Keller @ Large: Adam LaRoche Shows Some Values Are Still Intact

BOSTON (CBS) - They are among the most common complaints I hear: our culture is circling the drain, we don't have any values anymore, all people care about is money and fame, we're going to heck in a handbasket.

Sometimes, it's hard to argue otherwise. But not today.

Today we are armed with the saga of Adam LaRoche, the veteran Chicago White Sox slugger who has been in the habit over the years of bringing his now 14-year-old son Drake with him to work, during spring training and for long stretches of the season. The kid's school okayed the arrangement as long as he kept up with their curriculum, and the team seemed fine with it.

Until the other day, when White Sox officials told LaRoche he had to cut way back on Drake's presence with the team, hinting that it was making some of the players uncomfortable. Which prompted LaRoche to retire, forfeiting the $13 million remaining on his contract.

And now we've learned that many White Sox players took exception to the team's decision, threatening to boycott a spring training game. The White Sox have refused to accept LaRoche's retirement for now.

"We wanted Drake in the clubhouse and we were backing Adam in every aspect," outfielder Adam Eaton wrote online. "The man and the character that Adam LaRoche is, we're not surprised he chose his family."

You can argue all you want that perhaps LaRoche was abusing a privilege, that a child's regular presence in a professional workplace is inappropriate.

But I'd say choosing precious time with family over millions of dollars is a sign of character all right, and a sign that at least in some places, our vanishing values are still very much intact.

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