Chad Curtis: From World Series hero to deluded monster

April 6, 2014 by Mike Axisa 54 Comments

If you’re looking for some Sunday morning reading, here is a harrowing story from Greg Hanlon about former Yankees outfielder Chad Curtis, who was recently sentenced to 7-15 years in prison for molesting students at the Michigan high school where he worked. Curtis is completely insane and delusion, blaming the victims and using religion to justify his actions. It’s a long and somewhat terrifying read that details the incidents, the court cases, his troubles in MLB clubhouses, and much more. Check it out. Scary, scary stuff.

Deep Thoughts

Holy crap. How awful. I can’t even make any of the Mel Hall or Luis Polonia smart aleck remarks I had teed up.
Algernon Blackwood

Never trust a Jesus freak.
- JonS
  
  Because everyone else is so trustworthy…
- Tommy
  
  Yeah trust the Atheists’ who don’t give a shit in the world because they have it made up it in their heads that when you die nothing happens.
  
  Yeah do that instead, you MORON
  - Bill
    
    Exactly. Never mind the fact that just cause someone says they’re something doesn’t mean they’re what they say they are. If people actually knew anything about Christianity they wouldn’t think twice about a psychotic making a claim like that.
    - TWTR
      
      “Never mind the fact that just cause someone says they’re something doesn’t mean they’re what they say they are.”
      
      Perfectly said.
      - Mr. Roth
        
        The Bears are what we thought they were! BUT WE LET’EM OFF THE HOOK!
        
        TWTR
        
        The Bears or Da Bears?
        
        Mr. Roth
        
        Da Burz!
  - klaus
    
    I’d much rather trust someone who does the right thing because it’s the right thing, rather than because his god will give him a lollipop when he dies.
    And the word atheists requires neither capital nor apostrophe (moron?).
    Cheers
    - nycsportzfan
      
      Now this is well said. Since when did not believing in God make you a moron??lol
    - Massapequa Parking
      
      COR-RECT!
    - Improbable Island’s Dirty Midget Whores (formerly RRR)
      
      Okay kids, settle down.
    - New Haven Yankee
      
      Thanks for calling out da moron.
  - DR
    
    Your reply proves Algernon’s point.Bad people are going to do bad things, but for good people to do bad things takes religion. Oh and I am an atheist and I do give a shit about our world and the people on it.
  - Algernon Blackwood
    
    Excellent argument, that’s exactly what I said. Fwiw I’m a Christian too, but when I hear Jesus freak I don’t assume the person is talking about me.
    - Mr. Roth
      
      I didn’t take it as a knock on Christians at all. Jesus freak implies fanaticism, which is never a good thing.
      - Algernon Blackwood
        
        Exactly. I guess it just hits a little too close to home for some. I know most who acrually read the article would not relate to Curtis at all.
  - Mr. Roth
    
    Wow, umadbro?
    
    He’s talking about religious fanatics, he’s not pointing his finger at Christians.
    
    Chill out and don’t give yourself an aneurysm, you MORON.
    - Mikhel
      
      The term “Jesus freak” explicitly points the finger towards Christians, since other religions do not take “the word of Jesus” as a way to conduct their lives.
      
      Though it is easier to say “Jesus Freak” to say “Judaic freak” or “Budhist freaks” or etc. The most accurate thing would be to say “religious freak” or just “freak”, I’ve known more agnostics and atheists who are horrible persons towards their similars than christians.
      
      Though it is true that there are lots of christians who judge a priori and condemn those who don’t think like them to hell, kinda like vegetarians and vegans towards omnivores, or PETA fanatics towards the rest (they’ve even killed and destroyed marine vessels and are viewed as heroes by lunatics).
  - FIPster Doofus
    
    You’re not very bright.
  - Greg c
    
    Meh. I’m an atheist, though not too militant about it. Agnostic might even be more accurate. I would rarely lead with religion as the reason why someone is messed up. Curtis is using his as a cover for his terrible behavior. His religion didn’t make him doing it. He’s just a sad pathetic man hiding behind it. I know plenty of Christians who don’t fit a nutty profile.
    
