Historically, the Miami Marlins have been poor at public relations -- be it the team's repeated firesales, their questionable approach toward getting a new stadium, or a zillion other things. You would think, however, that announcing intent to build a statue honoring Jose Fernandez would be the closest thing the Marlins could do to guaranteeing some positive publicity.
Not quite, as it turns out. The Marlins' announcement has been met with push-back from individuals displeased with the idea of honoring someone who died while under the influence, according to NBC Miami:
"I just think we have to be very careful about hinting and memorializing a person who would've been charged with two counts of manslaughter had he survived. We can't condone the drinking and drugged driving," said Matson.
You can understand that perspective -- especially if you've had a loved one harmed or killed in a similar accident. Still, summing a life is a tricky calculus -- do the reasons for Fernandez's death outweigh all the good he did with his life? Aren't we each flawed in our ways? And so on. No one on Earth is quite capable of answering those questions -- not in a way that satisfies all, anyway.
The Marlins, for their part, reportedly intend to build the statue anyway.
