Dodgers' Ramirez a reflection of society

What do you think of Manny Ramirez?

Cheater, right?

Guy violated Major League Baseball’s drug policy. His statistics are tainted. He should never get into the Hall of Fame.

OK.

What would you think of Manny Ramirez if he were a longtime Diamondback?

Or let’s put it another way: Would your admiration for Luis Gonzalez diminish if it was discovered he had taken steroids in 2001?

Ramirez’s 50-game suspension will end Friday when he joins the Los Angeles Dodgers for their series at San Diego. Padres fans will boo and taunt Ramirez just as they did Barry Bonds all those years.

But when the Dodgers return home July 16 from their extended road trip and the All-Star break, Ramirez will feel nothing but love.

How can we be sure?

Because in rehabilitation stints in Albuquerque, N.M., and San Bernardino, Calif., Dodger fans treated Ramirez as if he were a war hero. Los Angeles Times columnist Bill Plaschke couldn’t find one fan at the 6,600-seat stadium in San Bernardino who had anything negative to say about Ramirez.

"No way," Vince Castro told Plaschke. "Look what Manny did. He signed my autograph."

Pathetic.

You want to know why so many professional athletes are spoiled and self-absorbed and of the belief that there are no serious consequences for their actions?

Because we make them feel that way.

That’s right. The public, the media, the institutions that these athletes play for, we’re all to blame for the very attitudes we decry.

Last May, then-Kentucky coach Billy Gillespie offered Michael Avery a scholarship to play basketball for the Wildcats. Avery was in eighth grade.

A year before that, eighth-grader Ryan Boatright accepted a scholarship offer from then-USC basketball coach Tim Floyd. Boatright was 14 at the time.

Is it any wonder these kids grow up thinking life’s norms don’t apply to them?

But it’s not just overzealous coaches overstepping their bounds. The very moment kids are deemed to be athletically gifted, the media treats them differently. Who do we want to talk to after a football game? The star quarterback. Who gets the headline after a big basketball win? The precocious point guard.

Sometimes I think we shouldn’t cover high school sports at all. The more attention we give a 15-year-old, the harder it is for him to grow up without thinking he’s better than everyone else. And that oversized ego — and sense of entitlement — can lead to dangerous thinking and behavior: There were no consequences for my behavior in high school and college. Why should I follow the rules now that I’m in the pros?

You know what would happen if we did stop our high school coverage, though? We’d get dozens of calls from angry parents wanting to know why their son or daughter isn’t getting a write-up in the paper.

A few months ago, I had a mother tell me that because the Tribune didn’t feature her son in a game story it was going to be harder for him to receive a college scholarship.

Sadly, these are the same people — and it’s the same warped thinking — that enables athletes like Ramirez.

Time after time, it’s been proven that the public doesn’t care if an athlete uses performance-enhancing drugs. Did Giants fans turn their back on Bonds? Are New York Yankees fans booing Alex Rodriguez?

It’s no different in Los Angeles with Ramirez than it would have been here with Gonzalez. As long as they’re hitting home runs or catching 80-yard bombs or making game-winning jumpers, they can pretty much do whatever they want and you’ll idolize them.

Do I think Ramirez deserves a second chance?

Absolutely.

But do I believe who he is — and what he did — is in part a reflection of how he’s treated?

Don’t you?