"And while Rodriguez distinguished himself as a Willie Mays-grade offensive demon and one of the best infielders who ever lived, he played under the stress of the game's richest contract (infamously, he signed for a record $252m in the year 2000) and under the harsh glare of the New York media spotlight after joining the Yankees in 2004; to meet the pressure, he turned to performance-enhancing drugs a cardinal sin in the sport and was ultimately banished from baseball's hallowed pantheon."
"Worse, Rodriguez lied about doping after getting caught twice (the first time before there was an explicit major league policy against PEDs), shattering trust with baseball fans who eventually came to see him as a classic narcissist albeit one who has been linked to Madonna and JLo and was alleged to have a painting of himself as a centaur hanging over his bed. (He can deny that, but not the Details magazine photo of him kissing his mirror image.)"
"Film-maker Gotham Chopra, a lifelong fan of the Yankees archrival Boston Red Sox, was inclined to continue thinking the worst of Rodriguez when intermediaries for the three-time MVP approached him about the possibility of collaborating for a documentary similar in style to the deep dives Chopra has done on Kobe Bryant and Tom Brady under his Religion of Sports production imprint."
Alex Rodriguez rose as an 18-year-old top draft pick, breaking into the majors in 1994 and earning comparisons to immortals. He became an elite offensive player and one of the best infielders, then signed a record $252m contract in 2000 and joined the Yankees in 2004, facing media scrutiny. To cope with pressure he used performance-enhancing drugs and later lied about doping after being caught twice, which shattered fan trust and led to his banishment from baseball's pantheon. At 50 he sought reinvention as a Bloomberg TV figure and Timberwolves part-owner, yet public sentiment remained sour. Gotham Chopra met him and discussed blind spots.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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