Perhaps the most telling thing GM Omar Minaya said this afternoon was admitting teams do look into off the field incidents in trade talks. The Mets aren’t happy with Lastings Milledge’s release of a rap song “Bend Ya Knees,’’ which has all the stuff you would expect. Basically, it was mild in comparison to what Don Imus said about the Rutgers women’s basketball team.
The song had sexually implicit lyrics and liberal use of the N-word.
The Mets aren’t saying they are trying to trade Milledge, but that the question was asked and somewhat answered means this isn’t a dead issue.
I’m not asking for a music review, but what are your thoughts on this? Should the Mets reprimand Milledge for embarrassing the organization? Did Milledge take a step back? After his positive image spring, is this a step back? Should the Mets get rid of him or continue to put up with him?
17 Comments
It seemed, at least from what Newsday was saying, that this song isn’t really that new, it just didn’t surface till now. Considering a lot of what else passes for popular music (not just in the gangsta rap world) Lastings song wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. There’s a lot worse thats a lot more popular, but its just not as common coming from a baseball player. He he played football or basketball he’d be just another young player with a failed rap song people made fun of. Omar and Co shouldn’t punish him.
Yeah, it’s just unfortunate for Milledge that this comes out now and makes it look like he is slacking down in AAA, hangin’ on the DL, smoking blunts and recording tracks in his home studio. I think Milledge did mature in the off-season and during the spring, and this is probably not something worth caring much about (as it’s old anyway). One thing that I did find slightly outrageous though was his choice of “L Millz” as his rap name. A more appropriate name would have been simply, “Rook.”
Let me say I’m not a fan of rap, but I did listen to Lastings’ song earlier today. And I must admit, I did find a lot of useful advice I wish I had used with a certain girl I dated back during my college days. If only…
Seriously, though, it does become damn-near impossible to market, as part of a family-oriented product, a guy associated with such lyrics. But, at the same time, if the lyrics are too much for New York, then where, pray tell, would they be acceptable? I mean, it’s not like there’s an Al Davis out there waiting to take on baseball’s castoffs.
Apparently the rapper is an artist that Milledge is “managing” and they co-own a record label. As mentioned above since the artist is due to drop a new album this month that probably led to the discovery of the video. I don’t know if the Mets should trade Milledge, but it shouldn’t be on the basis of this rap record or his relationship with his friend the rapper.
This is still a country founded on free speech and regardless of how you feel about the language reported to be used on the recording, would you not play a Snoop Dogg disciple if he had the skills of a Lastings Milledge?
Big Whoop-de-do bout nothing…. so what he made a rap album. Do they not listen to hip-hop in the club house?
talk about old white people (the media predominantly) making a big deal about rap/hip-hop again. The bigger issue is that he’s hurt and not playing, not that he likes hip-hop.
Leaving aside the content of the music that Milledge is producing for a moment, I think it’s disappointing that he’s choosing to play around as a music producer when he should be focusing on being the best baseball player that he can, at least if he wants to be a major league starter for somebody.
On the issue of content… well, Don Imus said something that’s offensive to women and he got fired, along with his producer. “L Millz” produces a song that’s offensive to women, and the Mets issue a statement disapproving of the content of the song and distancing themselves from the off-the-field actions of their employee.
I’m not seeing an over-reaction on the part of the Mets here.
Good points Paul. I agree.
The way I look at it is if I did the same thing my boss would be mad. I would be told that it was inappropriate because it reflects poorly on the company. That’s what Omar probably said to Lastings. Omar is probably annoyed because Lastings is building himself a reputation that doesn’t befit a trade chip.
In my opinion…who really cares?? Why does the public continue to hold athletes up to some higher moral standard? Just because they have physical talent and ability doesn’t mean that we should expect more out of them ethically. Besides…I wonder if Omar and the Mets front office (and anyone else who wants to make a huge deal out of this) has even listened to what’s played on a daily basis on Z100, Hot 97, and the like? I seriously doubt this is any worse than that.
