s no wonder kids start drinking in their teens when our society promotes it so much. And if you think teens aren’t drinking, you must not be a parent.
So this is why Bowden must go irrespective of a very spotty GM record with a handful of problem trades and overpaid free agents. Bowden needs to be made a public example so that maybe someone thinks twice tonight before driving home after too many beers. Maybe that person takes a cab. Maybe they’ll get home OK.
Even better, someone else they might have killed on the road will be alive tomorrow.
Rick Snider has covered local sports for 28 years. Contact him at [email protected].
