Alex Rodriguez is known as a baseball star whose story of golden days went wrong. At the height of his MLB career, A-Rod made a mistake that later came to light. When he admitted to PED usage, things went off the rails. A-Rod suddenly had more haters than supporters. But while many turned against him, there were still some that stood by his side. One of them was the legendary NBA commentator, Dick Vitale.

Vitale has been a fixture in the basketball world for decades, first as a coach and then as a broadcaster. Everyone who’s watched him knows the phrases “diaper dandy” and “This is awesome, baby!” In his long career, he’s seen a lot of players go big, including the iconic late NBA player Kobe Bryant. But in addition to basketball, Vitale is also a fan of baseball and knew A-Rod from his younger days. Always receiving support from the former coach, the ex-Yankee is now offering his aid to a cause close to Vitale’s heart.

Alex Rodriguez attends the annual Dick Vitale Gala with his girlfriend Jaclyn Cordeiro

In 2021, the ESPN anchor announced he was undergoing melanoma treatment, but by the next year, he was cancer free. Still, like most people, this occurrence had a huge impact on his life and he decided to raise money to help kids with cancer. Last year, the Dick Vitale Gala raised an eye-popping $11.1 million in donations. This year, the 83-year-old aims to go even higher.

And joining him at the event were A-Rod and his girlfriend Jac Cordeiro. The fitness expert posted a few stories to her Instagram sharing her outfit and Jimmy Choo shoes, as well as Vitale’s speech.

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The couple has been getting a lot of attention ever since they officially announced their relationship on Instagram last year. Rodriguez seems to have finally found a new lady love after breaking up with singer Jennifer Lopez a few years ago.

Dick Vitale once gave heartfelt advice to A-Rod following the 2009 confession

The basketball commentator wrote a piece on ESPN where he shared that the Yankee star could still turn his career around after being in trouble. While writing that he admired his work ethic, Vitale also wrote, “I do have to give Alex credit for saying he was stupid and naive, how he made mistakes and now he wants to give back and help others.”

He then went on to give detailed advice on how to improve on his mistakes by taking action rather than just admitting the wrongdoing. “Hopefully the story of his life will change. He can be an example by doing things the right way moving forward, turning away from the Hall of Shame and back toward the Hall of Fame,” he concluded.

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This was written in 2009 and A-Rod has since become eligible for Cooperstown. But he has yet to get a satisfactory number of votes to get an induction.