Baseball, Steroids and Sportsmanship
Like most sport fans, I watched as much as possible of the steroids in baseball hearings. We were led to believe baseball had a very murky policy regarding the use of illegal substances in the collective bargaining agreement. If you missed it, Bud Selig was so outraged of a policy he controlled he practically declared he would personally take any player using steroids to the shed and cane him. Well, that is what he sounded he would do. The policy was murky regarding the penalty. The commissioner at his discretion would either suspend a ballplayer for 10 days or fine him $10,000. Of course, if the player were suspended, his name would be public. The congressmen were disgusted and the lawyer for the MLB in charge of the policy did an awful job of explaining it. The reason for the latitude being provided id for players who come forward and admit to taking illegal substances. A player should not be punished to the fullest extent of the policy if they come forward, voluntarily. They do into rehab.
If a player is caught using drugs or in possession of illegal drugs, it is a criminal matter. There are examples in industry, so do not get all outraged. If you fail a drug test when applying for a job, the company does not turn its findings over to the authorities. Should a company find illegal drugs on you, aside form being fired, the company can report you to the authorities. That is the law.
The players followed a panel of families whose sons died as a result of steroid abuse. The first spectacle was totally unnecessary and only stoked the flames at the hearings. No wonder Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro and Jose Canesco must have felt they were at the Salem witch trials. As for Curt "Republican Party" Schill-ing, his sanctimonious attitude was simply too much to bear. He felt no responsibility to take action when he saw a player taking illegal substances, but had no problem calling them cheaters. So which is it? If a player on your team does it, it os not cheating but if a player on another does it is? If they were interested in learning anything the players should have been granted limited immunity.
These are pro athletes who earn big money. They are expected to perform at a high level. They will do anything they can to prolong their careers. Pro athletes today are bigger, stronger and faster. That can be traced to improved nutrition, longer workouts and greater dedication to the game. Ball players no longer show up out of shape at spring training. Have some benefited from steroids? Probably.....but steroids by themselves are controlled substances. You can get a script for steroids. Maybe if steroids were administered by physicians and the athletes monitored during their career, they would not be abused. It may be radical but why not.
Regarding the abuse of steroids by children...where are the parents...... Supplements such as creatin can effect the same results. However, if parents are willing to say it is OK to take creatin to change your body, well how far away can steroids be?
If a player is caught using drugs or in possession of illegal drugs, it is a criminal matter. There are examples in industry, so do not get all outraged. If you fail a drug test when applying for a job, the company does not turn its findings over to the authorities. Should a company find illegal drugs on you, aside form being fired, the company can report you to the authorities. That is the law.
The players followed a panel of families whose sons died as a result of steroid abuse. The first spectacle was totally unnecessary and only stoked the flames at the hearings. No wonder Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro and Jose Canesco must have felt they were at the Salem witch trials. As for Curt "Republican Party" Schill-ing, his sanctimonious attitude was simply too much to bear. He felt no responsibility to take action when he saw a player taking illegal substances, but had no problem calling them cheaters. So which is it? If a player on your team does it, it os not cheating but if a player on another does it is? If they were interested in learning anything the players should have been granted limited immunity.
These are pro athletes who earn big money. They are expected to perform at a high level. They will do anything they can to prolong their careers. Pro athletes today are bigger, stronger and faster. That can be traced to improved nutrition, longer workouts and greater dedication to the game. Ball players no longer show up out of shape at spring training. Have some benefited from steroids? Probably.....but steroids by themselves are controlled substances. You can get a script for steroids. Maybe if steroids were administered by physicians and the athletes monitored during their career, they would not be abused. It may be radical but why not.
Regarding the abuse of steroids by children...where are the parents...... Supplements such as creatin can effect the same results. However, if parents are willing to say it is OK to take creatin to change your body, well how far away can steroids be?
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