Steve Garvey’s older children say they were abandoned. MAGA will vote for him anyway | Opinion

Steve Garvey’s squeaky-clean image just took another hit.

The former Dodgers all-star, who is also the leading Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate in California, has been accused of abandoning — or, at the very, least ignoring — three of his oldest children, one from his first marriage and two others from subsequent affairs.

But don’t expect that to cut into his support from the MAGA crowd.

If they can stay loyal to Donald Trump, who has done much worse, including (allegedly) inciting an insurrection, being an absentee father won’t faze them a bit.

News about Garvey’s troubled family relationships was first reported by the Los Angeles Times, based on interviews with three of his seven adult children.

Some of the most damning comments came from his oldest child from his first marriage. Krisha Garvey, 49, told The Times that her father cut off almost all contact with her about 15 years ago.

When she asked him for an explanation during one of their rare phone calls, all he said was “this is how it’s got to be, Krish,” The Times reported.

Despite her efforts, Garvey also has neglected to establish any relationship with her three sons — his grandsons.

“To be a man of the people, to truly have experience of being a totally complete, loving family man ... I wouldn’t want the people of California to buy into that just because he hit a ball really well,” she told the Times.

Two other adult children Garvey fathered as a result of affairs with two women said they have had no contact with the former baseball star.

“In our childhoods, multiple efforts were mad through attorneys to arrange a meeting or even a phone call with Mr. Garvey, but he declined every opportunity,” they wrote to the Times. “Thus, we have never known him, and our only relationships with him were through the family court system.”

The newspaper also reported that, during a period of financial setbacks, Garvey “unilaterally” cut child support payments for one one of his children in half.

A rocky romantic history

This isn’t the first time Garvey’s career has been rocked by scandal.

Known as “Mr. Clean” during his baseball heyday in the ‘1970s and ‘80s, Garvey didn’t smoke or drink, and he projected the image of a man devoted to God and family.

Then came a highly publicized divorce, affairs with multiple women, multiple lawsuits — and injuries that led to the star’s retirement in 1988, at age 39.

That, however, was long ago, and while it’s not exactly forgotten by older voters — especially baseball fans — it hasn’t been an issue in the current campaign.

The revelations in the L.A. Times story, however, are new. To be blunt, once again Garvey looks like the bad guy — a smug, remorseless hypocrite.

The number of children he fathered isn’t important. Nor are the affairs.

But turning his back on his own kids? That’s hard to understand, let alone forgive.

In a written response to the Times, Garvey failed to respond directly to the accusations leveled by his children. Instead, he attempted to turn what he referred to as “lessons” and “challenges” to his political advantage.

“These experiences have equipped me to better understand the adversities others face in their lives,” he wrote, “and to serve the public with empathy and integrity, something that has been lacking in Washington, D.C.”

That’s one way to spin it.

Will Garvey remain a threat?

Garvey has been ranking second or third in voter surveys. A poll of likely voters released this week showed Rep. Adam Schiff in first place with 25% and Garvey and Rep. Katie Porter tied for second with 15% each. Rep. Barbara Lee was fourth at 7%. The poll was conducted by USC, Cal State Long Beach and Cal Poly Pomona. If Garvey can hang on, he could ace Porter out of a spot on the November ballot.

While his failures as a father might give some independent voters pause, they are unlikely to sway die-hard Republicans. Shortly after the news broke, Garvey apologists and what-abouters were already weighing in.

“Sounds like a typical jock to me. Probably not as bad as many of the other jocks who brag about 1000s of sex partners,” one L.A. Times reader posted.

“Really, L.A. Times? Where are the hit pieces on Communist Barbara Lee, domestic abuser Katie Porter and serial liar Adam Schiff?” another reader posted.

While the majority of comments were critical of Garvey, some readers skewered the L.A. Times just for running the piece.

That’s beyond ridiculous. A candidate’s character matters, or at least it should.

On March 5, California voters will find out whether it still does.