i'm currently listening to the congressional hearing of major league baseball players and their use of steriods. each of the six players says they are commited to stopping the widespread use of steriods in their sport. mark mcguire was asked to discuss the situation surrounding how a performance-enhancing drug (not illegal at the time) was found in his locker a few years ago. when asked direct questions about this, he stated, "i am not here to discuss the past. i'm here to be positive about the future."
ok, let's think about this. these players are idolized by millions of youth in this country. yes, their reputations would be tarnished if they admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs. but c'mon mcguire. at the time, this substance was not considered illegal. i don't understand why he couldn't even admit or discuss this. he has said he is willing to be a spokeman against steriods to youth, but is not willing to discuss the mistakes he made in the past (which, i believe, he could not get in any kind of legal trouble for). of the 6 players present at this session, mcguire was the only person who refused to answer if the use of performance-enhancing drugs should be considered cheating. he wants to be a spokesperson, but refuses to admit his past mistakes (which is already public-knowledge) or even admit that this is cheating
one angle i never thought of before is that major league baseball is in charge of it's own performance-enhancing drug policy. MLB is a business, so by definition it exists to make money. i assume that the regular users of steriods make baseball alot of money, so why would the MLB have a strict policy and, most importantly, enforce that policy? as was discussed by this congressional panel, there definitely needs to be an outside organization in charge of the drug policies in professional athletics, much like the way the olympic drug policy is governed.
four of the six players being interviewed said they have never used steriods, but i want to note my respect for jose canseco in admitting that he used steriods in the past and was willing to discuss this openly. mcguire, the only retired player (which, i believe makes his exempt from punishment), would not discuss this at all.
ok, let's think about this. these players are idolized by millions of youth in this country. yes, their reputations would be tarnished if they admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs. but c'mon mcguire. at the time, this substance was not considered illegal. i don't understand why he couldn't even admit or discuss this. he has said he is willing to be a spokeman against steriods to youth, but is not willing to discuss the mistakes he made in the past (which, i believe, he could not get in any kind of legal trouble for). of the 6 players present at this session, mcguire was the only person who refused to answer if the use of performance-enhancing drugs should be considered cheating. he wants to be a spokesperson, but refuses to admit his past mistakes (which is already public-knowledge) or even admit that this is cheating
one angle i never thought of before is that major league baseball is in charge of it's own performance-enhancing drug policy. MLB is a business, so by definition it exists to make money. i assume that the regular users of steriods make baseball alot of money, so why would the MLB have a strict policy and, most importantly, enforce that policy? as was discussed by this congressional panel, there definitely needs to be an outside organization in charge of the drug policies in professional athletics, much like the way the olympic drug policy is governed.
four of the six players being interviewed said they have never used steriods, but i want to note my respect for jose canseco in admitting that he used steriods in the past and was willing to discuss this openly. mcguire, the only retired player (which, i believe makes his exempt from punishment), would not discuss this at all.
posted by zippy @ 4:06 PM
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