A-Fraud Should Get the Floyd Landis Treatment, Pay Back the $250 Million

There's Daytona 500 odds up, the World Baseball Classic is just around the corner, and March Madness isn't too far behind.

But obviously, the topic that's making the water cooler popular today is the revelation in a report that Alex Rodriguez used steroids.

First off, save me the "innocent until proven guilty" speech here. I don't care to hear it. I'm in the camp that believes he did steroids. If you are arguing that he should get his due process, I'm not saying that you're wrong. I'm just saying you won't convince me.

Those who bet on sports probably don't care, so this is a topic more for the common wholesome sports fan.

There are many angles which will be regurgitated, but I just wanted to make the analogy of A-Fraud's positive steroid test to that of Floyd Landis—or maybe even an Olympic athlete.

Landis won the Tour De France, was on top of the world, and was about to make lots of money when he tested positive for steroids. Then he lost everything. He lost the yellow jersey, lost his endorsements, lost his dignity.

He was stripped of all of it.

But in A-Rod's case, as long as he doesn't lie in front of a grand jury like Barry Bonds or 'misremember' like Roger Clemens, then he'll come out of all of this rather unscathed.

Sure, his image will take a hit. At this point, it doesn't seem to be a big deal, and those who bet on sports won't care.

But shouldn't it be a bigger deal? Shouldn't more of a punishment be doled out?

If A-Rod truly did steroids, and we are working under the assumption that steroids make a player perform better, and if his performance did get better and he was paid for that 'improved' performance, shouldn't he be stripped of some of that wealth?

What I'm suggesting is unrealistic on many levels. How do you go back and say "Steroids helped A-Rod hit 25 more home runs, which means he should be paid x amount of millions less?"

But shouldn't he lose a little bit more than his reputation?

An Olympic athlete who tests positive for steroids will not only lose their medal, they lose their winnings and are shamed by their country. Michael Phelps was photographed just using marijuana and was stripped of a major endorsement.

For guys like A-Rod, it feels like we're giving him a brief scowl and waving our finger saying "you better not do this again," but realistically, once he's back to slapping the ball in the gap, online sports betting fans won't even care about his past.

My general point is that MLB contracts should have stipulations that can void a contract and allow the team to recuperate some money if the player is caught using. But in a roundabout way, I'm just reiterating the point that the MLB's steroid policy is a joke.