Mr. Chairman: Performance-Enhancing Drugs Are Here To Stay

(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Yet there is still no real testing for HGH.  Players are failing the “idiot test” and nobody cares about them.  J.C. Romero, anyone?  Right, he didn’t know.  Andy Pettitte only used them to get healthy.  And Roger Clemens only used it to get strong. 

Players in the NFL regularly test positive.  Shawn Merriman.  Rodney Harrison.  Nobody cares.  But for some reason, we are all appalled that baseball players actually used performance enhancing drugs.

PED’s have become as much of a part of the game as the double play.  We had better get used to it.  It’s human nature to look for an edge.  No matter what you do, most people will look for an edge.  Until there is a fool proof way to test for these drugs, they will permeate the game.

That begs the question, should we really care if players are using these drugs?  Are professional sports chasing their tails?  They can’t really be caught.  It can’t really be stopped.  At least not from what I can see.

And as for the role model argument, I don’t even want to listen to that anymore.  Parents need to guide their children.  These guys play a game.  They are not role models.  If your kids want to look up to them, guide them in the proper way.  Let them try to play like they do, but teach them the right way to do things.  Teach them how to lead a good life.  Be their role model.  Earn it.

The sportswriters need to come to grips with the fact that we will never know the full truth.   You can’t ignore the players implicated and leave them out of the Hall of Fame.  There is no way to determine who is guilty and who is innocent.  Unless you want to remove ALL of the players who played in the era from the ballot then just stop it.  You don’t know.  Period.   

And the players need to stop crying that they didn’t take them and are being unfairly implicated.  If they really cared that much they would have put a stop to it long before it got to this point.  Peer pressure is the best way to stop these things. 

Jose Canseco and Ken Caminiti appear to be the only players to have told the truth.  I believe they estimated that about 80 percent used.  Unfortunately everyone scoffs at Jose, for obvious reasons.  And Ken Caminiti is dead.  It’s a shame.

Before I quit this rant, let’s all ask ourselves one question.  If you could take something, to help ensure that you kept your job, and excelled at your job, would you take it?  Think about it for a minute.  In today’s economy, would you do it? 

Perhaps we all need to “take off our white wigs and stop judging everyone”?  It’s just a thought.  If you have a moment, check out this documentary.  It might change your viewpoint.

I have sworn to myself that this article is the last time I discuss the topic.  I hope I can stick to it.

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