Kenny Lofton: A-Rod shouldn't have a broadcast career after PED use

If Alex Rodriguez ever makes it to the Hall of Fame, don't expect to see Kenny Lofton at the induction ceremony.

A-Rod seems to be thriving in his post-playing life, serving as an analyst on national baseball broadcasts with ESPN and FOX, among other ventures. That fact apparently rankles Lofton.

The former All-Star outfielder and five-time stolen-base champion believes Rodriguez - Lofton's one-time New York Yankees teammate - shouldn't be anywhere near the game due to his past use of performance-enhancing drugs.

"You've got FOX having a guy who got caught with PEDs doing the World Series. I can't even watch the World Series now," Lofton told Peter Botte of the New York Post on Wednesday. "That's sad, you have a game that I love - I played 17 years in it - and you have Major League Baseball allowing a guy that knowingly cheated the game twice, and he's the face of baseball, doing the World Series. That is not cool."

Rodriguez was famously suspended for the entire 2014 season following his involvement in the Biogenesis drug scandal. His playing career ended when the Yankees released him in August 2016. ESPN hired him as part of its "Sunday Night Baseball" broadcast crew a little over a year later.

"You're basically telling kids nowadays that it's OK to cheat the game of baseball," Lofton continued. "You will still get a job being a commentator, being the face of baseball. I don't see how that flies with anyone."

Lofton, who played his entire 17-year career during the height of baseball's so-called "steroid era," added that he feels the litany of PED users ultimately overshadowed his accomplishments and hurt his own Hall of Fame case.

Though regarded as one of baseball's great speedsters - his 622 stolen bases rank 15th all-time - Lofton got just 3.2 percent of the vote in 2013 and fell off the ballot for good. The likes of Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, who also debuted in 2013, remain eligible.

"I look back at the situation, and at that time, I think what happened for me was I came out on the ballot in the wrong year," Lofton explained. "There was so many people on the ballot, and so many people who had a potential situation with the performance-enhancing drugs.

"I felt a lot of voters wanted to keep those guys on the ballot, and that was votes taken away from me."

Because he's no longer on the writers' ballot, Lofton's only remaining route to Cooperstown would be through the "Today's Game" committee. He's ineligible to appear on that ballot until 2023.

A-Rod is scheduled to debut on the Hall of Fame ballot in 2022.