If Milledge wants to dabble and pursue other interests off the field, then more power to him. As long as it doesn’t negatively impact his on the field production (which, based on his spring training performance and his performance in AAA pre-injury, doesn’t seem to be the case), I could care less. Still, I guess it’s NYC and everyone is going to look for a reason to blast him.
I went to his website and cannot find the song, cant find it on the web.
that aside, here is a young player trying to rehab his image. he has a boss who got rid of a player that was useful to the team because of all the drama associated with his wife.
being a record producer/rapper may be cool but the perception is you are a young player trying to establish yourself and you choose to spend your energy not on your job and trying to get better but on extra curricular activities.
additionally there are two other young players who are trying for the same job who are regarded as having more talent and less experience.
this on top of the problems from last year. as a producer you are a marketing person. not being sensitive to the perceptions of your audience ( read media, your boss , etc ) means you are not good at that either,
He loses on so many levels and i do not feel sorry for him.
notice i haven’t even dealt with the content of the song in question.
this only serves to lower his trade value.
i don’t see him as part of the met family for all the above reasons. it’s only a matter of time.
I’m neither old, nor white and I’m a fan of hip-hop classics.
I’m African-American and believe in artistic freedom and entrepreneurial enterprise, but Lastings Milledge has continuously proven his judgment is at best questionable and at worst, faulty.
Does Lastings Milledge want to be Hammerin’ Hank Aaron, or Timbaland?
Milledge is first and foremost, a professional baseball player.
No doubt he produced – and made a cameo appearance – on the CD in question on his own time and it didn’t interfere with his baseball activity. Or did it affect his decision not to play Winter Ball?
I teach students in Milledge’s age range and most, because of lack of life experience, an unwillingness to listen to elders and a self-absorbed insatiable appetite to freely assert their individuality, lack maturity and the ability to see and grasp the proverbial bigger picture.
Allow me – since no one else has, or someone has and he’s ignored it – spell it out for Lastings:
You have achieved NOTHING yet on the Major League level. Last year, you pissed off your teammates, one of whom told you to “know your place.” You also pissed off your manager and general manager with your habitual lateness, defensive lapses and perceived cockiness.
So this year, you seem to get it. You come to camp in great shape, play well and, as you put it, “get your grown man on” by accepting with grace, a minuscule role on the team and an eventual demotion.
Then, you pull a Ron Artest by drawing public attention to your hobby business through a no-name, marginal rapper you want to hype.
And now of all times, when it took a mean-spirited rant by Don Imus to awaken the country to the misogynistic and racially self-hating garbage lyrics it has, for the last 15 years, either tacitly encouraged or turned a deaf ear to, Milledge goes for the gusto, slinging the “n” and “b” words, causing his team great embarrassment.
With the announcement today that Billy Wagner is financially supporting a charity in East Harlem, why would the Mets – or any other team, for that matter – want to be even remotely associated with another player verbally demeaning African-Americans?
Milledge’s rapper, by the way, said the words he slings are “just words” and “don’t hurt nobody.” Spoken like a true 21-year-old with no clue about the social ramifications vulgar words have on popular culture and mainstream society’s – and indeed the outside world’s -perceptions of young, African-American men and young African-Americans’ perceptions of themselves.
To me, this monumental error in judgment and taste is the Lastings straw.
I was patient with him all last year, but enough is enough. Look at the way rookie Carlos Gomez plays the game – he sprints out every ball he hits, is smooth defensively and has an endearing, wide-eyed, awestruck, reverential look on his face. That’s pure love of the game – the kind other Mets youngsters like Jose Reyes, David Wright and Joe Smith exhibit. And those guys are mature – and in Reyes’s and Wright’s case, humble in spite of their fame and newly-gained big contracts.
And with baby outfielder Jesus Martinez on the way and minor league vet Ben Johnson both competing with Milledge for their chance in the bigs, Milledge is STILL a Triple-A outfielder who so far has shown he’s all style and no substance.
I’m not saying he shouldn’t run his business. I’m not playa-hating. But Milledge – or maybe I should refer to him by his preferred MC name, L Millz – should, when it comes to his business, heed the words of rapper Q-Tip who once talked of “keepin’ it on the down low and keepin’ it discreet.”
