End the Witch Hunt: Leave the Other 103 Alone

The person who leaked Alex Rodriguez’ positive test broke the law.

Let me repeat that: The person who leaked Alex Rodriguez’ positive test broke the law.

In the rush to indict Alex Rodriguez for his failed 2003 drug test (and—let me make this very clear—I fully do not support steroid use in any way, shape, or form), everyone seems to have forgotten that the Yankees’ third baseman was entitled, both legally and ethically, to the privacy he was guaranteed when he took the test.

So is every other Major League Baseball player.

Yet while baseball fans everywhere seek to impose their morals on players like Rodriguez, claiming they have been lied to and cheated, we forget that Rodriguez was lied to, too.

When Rodriguez and the Players’ Association agreed to be drug tested, they were promised—in writing—the results would not be leaked.

Six years later, the results were leaked. A-Rod was lied to; A-Rod was cheated.

And now we are asked to speculate about the identities of the other 103—those players who are entitled to the very privacy they were promised by Major League Baseball.

I understand and respect the desire to seek the truth.

I understand the desire to seek out those who cheated, to seek out those who broke the law, and to hold them accountable for their actions. I don’t care if Major League Baseball didn’t have a drug testing policy in place, either—I still think the actions of those who took steroids were despicable and indefensible.

But the witch hunt needs to stop.

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