Dan McLaughlin, the lead play by play announcer for the St Louis Cardinals on FOX Sports Midwest, will be returning to the broadcast booth after a DUI in September threw his future into chaos.
The DUI was the second for McLaughlin in 13 months and follows in an unfortunate tradition of Cardinals players and staff drinking and driving. Former pitcher Josh Hancock was killed in April 2007 while driving drunk, former manager Tony La Russa was arrested for DUI a month prior to Hancock's death, former Cardinals utilityman Scott Spiezio was arrested in February 2008 for DUI, hit and run, and assault, and third baseman David Freese was arrested in December of 2009 for a DUI. Combine all of those infractions with the two arrests for McLaughlin, and it's disappointing to see FOX allow him to come back to work.
To McLaughlin's credit, he's apparently doing all the right things since his arrest. He wants to find out how to get clean and sober for good, so he entered rehab, attends weekly meetings, and hasn't had a drink since the incident initially happened. I just think it's a little short-sighted for an organization that's had issues with this to allow a man that seemingly embodies the image of the Cardinals and alcohol to return to work. It's setting a very dangerous precedent for the future. Out of all of the drinking-related infractions the club has been through over the years, the only time the club took action was when they released Spiezio.
[via STLToday]
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