Back in the day, another rapper, Guru, of the seminal hip-hop group Gang Starr once talked about people doing things “Just to Get a Rep.”
Milledge needs to establish one for being a good ballplayer, whether with the Mets, the Zephyrs, or another club, not for being a sucker MC.
Gil –
Thanks for an informative post.
I only hope that Lastings – whose parents seemed to have slacked off on discipline at home for this self-centerd child – will Grow Up.
However, I don’t believe he will be with the Mets for long, and this is why – would your employer be happy with what Milledge has done? I doubt it, and I don’t think the Mets are either. I think Lastings has lost his chance here and yes Gil, he really does look like the ‘bad apple’ in the company of young men like Wright, Jose Reyes, Joe Smith, John Maine and Carlos Gomez.
I’ll bet Omar is already on the phone.
Being part of a baseball team is no different than being in the miltary are part of a corporation. some times your off work activities will impact your at work life. If you do something that could bring shame to the organization, even though its personal you may be shown the door. This is baseball and entertainment, you would think there was no conflict of interest and the matter shuold be brought to him. Its no different then endorsing a product.
On the extreme 10 years ago. a bear stearns employee i high ranking trader(male), invited another male he met at the DUngeon (S&M) and kept him captive and chained to the bed. of course this made the rounds at the office including the article which everyone pinned up. Suffice it to say he didnt work at Bear after that…
It all depends… was it bad judgement, who’s to say….in the end The Mets are the boss, if they feel it impacts the teams outlook, there’s nothing you can do…
i personally dont like rap but i dont feel he should be punished for making money outside the game…
as for the racial issues, its time that people became more tolerant, sins of the past are over and the people that were incolved are not the peopel today 99% have evolved. the 1 percent are idiots and every racial/religious group has their 1%.
The one thing i do not like is hypocrisy. If i cant say the word, neither can you and vice versa….
on that note,..
Lets Go Mets Go..
i high ranking = a high ranking..
and alos pleased excuse typos. i hunt n peck and if i look away. oh well ;-]
I’m curious…
Has anyone listened to Jose Reyes’ recently released album? It’s in Spanish. I would be curious to know if anyone has listened to that record and gone through all of his lyrics to see if they meet the apparently high moral standard of the organization.
Milledge was on the Mets “watch list” before this came out, and with Gomez and Nando in the pipe, they have been looking for ways to get rid of this guy, IMO. Unfortunately, he has value, so they don;t want to give him away. But if the organization makes a huge deal out of this, they are only making it harder for themselves when it comes time to trade him.
I don’t really listen to rap, and I absolutely hate the hypocrisy and double standard surrounding the whole Imus issue and the hip-hop and R&B culture. That being said, I don’t think there is any need for the Mets to punish Milledge, for the same reason I thought it was stupid for Imus to get fired. This is America, and speech is protected here. The way that America deals with speech we do not like is with our money. Change the station, don’t buy the album, but for crying out loud, we can’t legislate what people can say or can’t say in a free market place. I’m certainly not saying that I condone anything Imus or Milledge have said. but if things continue like this, we will be just like China, censoring our search engines to filter out the n-word and the word “Ho” – and then Home Depot would have to find a new name for that lovely gardening tool. (j/k)
Seriously though, if we, as a society, open the door to this kind of thing, we are seriously asking for it. There are monsters on the other side of that door…
remember when controversy made stars out of players?
The difference between having a bad incident in a workplace—like the note left in Milledge’s locker last year—and this is the idea that the CD is accessible to all and lives on well beyond the moment it was created. It doesn’t go away. As such, the proverbial change of scenery doesn’t necessarily help; I mean, if they were to trade Milledge to Milwaukee, would the fans there somehow not be exposed to the CD?
If anything, I think this situation lessens Milledge’s trade value. It might increase Omar’s desire to deal him, but I don’t think it means the Mets will get honest value in return.
Let’s not forget that Milledge fell to the Mets in the draft due to similar, off-the-field issues. Do you think this situation exonerates him? I think it affirms the decision not to select him to the other teams picking ahead of the Mets.
Can someone post the actual lyrics of “Bend Ya Knees” so we can all judge for ourselves?