|
| |
It's the Bottom of the
Ninth
and America Steps to the Plate
Current Events/Frank
Salvato, Managing Editor |
March 18, 2005
- It was quite the sight to behold. There they sat; McGwire, Sosa, Schilling, Palmeiro, some of today’s superstars of baseball
and quite possibly tomorrow’s Hall of Famers. But this moment wasn’t about
double-plays or RBIs, and instead of home or away jerseys they were wearing
pinstripes of the Brooks Brothers variety. These icons of the diamond –
along with Frank Thomas who joined them by teleconference and Jose Canseco
who sat shunned at the end of the table – were subpoenaed by the United
States Congress to talk about steroid abuse in Major League Baseball. A
disturbing thought for a couple of different reasons.
Normally when I see California Congressman Henry Waxman in front of a
television camera I automatically assume that the "showboat” is preparing to
leave the dock. Quite frankly, I don’t think there’s a cause that Waxman
believes can’t be furthered along through congressional legislation. So the
issue of steroid abuse in America’s pass-time and Waxman seemed a perfect
fit. But the giants of baseball – and not the ones from San Francisco –
didn’t give Waxman anything to work with. In fact, several times during the
hearings members of the committee – professional politicians – commented on
how "politician-like” some of the answers were.
Rafael Palmeiro came right out and denied he used steroids as did Frank
Thomas, and Curt Schilling. Mark McGwire pulled a ‘Condit’ and ducked the
question on the advice of his lawyers. And it was hard to tell what Sammy
Sosa wanted to convey. I was actually waiting for him to lean into the
microphone and say, "Baseball has been very, very good to me.”
While one can speculate about the possibility that Jose Canseco
clandestinely lobbied for the hearings in an effort to promote his tell-all
book about the steroids scandal (he contends it involved 80% of the players
at one time), one didn’t have to speculate about how his fellow panel
members felt about him. Mark McGwire was most blatant about it alluding to
the fact that Canseco was a "convicted criminal” and he urged the
congressmen to "consider the source.”
Perhaps the only real information was disseminated through what was not
said. Whenever the questions came close to having anything to do with
whether or not he had known anything about anyone, anywhere at any time
knowing anything about steroids Mark McGwire responded in one of two ways,
he either stated that he was now "retired” or that he "didn’t want to talk
about the past.” Conventional wisdom mandates that if one is going to
conduct an investigation as to whether there was ever steroid abuse in
baseball one would have to talk about the past. His refusal to be candid
didn’t bode well for McGwire or baseball.
I know it sounds as if I am coming down hard on those who were subpoenaed to
testify before the House Government Reform Committee and perhaps I am a bit
dismayed that they would be less than forthright with the truth. Then again,
I should have expected as much, what with the world of litigation we live in
today. In their defense, all of them sans Canseco – and Thomas due to the
fact that his telecommunications link was terminated after his very brief
statement – pledged to do "what ever it takes” to combat steroid use, not
only among their peers in professional baseball but among the youth of our
nation as well. They all agreed to be on an official committee to extol the
dangers of steroid use. McGwire even said that he would direct a large
amount of his foundation’s resources to achieve the goal of steroid-free
sports in America. So, to that extent they should be applauded although we
should really wait and see just how involved they are with the efforts.
But, with all the excitement, the American people have been distracted from
the larger issue. While any mention of the evils of steroids draws the
camera lights and the Blackberries of the mainstream media, especially when
you get four potential Baseball Hall of Fame members and Jose Canseco in the
same room, the real issue is whether these hearings should have been held at
all.
Major League Baseball, aside from being submissive to anti-trust laws, is
basically a private enterprise. Teams are privately owned, either by
individuals, consortiums or corporations and they employ contracts. In a
nutshell, baseball is a business…big business. And just like anything else
in the private sector, we need to wonder just how far we are willing to
allow government to overlord. If steroid use is forbidden in a player’s
contract and he is caught using them the matter should be one of contract
law and not congressional legislation. Further, if the use of steroids is
illegal then the matter should be remanded to the same legal system to which
we are all bound. If a contract has been broken there are ramifications. If
a law has been broken there are consequences. Why Congress thinks it has the
authority to call "for further review” is questionable. Besides, instant
replay in baseball is a disturbing thought.
While the Waxman’s of the world would be quite pleased to create legislation
to counter every problem, relegating any semblance of personal
responsibility to the ash heap of time, we have to ask ourselves, as a
nation, do we really need the government to force us to do what we know is
right? Have we come to a moment where the words "self restraint” mean
absolutely nothing?
Steroids, used outside of medical supervision, are dangerous. They cause
cancer and lend themselves to shortening human life. Their short term
advantages lose out to the long term disadvantages of death. This is common
sense. I don’t know which is a more frightening, the fact that
multi-millionaire baseball players and their organizations can’t figure out
that steroids are dangerous or that we are unwittingly allowing our
government to legislate common sense.
It’s the bottom of the ninth. The score is tied. There are two outs and
America steps up to the plate…
Related Reading:
McGwire Says He Won't 'Name Names'
http://www.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/03/17/steroids.baseball/index.html
McGwire Refuses to Say if He Took Steroids
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20050317/D88T0PIO3.html
|
|
