Tommy and the Madam

Whenever sordid details come out about sports stars, commentators start throwing out the cliché: “we don’t really know these people.” It’s a condescending, and a rather obvious, statement meant to deflate fans who hero-worship athletes. Unless you are under 12-years-old and/or really believe a Nike commercial is reality, you have probably figured out by now that athletes are physically gifted individuals who are susceptible to as much human folly as anyone. Give someone stardom, a lot of money and free-time and funny things start to happen. There was a time, before the book Ball Four was published, that athletes' private lives were private. In The Fray is certainly no prude but after reading the alleged sexual exploits of Dodger great Tommy Lasorda (yes, you read that name correctly) perhaps we can bring back another cliche: "ignorance is bliss."