Thursday, August 30, 2007

Accountability


I am impressed with Russell Baze for stepping up and taking responsibility for his actions. This is what happened:


Baze, aboard heavy favorite Imperial Eyes, was seven lengths clear of the nearest rival when his horse bobbled at the sixteenths pole. He began to pull up the Cee’s Tizzy gelding, then continued to ride when it appeared his mount had regrouped and was running on. However, Imperial Eyes broke down in the shadow of the wire as Baze hit him twice with the whip and as he was being overtaken by eventual winner Hold the Peace. Imperial Eyes, who finished second, was vanned off the racetrack and later euthanized at trainer Art Sherman’s barn. After review, Baze was given 11 days suspension. This is what he said when asked if he would appeal:


“I’m not going to try to defend what I did,” Baze said on Sunday. “There’s no way to defend it. I made a bad decision in the heat of the moment and I’m truly sorry. I’ll take the punishment that was handed to me. Hopefully, this will not be the defining moment of my career. "Hopefully, I’ll be judged by the right decisions I made in the past and the right ones I’ll make in the future. In these days of athletes making public apologies, they can sound hollow but I want everyone to know how much I mean it. Nobody knows how contrite I am in my heart.”

8 comments:

Melanie said...

Definitely nice to see integrity these days.

Chris C. said...

I don't know if this is the full quote, but I don't see him provide the reasoning for his actions. True, he takes responsibility for what took place, but he does not say why he did it. I am just curious as to what he was thinking at the time.

Nora said...

I agree, Chris, I would like to hear what he was thinking too. All I can say is that what happened probably transpired in under 2 seconds. Maybe he didn't have the time to think it through. Also, maybe he thought that it was just another funny step that the horse would once again recover from. What I liked about his quote was that he didn't try to make excuses. Maybe in that split second he was a true heartless asshole? Maybe not. It seems he is taking the responsibility, though...

Nora said...

Where exactly do you think the "shadow of the wire" is? One or two steps? I sort of wish I could see a replay of the incident.

Kara said...

Yes, I would like to see a replay, too. But at least he is taking responsibility. If it went down as he said, I don't even think he did anything wrong. The horse stumbled but seemed to recover.

Nora said...

the second stumble is the problem... they were two seperate incidents.

Anonymous said...

I would not trust Baze to do anything near animals period.

Nora said...

I don't follow racing from Bay Meadows and have only heard the "big" stories about Baze; Lost In The Fog, breaking Pincay's record, and now this. I concede that the incident sounds like he may have been a prick, but I still like NOT hearing excuses and I can't help but giggle to think that a "pinhead" used the word "contrite" in his statement to the public. I really appreciate your remarks and hope that you will visit my blog again. : )