Top 5 Apologies of the Week

Can A-Rod get back in fans' good graces? Probably not, but his handwritten note was among the public apologies that generated headlines this week:

• A-Rod, again: "I take full responsibility for the mistakes that led to my suspension for the 2014 season. I regret that my actions made the situation worse than it needed to be. To Major League Baseball, the Yankees, the Steinbrenner family, the Players Association and you, the fans, I can only say I'm sorry."—Alex Rodriguez, in a handwritten letter of apology "to the fans" that makes no mention of why he got suspended.
• You are not accepted: "We understand the disappointment created by this mistake, and deeply apologize to the applicants for this miscommunication. We are currently reviewing our notification process to help ensure this does not happen in the future."—Carnegie Mellon, after 800 applicants to a graduate program got mistaken letters of acceptance.
• Watch those acronyms: “Krispy Kreme apologizes unreservedly for the inappropriate name of a customer promotion at one of our stores. This promotion was never intended to cause offence. All material has been withdrawn and an internal investigation is currently underway.”—Krispy Kreme, after, wait for it, a KKK promotion. The last K stood for Klub.

The last two hit on more serious topics:

• 9/11 comments: "He didn't mean to suggest the Gulf carriers or their governments are linked to the 9/11 terrorists. We apologize if anyone was offended."—Delta Air Lines, referring to CEO Richard Anderson, who ticked off Gulf-based airlines with comments on CNN.
• 'Excessive force': "I deeply regret the unfortunate use of excessive force by the Madison Police Department on Sureshbhai Patel and for the injuries sustained by Mr. Patel. I sincerely hope that Mr. Patel continues to improve and that he will regain full use of his legs."—Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley, to India's government, after a visitor from India was paralyzed during a police stop.

(More apology stories.)