Whereas his on-field accolades converse for themselves, baseball icon Alex Rodriguez additionally takes satisfaction in his behind-the-scenes efforts to shift attitudes about athletes’ psychological well being..
“Similar to most people on the market, everybody has sure obstacles of their life, proper?” Rodriguez, 50, completely informed Us Weekly on the New York premiere of Alex vs ARod on Monday, November 3. “Some greater than others, some extra public than others, however I simply encourage everybody on the market that there’s a necessity for assist. Lots of people can’t afford a therapist, however possibly there’s a superb good friend, possibly there’s a member of the family which you could unload on typically since you want a spot to vent.”
Throughout an look on the “Throwbacks” podcast with Matt Leinart and Jerry Ferrara final month, Rodriguez confessed “remedy saved my life.”
Rodriguez’s candidness about going to remedy is a far cry from the buttoned-up baseball tradition that the 14-time All–Star skilled when he made his 1994 Main League debut with the Seattle Mariners.
“Once I first began my profession, [therapy] was a giant no no within the locker room,” he defined. “However I believe right now, what I’m so pleased with is that it’s truly celebrated. I hope younger youngsters, the following technology watching this documentary, cannot solely keep away from a number of the errors that I made, but when they need assistance that’s celebrated. You need to go get assist.”
Alex vs Arod, which premieres Thursday, November 6, on HBO, particulars the sophisticated profession of Rodriguez by two lenses: Alex Rodriguez, the person, and ARod, the legendary baseball expertise who was suspended for 211 video games in 2013 after he was accused of utilizing performance-enhancing medication.
“ARod is a persona and Alex is a human being,” director and government producer Gotham Chopra informed Us. “Particularly now, as I’ve gotten to know him, Alex is a father, Alex is considerate. It’s due to ARod he turned one of many biggest gamers of any technology. It’s additionally due to ARod that he type of bought into the difficulty that he did. However I believe Alex has quite a lot of perspective now. I believe he bought trapped by his fame.”
Chopra continued, “I imply, he talks about it overtly and so I believe Alex is any individual who’s grown up loads and who’s additionally develop into actually trustworthy and accountable. Hopefully, that’s the half that individuals get to see by the movie.”
Erik LeDrew, who directed and produced the docuseries alongside Chopra, mentioned that he views Alex and ARod as “the identical individual.”
“It’s like a false distinction, proper?” LeDrew argued. “All of us put on masks with completely different folks whether or not it’s in public or personal, with household, mates. I believe most of us don’t must do it on the biggest stage and so these variations develop into exaggerated below scrutiny and intense strain. That’s form of my perspective. He’s the identical man.”
Nevertheless, LeDrew did word one distinction between the 2 personas.
“If you’d like the quick reply, I believe Alex is a superb listener and ARod barks orders,” he mentioned.
The primary episode of Alex vs ARod premieres Thursday, November 6, on HBO and HBO Max, with episodes two and three premiering on November 13 and November 20, respectively.
Reporting by Fortune Benatar
