Before We Go Throwing Stones at Sarah Madson, Let's Consider the Source

Laura Goldman.

If you have no clue what I’m talking about, here are the details: Yesterday, there was a post on nakedphiladelphian.blogspot.com that spread around Twitter and found its way to Deadspin. The hook in the story is that at a charity event last week for Manna, an organization that provides aid to people with life-threatening illnesses, Ryan Madson’s wife, Sarah, apparently declared Philly fans the worst people on earth:

Just back from spring training, she complaining that “her house (a mansion on the mainline) looked like a bomb had hit it.” Maybe that is why she decided to unload on the fans. 

Sarah Madson declared, “I hate the fans. It is bad enough that they bother us during the season, but they will not leave us alone in December when we go out to eat. We stayed here during the off season last year, but we will be going to California this year. There must be something particularly bad about Phillies fans because all the players leave in the off season.”

 

Bitch.

Or is she?

Seems like harsh words from the person who appeared on Action News in December to talk about her new "green home" in Delaware County, and who celebrated the Christmas window decoration at Macy’s this year. 

The post about Madson was written by Laura Goldman, a freelance reporter for the Metro and other local papers. Sounds legit, no? 

Goldman is also on probation. She was extradited from Israel in 2009, after nine years on the run.

I’ll spare you the gory details, but back in 1995, Goldman, who was working in Philadelphia as a stockbroker, accused Boston billionaire Thomas Lee of sexual harassment. She then stalked him for five years and threatened his son.

Eleven months later, when he missed a dinner date with her, she turned into a "Fatal Attraction" type who went from hang-up calls to demands for money, to death threats, and even a false charge of rape.

But the 15-year nightmare is finally over. Goldman, who fled to Israel in 2000 to avoid prosecution, was extradited to the US eight months ago to face an 18-count indictment, the Boston Globe reports.

 

Goldman pled guilty to two counts of extortion and was sentenced to five years probation. She is not allowed in certain parts of New York, Florida, and Massachusetts. These are all facts.

During her time in Israel, she took on jobs as a freelance writer, and apparently hid her past.

Friday, October 22, 2004 -- A successful business woman with a huge circle of friends and a vast array of interests, Laura Goldman, came here from Philadelphia three years ago. And she loves this country to distraction.

 

Huge circle of friends. The FBI, perhaps?

Since returning to the states, she has worked as a freelancer with the Metro, The Jewish Exponent, and other papers, writing mostly pro-Jewish and feminist articles. All of this is in addition to her fairly new blog, which seems to have garnered some attention with recent quotes about Jeffrey Lurie being snubbed at the Oscars- a story that was picked up by CSN Philly and Philly.com.

She also has quite a bit of inside sources, including some in the Huckabee campaign, Senator Toomey, and an Eagles front-office person. You can hear from all of them on her blog. But that’s a lot of high-powered connections for someone on probation for being a liar. A quick Google search on Goldman turns up some interesting results. Like this one. And her story on Madson's wife is now being linked to by a number of blogs, including Deadspin, which is the largest sports blog on the interwebs. That's good for business, notoriety, relevance.

Look, I have no idea if Ryan Madson’s wife said those things about Philly fans. I wasn’t there. But before we figuratively (and literally?) throw stones at her, let’s consider the source. You can make up your own mind from there.

Knowledge is power.

Comments

[ThePhillyFlash]

Hmm! A curious thing. Has anyone contacted Madson's wife about those comments? That would nip this tiny tempest in the bud. If Sarah didn't say that, then she should sue that Goldman bitch.

[Craig]

Not only didn't she say them but this woman harassed her at the event.

[Kate]

Sarah Madson probably blew her off and this was her revenge.

Even if it turns out to be true, I don't really care what Sarah says about us as long as her husband keeps shutting them down in the eighth.

[Lyfords]

The statements attributed to Sarah Madson sound completely made up. She might be young, but no wife of a big-leaguer would ever slam his team's city like that.

Should add a few counts of libel to Goldman's "resume."

[Josh]

Who cares about Sarah Madison when we have Kristen Lee (who loves it here) ...The fair and lovely princess of our city.
In fact lets just go ahead and dub her our queen.
Sarah Madison who cares. Ryan would weep if he was sent packing to another city.

[Katelyn]

This is completely unrelated but Ryan Madson is entirely too good looking to be married to this troll.

[Kenny Junod]

I hope Ryan takes after Shane Victorino & starts cheating on his wife

[AllFansAreRealFans]

I actually think it is kind of rude to approach people while they are eating dinner. If Mrs Madson's quotes are true (and I doubt that), maybe we should consider letting our heroes have a date without being constantly interrupted by fans wanting to put a picture of them with Madson on their FB pages.

[Joe D]

I agree with Katelyn. His wife is incredibly plain. That's more offensive to me than her supposed comments.

[Nick Howard]

How old is Laura Goldman? According to the "extradited from Israel" link she is 50. According to the probation article written back in 95 she is 37 which make sense. I think the Crossingbroad screwed up there background search.

[michelle g.]

I doubt she did say that because that would be like suicide in this city, no MLB wife would bash the team their husband is playing for especially someone who plays for the phillies. If she did say it, well she is incredibly stupid, no one cares about her, they want to say hello to her husband. Or if its another female fan, they are probably wondering why he is married to such a troll. And besides who cares about her when we have Kristen Lee :) she loves philadelphia, and the fans and the team :)

[John E]

I'm sure alot spouses complain "off the record" about treatment from fans. Very few would be dumb enough to say it on the record knowing how much more difficult their time here would be. I would guess maybe these quotes were assumed to be off the record, just 2 women chatting, etc.

