Heavy hitters

Part 3

by Jason Gay

But if kids think they are going to hear McPherson recount the highlights of his gridiron escapades, they are mistaken. Football is less and less a part of McPherson's life. Save for a few choice mementos tucked along a windowsill, his office is totally devoid of sports paraphernalia. And when he's at home, he rarely watches sports on television; he'd prefer to kick back and relax to a record from his jazz collection.

McPherson is also spending time working on a book about the mega-business of professional sports, and he's thought about writing an autobiography. He does occasional broadcasting bits -- he's on WBZ Radio's sports line-up -- but doesn't aspire to bright lights and bigger markets.

Still, the MVP director says he hasn't minded the rush of attention sparked by the Cordero incident. Gracious to a fault, McPherson has sat for interviews with virtually every Boston television station, getting asked the same questions "again and again," he says, chuckling.

For the record, McPherson believes the Red Sox should bench Cordero indefinitely, evaluate him, and immediately enroll him in a batterers-treatment program (as of press time, the outfielder has not returned to the Sox line-up). Likewise, he says, the ball club should reach out to Ana Cordero, who now has returned to her husband and refuses to testify against him.

McPherson believes that the Red Sox and general manager Dan Duquette -- who has, up to this point, shielded Cordero like a mama bear protecting her cub -- face a critical decision that extends far beyond the win/loss column. "There is a fine line between what the Sox must do as a baseball club, and what they must do as a member of the community," he says.

It's a difficult choice, McPherson allows. But three years ago, Don McPherson himself chose the small world of community instead of the megahype of professional sports -- and he hasn't looked back.

"To be honest, it was a great lifestyle. I still have flashbacks about taking limos to the airport and first-class seats . . . but now, I have the luxury of having seen both sides," McPherson says.

"I can go and hang out with the biggest and the baddest pro football players and speak their language," he says, "but I can also go to a meeting of feminists discussing gender issues and speak their language. It's really pretty remarkable."

Jason Gay can be reached at jgay[a]phx.com.