RANT: Wander Franco and Statutory Rape Laws

 There is only one thing more damaging to a man's reputation than being outed as a racist.  That is being accused of sexual misconduct with an underage girl.  Even if it turns out that the allegations are not as serious as they appear, his reputation will be forever tarnished, and his MLB career may be over.   I recall a few years ago, there was an MLB prospect from college that was widely considered to be a 1st or 2nd round talent but it was revealed that 5 years earlier, he pleaded guilty to sexual misconduct with a 13-year-old.  IIRC, there was no sex but inappropriate touching.  He later claimed that the charges were over the top but took the plea deal because he was afraid of jail time.  He went undrafted and I don't even remember his name. You could say that he was de-facto banned from baseball.   

Wander Franco is a former top prospect whom all scouts believed was headed for superstardom on the baseball field.  Though his stats are not on par with the likes of Ronald Acuna, he's put up All-Star caliber numbers this season and he's still only 22 years old.  

Though details are rather sketchy, here's what we know:

Social media photos have given the appearance of an improper relationship with a 14 year-old girl and the relationship was encouraged by the girl's mother.  The girl and her mother BOTH claimed that she was 18 then later revealed that she was actually underaged and demanded $200,000 in hush money.  Franco refused and is now under investigation.  For the record, what if it is proven that Franco knew or should have known that she was underaged and had a sexual relationship anyway?  Throw the book at him.  Lengthy prison sentence and de-facto permanent ban from baseball.  That's a shitty crime.    

My initial reaction:

All 3 characters are slime balls.  I do have several questions that need to be answered before I make a judgement about how to punish Wander Franco.  First, did he know or should have known that she was underaged?  If she was 12 or 13, I certainly would NOT buy the claim that he didn't know.  Let's say that she is just shy of 15.  It is plausible that she could pass for 18 especially if she is dressed up and wearing makeup.  If her own mother said that she was 18, you can trust her word, right?  What if she also had a fake ID?  

 I did see one picture and yes, she did look quite young.  If I had to guess her age based on that one picture, I would have said 16 but I only saw her face.  That said, I knew several 9th graders in school who certainly could have passed for 18.  You would not believe the size of some of the kids my age that I competed against growing up.  I've also read that her social media profile contained pictures of herself driving a car and drinking alcohol.  Franco had no way of knowing?  Yes, it is possible.  I also believe it's possible that she is not really 14.  She may have lied about her age again to make it look worse than it really is.  Is there proof of a sexual relationship or just a few flirtatious pictures?  

 I have a YUGE problem with the hush money demands.  If I had a 14- year old daughter and learned that she was romantically involved with a 22-year old, I would go straight to the authorities.  No amount of money could make this charge go away.  If the mother had a plan to sucker him into an illegal relationship without his knowledge to collect 6 figures in hush money, she's slime.  I may take some heat for this but even a 14-year old who goes along with that scheme knows that it's wrong.  I do NOT consider her an innocent victim.   However, I would not punish her.  

Wander Franco is married and had his first child with his current wife at the age of 17.  A married man should not be messing around with ANYONE!  Cheating on your wife with a presumed high school senior is disgusting but is it a crime?  

I did some research today and found that the laws vary by state.  In Alabama, the age of consent is only 16.  In Florida, it is 18.  Also, the defense of "I didn't know that she was underaged" is NOT always valid.  Again, some states allow more leeway than others.  I read that in a few states, you can be prosecuted for picking up a 17- year old IN A BAR.  How are you supposed to know that she was underaged if you have to be 21 to enter the establishment?  A teacher or coach who has sex with a student knowing full well that they are underage?  That's an entirely different beast.  

Changes that I would make:

Age of consent must be 18 in every state in the interest of protecting the children.  Not many 14-year olds can pass for 18 but there are plenty who can pass for 16.  They may not feel like a victim at the time, but they do as an adult.  

Take into account the age of the defendant.  A 20- year old with a 16- year old is not nearly as bad as a 30 year old with a 16 year old.  

What if the defendant was lied to and presented with a fake ID? Thus, he TRULY had no way of knowing the real age?  I'd let him off with a slap on the wrist.  If this was the case with Wander Franco, yes I'd suspend him from baseball under the personal conduct policy, but I would lean against prison time.

Especially if you are young, having sex with people that you don't know very well is asking for trouble.  Don't do it.  

NAC and Candida Die Off

 The Candida die off symptoms were INTOLERABLE last week.  It was supposed to get better after 10 days but instead, it got worse.  In desperation, I tried a product called NAC (N-Acetyl Cysteine), which is a sulfur containing amino acid and precursor to Glutathione.  I had read from Amy Myers that it can be effective in managing detox symptoms.  The theory is that the die off has released toxins that have overwhelmed my Liver and the Glutathione will assist in cleaning it out. 

Result:

On Monday, I came through the first half mile in a pathetic 5:30 then turned around after popping a pill.  It wasn’t a miracle, but I did feel noticeably better, and the watch showed it.  The back half was a decidedly less horrible 5:00, or a full minute per mile faster.  Again, just ONE pill made that much difference.  That’s hardly an unusual occurrence for me. 

Tuesday morning, I was at Vestavia track for test intervals.  As expected, I was awful without the NAC.  It took me 1:13 to run just 200 meters and probably would not have been much better than 5:30 for a half mile.  Again, I was significantly better after a pill (2:08 for 400) but it wasn’t until I took a 3^rd pill that I felt somewhat like myself.  For about 20 seconds, I was moving quite well but faded after the first 100.  Still, I managed to finish the lap in 1:39, which is the fastest I’ve gone in several months.  However, by the end of the workday, I was hurting badly again and needed more pills in the evening.    

On Wednesday, I jumped right into it.  After just a few strides to warm up, I wanted to see how fast I could go on 3 pills and believed that I had an outside chance of beating my reset PR of 86 seconds.  I passed 200 in 42.x but it was nearly 43.  I’ve never negative split a 400 before but I did it today with a time of 83.8.  I was very encouraged by how I felt in that last 100.  I got the familiar jelly legs but had enough juice to run the final straight in about 20 seconds flat. 

After this success, I was curious to see how I could do in a Mile that evening.  The reset PR of 7:48 looked awfully soft in comparison with the 83 second 400.  I was shooting for at least 7:30.  By lunchtime, I was hurting again after having gone several hours without NAC.  I waited until 4PM and took 3 pills in divided doses 20 minutes apart.  I was on schedule for the first half with a 3:44 split but I felt as if the power supply was unplugged around 900 meters.  I managed just a pair of 1:58 laps to finish and had zero finishing kick but enough in reserve to lower the PR to 7:40.  I was pleased but knew that I would really struggle in the longer distances.  My 5K PR of 27:48 was safe for the time being.   

Concerned by the amount of sulfur that I was taking in, I decided to take some CBS/NOS pills to guard against a reaction to the NAC.  Bad call.  It was as if the CBS/NOS pill cancelled the effectiveness of the NAC.  I opened with a 2:44 lap without the NAC and was still well over 2:00 even after 3 pills so I didn’t even try a time trial.  Again, I cheated on the diet and must get back on track.  I may have to endure a rough day or two but perhaps the NAC may help with the caffeine detox.  We shall see.  I have a faint glimmer of hope going forward.