July 18, 2003 5:59 AM

Kangaroo court is now in session- Judge McLane presiding

Jurors acquit ex-Astro Lugo in assault trial

Superstars get leeway, as Kobe can tell Lugo

MEMBERSHIP has its privileges.

It's more than just an advertising slogan.

A 19-year-old Colorado woman claims Kobe Bryant assaulted her in his hotel room, and the world holds its breath waiting, hoping for some kind of reasonable explanation.

Julio Lugo's wife, Mabely, claims she was struck in the face by her husband, and he is cut by his team the next day. That was 2 1/2 months ago.

Wednesday, a jury found Lugo not guilty on misdemeanor assault charges after his wife changed her story.

They are different cases. Are there different standards?

If Bryant were a shortstop for the Astros instead of a Most Valuable Player candidate for the Lakers, would his employer have acted so decisively?

If Lugo had been more than a scuffling journeyman on a struggling team at the time, would there have been a greater public outcry -- or any at all -- about a rush to judgment?

F. Scott Fitzgerald said the rich are different than you and me. Then there is the uber-class of American society in the early days of the 21st century: superstar athletes.

- Fran Blinebury

In many ways, the Houston Astros are a classy operation, but the sad case of Julio Lugo was not exactly management's finest hour. "Innocent until proven guilty" seems to be a concept lost on Gerry Hunsicker and Drayton McLane. Lugo was but a struggling bit player in the Astro's cast, but did that make him any less deserving of being treated with dignity and the presumption of innocence? Apparently so.

Lugo was arrested and charged with beating his wife, a crime no one in their right mind would condone. Let me emphasize that Lugo was ARRESTED, not CONVICTED, except in the mind of Gerry Hunsicker and Drayton McLane. So concerned were they about negative publicity that they dropped Lugo like a rancid ham sandwich. No benefit of the doubt, no opportunity to defend himself, nada. Don't let the door hit you in the butt on the way out of town, Julio.

Lugo was fortunate enough to land on his feet as a banjo-hitting shortstop with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (if playing for arguably the worst team in baseball can be called fortunate). Perhaps the Astros would have eventually traded him or designated him for assignment anyway, but Lugo deserved better than being ridden out of town on a rail.

This, of course, raises an interesting question. What IF the miscreant in question had been Jeff Bagwell of Craig Biggio? Would they have been treated differently. You bet they would have been.

By the way, just in case it actually matters, Lugo was acquitted on Tuesday.

blog comments powered by Disqus

Technorati

Technorati search

» Blogs that link here

About this Entry

This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on July 18, 2003 5:59 AM.

Anna Nicole Smith is wondering where her mid-afternoon snack is was the previous entry in this blog.

What a tangled web we weave.... is the next entry in this blog.

Find recent content on the main index or look in the archives to find all content.

Contact Me

Powered by Movable Type 5.12