[Bitchadelphia]

I am (almost) ashamed to admit that my first thought too was "gee I hope the person in the picture is Laura Goldman and not Sarah Madson." The woman's looks are irrelevant and this could be a bad picture but my first thought was "ugh no way!" We're terrible people! ahhaha!

[Laura]

@ Kenny - From what I hear, he does. Or at least he used to.

[Christian]

I have serious doubts about the validity of these "comments". Last summer, myself and a group of friends ran into Ryan and Sarah at a center city restaurant where they were having drinks. We were just looking for a handshake but they invited us (a group of 5-6) to sit down with them and talked to us about everything under the sun for 90 minutes. When we initially showed hesitation over interrupting their evening, they insisted. They were two of the nicest people I've ever met. In fact, at the end of the night, it was Ryan who was telling Sarah that they had to go...doesn't really sound like someone who would go on to bash us, the fans.

[Bitchadelphia]

I'd like to ammend my comment above. I've seen another picture of Sarah and she's cute. The pic on this post is just a bad shot.

I may be a bitch but at least I can admit when I'm wrong...

[Mary Pat]

@ Christian: Wow, what a great story! That really restores my faith. That's the type of story you expect to hear about a Phillie, not this made-up nonsense!

[Jenna]

Sarah didn't blow her off; the woman cornered her. Sarah was nothing but polite and gracious. I was standing next to Sarah and she "declared" nothing even remotely close to what was printed. Sarah is incredibly supportive of her husband's career and dedicated to the team and fans. She's a real sweetheart. It's infuriating that someone would libel her in this way.

[Josh]

Jenna sounds a lot more reliable than this shadey reported" Two thumbs up for The Madisons

[RIP KAMALA]

I hope he takes after Brett Myers & drops the hammer down on his old lasy

[RIP KAMALA]

meant old lady. I goofed

[Ponyboy]

The CIA doesnt trust Israel.

Knowledge is Power.

just ask Helen Thomas or Mel Gibson.

[Kate]

For the record, I think Sarah Madson looks like a lot of women. Pretty in an understated sort of way. I like her face.

[Gabrielle]

Every rumor has to start somewhere. Even if it's not what she said verbatim, something planted the idea in Ms. Goldman's head that Sarah Madson is not a huge Philly fan...

[Matt Kilbride]

The reason Phillies' leave in the offseason for California definitely has to do with our fans sucking, and not that the weather in October-February are much nicer there..right?

[Leadweights.wordpress.com]

Friends of mine had a short chat and drinks with Madson while he was a spectator during the stanley cup playoffs (broken toe). He was nice, chatted, and took plenty of abuse about not kicking chairs anymore. 1st I think this is a tall tale. 2nd the woman is 5 months preggo people!! If I took everything my wife said while pregnant personal I'd have left her. Emotions are the damnedest thing with a pregnant woman. Give her a break even if she did say it.

[Defenestrate Wheels]

I heard Goldman "came with the claw" last night...

[Danny]

Good call, Leadweights. Women say some outlandish shit when they're pregnant.

[CityGirlsWorld]

And even if she DID make those comments, I don't totally blame her. Here's article defending her on another Philly Sports blog:

http://www.phlsportsfan.com/2011/04/14/in-defense-of-sarah-madson/#more-3592

[Katie]

If she did say it, she needs to remember that those fans bugging her are also the ones that buy merchandise and sellout games and pay for her mansion. No fans means no payroll, suck it up.

[Mr. Fleetstreet]

I hear Gabrielle is a racist, and enjoys the company of her pets a little too much, if you know what I mean.

It might not be totally true, but every rumor starts somewhere.

[JeffS]

If she said those things, she was probably confusing Goldman for a Phil fan.

[Iron Balls McGinty]

Observations:

1) What do looks have to do with it? Plain Sarah Madson might have snapping gyro (you know what I mean, boys) and if Ryan is like me, that's good enough for him.

2) Somebody said it above, but who gives a flying-fish fart what she thinks or says. She's not playing for the Phillies, her husband is. And as long as he helps the team win, she can say what the hell she wants.

3) There is no such thing as an environmentally friendly home. But some houses have less of an environmental (and energy) impact than others. But "environmentally friendly" is a stoopid way to put it.

[Kate]

If this derails Madson, Goldman might want to... how shall I put this... carefully consider the choice of destination for her next vacation/hatchet job?

Hopefully, nothing comes of this "journalist" trying to get some attention. If something does come of it, we should rally behind Ryan and Sarah so he doesn't break his toe again or something.

I respect Ryan Madson more for not having an in-your-face hottie wife. Good for him.

[grandslam83]

Pretty sure Sarah Madson is not on the Phillies roster or wears the uniform. Who gives two hoots what she had to say about us fans? Half the time it's true people. Walk into the park, the lot and even wait in line for a damn dog on dollar dog night. I hate us too sometimes....

So, how about them fightin's....

[Gabrielle]

I AM a racist. And goddammit, I love my cat.

I understand the point you're trying to make, Mr. Fleetstreet, but we'll see. I'm a tad surprised I haven't heard anything about Mrs. Madson defending herself on any of these allegations as of yet...

[Dan]

Am I missing something? Didn't Madson tacitly confirm that she made the statements attributed to her by Goldman? Why is it better that she privately hates Philadelphians? And what exactly do we mean by private? She apparently didn't make such a great effort to keep these sentiments under-wraps as she made the statement to a complete stranger during a public event. This is the first and last time I will read this blog as it has a clear agenda which is contrary to fact.