I have spent a long time pondering over this question: Why do athletes do the things they do that draw a lot of negative attention? Like a lot of us, it’s amazing how they can be so talented yet their behavior and choices can be so stupid. But after thinking about it, one underlying factor stands out: the lack of a father’s presence or the lack of a male role model. I just spent the day with Red Sox Hall of Famer Bernie Carbo. For those of you Baby Boomers out there, you may remember the 1975 World Series between the Cincinnati Reds and the Boston Red Sox. Especially Game 6 where Bernie Carbo steps to the plate with a batter on 1st and 2nd and hits a homer, setting the Sox up for the victory. They didn’t win the series, but that particular game has been a highlight of Bernie Carbo’s career. But what most don’t know is that Bernie was under the influence of several different drugs. He was, as they say, “high as a kite”. I’m not sure you can call them performance-enhancing drugs. After all, it was the ’70s, but when he woke up that morning, he ate his version of a “breakfast of champions”, which consisted of smoking two joints, drinking a beer, followed by actual food. Then when he got to the ballpark, he took a series of pills to get him hyped up for the game. Bernie told me that he can only remember one time in his 12-year big league career when he wasn’t wasted. When I ask him why he felt he needed to do all of that, he said it was because of his ongoing struggle with anger directed at his father for not acknowledging him or his accomplishments. It’s amazing how much fatherhood plays a role in the development of character in a child’s life. One of my crew members mentioned to me after the interview that he was reminded that when John the Baptist baptized Jesus, God spoke from heaven and acknowledged His Son when He said, “This is My Son in whom I am well pleased.” Man, if God felt that He needed to say that about Jesus to man, how much more should fathers recognize their kids? Bernie Carbo has become a man after God’s own heart. He has three children that he’s raising, and he doesn’t allow a moment pass by without showing them that he’s paying attention to them and that he loves them. Bernie’s full story will air on The 700 Club in a few weeks.