    That said, this whole generalization that atheists “don’t give a shit” is so far off the mark I don’t know where to start. Again this is a generalization, but if anything most atheists I know have much more developed moral and ethical systems and beliefs than anyone else. Since they don’t base their lives on a text or sermons fed to them by someone else they have to take the time to actually think and develop values. Again, I know plenty of Christians and other believers who are thinkers and not just followers, too. This whole idea that someone would have no values because he believes in physical death as final is just really bizarre. People are motivated by other things than going to Heaven or Hell- you know, like being a good person and treating people fairly. I don’t need a made up spiritual reward system to want to be a decent human being, and when I mess I up I don’t hide from human judgment or accountability to my victims by invoking a deity.
    
    Most atheists I know who don’t believe in an “afterlife”- and that is not the defining characteristic at all- give MORE of a shit because they believe what they actually do and how they treat people NOW matters, and they aren’t going to be rewarded for being shitty people who conveniently repent at some point.
  - Comrade Al
    
    Atheists like Lenin, Stalin and Hitler?
- Bo Knows
  
  Mike can you delete this entire little comment thread, because there is already showing itself to be a ton of intolerant stupidity from opposing sides that don’t know shit about the other but really want to get into a dick measuring contest
- The Belafonte
  
  Very true. Just another bible thumper hiding behind ‘religion’.
  
  Abolish religion and you get rid of pretty much all of the worlds problems.
  
  Religion is a farce.
  - The Belafonte
    
    I always love when so called ‘christians’ call people morons for not believing in an imaginary person in the sky. Love that ridiculous righteous indignation.
    - Cool Lester Smooth
      
      Shut up. This is neither the time nor the place.
JonS

Holy crap, I was so disgusted reading about “Kayla” then I kept going and saw it was another girl, then another…

I hope the girls get the appropriate help they need to move on in life. :(
Bill

Uh, no thanks. I’ll pass. Thanks for the suggestion though.
Chip Rodriguez

shudder
I’m not the droids you’re looking for…

Prayers for the victims and their families.

Terrible.
Mike N

Terrible.
Yangeddard Solarte

He should never see the light of day ever again. Anyone who does that to children should never see the light of day ever again. 7-15 years should be 70-115.
- Macho Man “Randy Levine”
  
  If L&O:SVU has taught me anything, he’ll have a difficult time in prison.
Pineda Colada

Just as an aside…Mike I really miss the Friday links. Why did they disappear again?
- Jarrod
  
  Me too! Mostly always great reading.
  
  BTW, love the handle Pineda Colada!
Macho Man “Randy Levine”

Did he blame it all on Jim Gray’s treatment of Pete Rose?

In all seriousness, I think we all knew that Curtis wasn’t wound quite right. There were a lot of reasons the Yankees traded him after ’99.

As for as the religion justification, it’s extremely disgusting. I’m pretty much atheist these days (I’m actually taking a class called “Does God Exist?” right now), but you can’t really blame “religion” for Curtis’ actions. Even if he uses that as justification, it doesn’t mean religion is the cause. Anyone who would do something like this and use religion as a justification has both missed the point of religion, and is simply a completely horrible person.
Pinkie Pie

Ack. Just godawful.
Lukaszek

The bigger you are the harder you fall
Mr. Roth

Wow, what a creep. I think one of the worst parts of that whole story is the little “lecture” he gave to the victims in the courtroom. It’s absolutely disgusting that a guy would put young girls through that kind of nightmare, and then have the nerve to point his finger at them and try to make them feel guilty yet again.

