Sabathia not the only athlete to find the bad in Toronto the Good
Stars from Alex Rodriguez to Vince Carter have caught the eye, and more, of public
Last weekend, the New York Yankees took two of three games from the Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre, but Yankees starting pitcher CC Sabathia suffered a defeat in Toronto without even hitting the field.
Early Saturday morning, the veteran left-hander got into a tense shouting match with fellow patrons outside an entertainment district nightclub.
The incident, captured on video, didn’t turn violent but Sabathia lost a shoe and some dignity in the showdown, and later apologized for his role.
He’s not alone. Recent history abounds with examples of athletes hitting downtown night spots seeking a good time and finding embarrassment.
Here are five examples:
STRAY-ROD
In May 2007 a reporter from the New York Post tailed New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez and a date as they sampled Toronto’s entertainment options. From the Four Seasons Hotel they headed to the upscale Harbour Sixty Steakhouse. And from there? Two hours at The Brass Rail, a Yonge Street strip club. And the woman? We don’t know her name but it wasn’t Rodriguez’s wife. She didn’t make the road trip. Rodriguez refused to discuss the evening with reporters. He and wife Cynthia Scurtis divorced the following year.
HEDO-NISM
In January 2010, a club-goer spotted high-priced Raptors forward Hedo Turkoglu at a Yorkville night spot and snapped a photo. One of Turkoglu’s cronies snatched the phone and tried, unsuccessfully, to delete the pic. Two months later Turkoglu sat out a Friday night loss to the Denver Nuggets, claiming a stomach bug had weakened him. Hours later, however, he showed up at the same Yorkville nightclub, looking healthy as ever. He was benched the following game and after the season was traded to Phoenix.
CARTER IN CONCERT
It was early in the 2002-03 season and the Raptors were struggling. In late November they lost a Monday night road game in Atlanta, while star Vince Carter was back in Toronto resting a chronically sore knee. Or was he? While his team was losing, Carter appeared at a Nelly concert at the Air Canada Centre. He even danced on stage with his allegedly tender knee. Raptors fans who were already questioning Carter’s heart weren’t pleased with his extracurricular activities. Carter to his critics: “I’m a grown man. They don’t make decisions for me.”
MEETING OF THE MINDS
In May 2001 baseball fan Randy (Bull) Dearing had a chance meeting with his baseball hero, former Blue Jay and then White Sox pitcher David Wells, at the Indian Motorcycle Club on King Street West. After doing a few shots of tequila and vodka, Dearing claimed Wells, unprovoked and unsolicited, head-butted him. Twice. Dearing said he reciprocated one head butt, but that bouncers threw him out before he could deliver another. “There was no malice,” Dearing said. “It’s a guy thing.” Wells denied any head-butting.
HE SAID, THEY SAID
In April 2003 NBA players Gary Payton, Jason Caffey and Sam Cassell, then with the Milwaukee Bucks and in town to face the Raptors, headed to For Your Eyes Only, a King Street West strip club, for some post-game entertainment. Afterward, a shouting match ensued between the trio and Adrian Cimpean, the fiancé of the dancer with whom Payton had spent most of the evening. Cimpean claimed the players beat him up and filed assault charges. The players said they hurled only verbal jabs. In court, the judge sided with the players, saying Cimpean and his fiancée’s testimony contained too many inconsistencies and last-minute changes to be believed.