Honesty

Lance Greco sent me a link to a ESPN article today titled, Santangelo admits HGH use, says he'll 'face the music'. In my blog yesterday, Let the Games Begin, I mentioned that I'm waiting for just one baseball player to step forward to take personal responsibility for his HGH use.

Well, the wait is over. F.P. Santangelo, a seven year veteran who last played with the Oakland A's, was one of the players named in the Mitchell Report. Santangelo now works for Sacramento's KHTK Radio as a member of, "The Rise Guys" morning show. This morning he came on the air and admitted that he had used HGH. Here are some of the quotes from the MLB article.

In an emotional two-hour radio appearance, the seven-year major league veteran, who last played with the Oakland A's in 2001, confessed to using human growth hormone, explained how and why he did it and publicly apologized to his two kids, his ex-wife, his parents and listeners. He talked about the difficulty he had in explaining it all to his children.

Santangelo's honesty, his candor and his willingness to accept responsibility for what he had done touched some listeners and infuriated others. Opinions ranged from, "You're a liar," "You should resign," and "What should I tell my kid?" to "You don't owe anyone an apology," "I commend you for telling the truth," and "Keep your head up." Santangelo absorbed it all, telling listeners, "I made this bed and now I have to lie in it."

Friday, Santangelo described the release of the Mitchell report as a "relief," telling ESPN.com it was something he had wanted to "scream from the top of a mountain" for some time now, but fear of litigation kept him from doing so.

"This is just me," he said. "I hit things head-on. I'm honest to a fault. I never run away from anything. Once I knew this was coming out, I wasn't going to hide from it."

As difficult as it was to listen to critical phone calls, Santangelo said the hardest part was sitting down with his kids a month ago to explain to them about the decision he'd made. When a caller asked what he should tell his 10-year-old son about Santangelo's inclusion in the report, the former major leaguer instructed him to tell him the exact same thing he told F.P. Jr. "I told him, 'You make mistakes. If you make the right decision in the first place, you won't have to go through what I have. But if you do make a wrong decision, you handle it head-on, with humility and you move on.' "My kids are learning a very good life lesson right now. Their Dad screwed up but he faced the music and is dealing with it head-on."

At the end of his two-hour radio stint, Santangelo again apologized to his friends, his family and his listeners. He again took accountability for his actions and admitted he made a horrible mistake and that everyone's criticism was warranted.

Kudos to Santangelo for being a stand up guy. He's admitted his error and is taking responsibility for his decisions. Admission of guilt is always the first step toward recovery and healing. Santangelo has discovered the peace of mind that comes with honesty.

He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but however confesses and renounces them finds mercy. Proverbs 28:13