The problem here isn’t religion or lack thereof, the problem is people who use their beliefs and position of power to justify these types of horrific actions.
Nathan

Sick.
FIPster Doofus

Now I’m glad this creep was the only member of the dynasty teams I legitimately disliked at the time.
- WhittakerWalt
  
  Yep, I feel the same way.
CS Yankee

A complete scumbag.

These types too often use a place of trust to spin their evil acts. As a former coach and scout helper we had to go through training that would never let you be the only adult with any kid and to make sure that nobody else did either. This protocol/training has been going on for 10 years at least.

My kid and i would always be the last to get home because of some other parent not picking their kid up on time or waiting with the other coach so he wouldn’t have to be the one adult left. I sat in other coaches cars while our kids and player whose mom was MIA stayed in our truck. You never put yourself, or let someone else, put themselves in any situation.

How does a guy pull a girl or boy from class to give treatment, WTF? This school district should be held accountable and Curtis should rot in prison.
Yankee$

Wow. So sickening. I have to say I hadn’t heard anything about this before. I’m surprised I didn’t see news coverage but I don’t live in NY market and don’t read any MSM NY sports. I assume the NY Post covered this at the time? I always knew he had a screw loose, going back to when he and Jeter got into it over that brawl and Jeter’s friendship with Alex at the time and then the Jim Gray thing. So sad.
EndlessJose

This is a scary guy but in the media A-Rod is much more of a monster,ask The Daily News.

Sad that Curtis story isn’t bigger than A_rod.
Brandon

People using this to have arguments over religion vs. atheism. Fucking idiots.
Dave Guarnieri

If you are “Born Again” it is not a requirement to be an asshole about it. I remember Curtis telling Jeter how to live his life. David Cone—a “leader” in the clubhouse back in the day pretty much told Curtis to keep his beliefs to himself.

These guys who choose to accept “Jesus Christ as their personal Savior” and run their mouth about it usually were screwed up before they accepted anyone to be anything.

Straw and Gooden, 2 prime examples.
- Cool Lester Smooth
  
  Straw and Gooden became “born again” as part of getting clean, so I don’t begrudge them a little crazy if it means they’ve stopped destroying their lives.
  
  If anything, it’s a shame they didn’t “get religion” before they ruined their careers.
  - Dave Guarnieri
    
    Between the 2 of them, there must have been 15 relapses. Now Straw left his wife who stood by him through all his bullshit (including doing a fellow patient in a broom-closet in a rehab facility) divorces her, gets married to someone else and form’s a ministry with his new bride.
    
    And the current big time posterboy for Evangelical Christians is Josh Hamilton, who gets religion frequently and loses it just as many times.
RetroRob

Depressing read.
Cool Lester Smooth

That piece of shit. I’m almost hoping he doesn’t last those seven years.
Nedro

This fucker is one case. These kinds of things must happen all the time. In the town in central NY where I live, there was a football coach who used to prey on teenage boys, pulling them from classes and forcing them to shower while he watched, in order to “make sure they were washing thoroughly”; and fondling them under their towels, in the guise of “making sure they were developing properly”. My brother-in-law was one. Eventually, an asst coasch got wind of it when he heard some of the boys joking around about it, and attempted to bring it to administrators’ attention. It all got swept under the carpet, with many town residents defending him and choosing to believe he was the victim of a conspiracy or prank. This was in the 80’s.

Eventually, many of the boys who were involved or who were students at the school at the time became parents, and began hearing stories from other parents about this piece of shit using the same M.O., years later. This time, people’s knowledge of the past incident lent some credence to the more recent accusations and he actually faced charges. However, he got off just having his teacher’s license taken away and never faced jail time. Crazy how hard it can be to get these kinds of charges to stick, and how easy it is for people to put blinders on and deny that something like this could be perpetrated by someone who is well liked and a fixture in the community
Jarrod

What a horrendous piece of shit!

Love the fact that the state sues him for the jail time though. I live in Australia and that would never happen here. We, as tax payers, foot the bill for all scumbags!