Steve Phillips, general manager of the New York Mets, speaks during a news conference in Boston Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2001. All-Star second baseman Roberto Alomar was traded from the Cleveland Indians to the New York Mets on Tuesday as part of an eight-player deal. (AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson)
Associated Press
Former Mets GM and ESPN talking head Steve Phillips was on the Today show this morning, opening his heart about his treatment for sex addiction. No word on if he was angry about being totally overshadowed by Tiger Woods in that department, but there was a lot of remorse and apologies to his family and things of that nature.
Which is good, because for as much as I’ve ripped Phillips in the past, I feel bad for the guy. Not for what he did to himself -- he dug his own grave with the job and the publicity and all of that -- but for the fact that there’s a really good chance he’s going to lose his family over this and that even if he doesn’t, their relationship will forever be altered. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone, and just because his wounds are self-inflicted doesn’t mean they aren’t wounds.
On a lighter note, the article says that Phillips’ program was an AA-style 12-stepper. Anyone who knows about those knows that a key part is making amends. And the amends don’t just have to be things the recovering party did while specifically subject to the addiction in question. Which means that, sooner or later Mets fans, expect Phillips to call you up and apologize to you for the Mo Vaughn, Roberto Alomar, Pedro Astacio, Mike Bordick, Bobby Bonilla, Rickey Henderson, Kenny Rogers, and Jeromy Burnitz deals.