Manny took performance enhancing drugs.

As I re-read that sentence I just wrote, it’s almost oxymoronic.

Manny — the natural — took a steroid?

To me, that’s like saying Larry Bird took a steroid.

Manny and Larry are equally important to Boston sports, and they’re equally unsuspicious.

It’s truly unbelievable. And yet, I believe it. There’s hardly any room for doubt.

Here’s what we must remember: professional athletes are human beings, and as such, they are mirrors of ourselves.
We can judge them for their actions, but were we in the same situation,
many of us would behave the same way. Am I defending Manny and other
cheaters? No. But I am saying, “There but by the grace of God go I.” And I’m also saying, I’m not going to stop loving Manny just because he’s so…. human.