When Wade Boggs refuted allegations of affair: "I did not commit a crime. It's not like I did drugs, or shot someone, or ended up in prison"
Wade Boggs had a long career in the MLB. He played primarily for the Boston Red Sox. He also played for the New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He won the World Series in 1996 with the Yankees and has had 12 consecutive All-Star appearances from 1985 to 1996. He is third only to Brooks Robinson and George Brett in a number of successive appearances as a third baseman.
His personal life was thrown into the media limelight when Wade Boggs' extramarital affair was made public. He was in a relationship with Margo Adams, a California-based mortgage broker. After Boggs ended the relationship in 1988, Adams filed a lawsuit citing emotional distress and breach of oral conduct, claiming $12 million in the settlement.
What further tarnished Wage Boggs' private life reputation was Margo Adams agreeing to appear in an interview with Penthouse magazine, where she discussed her intimacy with Boggs. Apart from their personal details, Adams mentioned that since 1984 she has made 64 trips with the baseball player. Boggs used to pay her a sum of money every year to be her companion.
The five-time American League batting champion tried to defend himself by saying that the media was villainizing him as someone who had committed a heinous crime.
"One thing has to be put in perspective," Wade Boggs had said. "I did not commit a crime. It's not like I did drugs, or shot someone, or ended up in prison."
The court rejected Margo Adams' claim of $12 million from Wade Boggs
A California appeals court rejected the $12 million claim by Adams and lowered it to $500,000 which was settled outside court for an undisclosed amount.
Even in the limelight of such a high-profile controversy, Wade Boggs didn't deviate from his career path. He continued to perform well for the Red Sox and the Yankees and ended up with more than 3,000 hits in his lifetime. His number #26 was retired by the Red Sox and he was included in the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005.