Roger Clemens turned out be Exhibit A in the long-awaited Mitchell report, an All-Star roster of players linked to steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs that put a question mark — if not an asterisk — next to some of baseball’s biggest moments.
Barry Bonds, already under indictment on charges of lying to a federal grand jury about steroids, Miguel Tejada and Andy Pettitte also showed up Thursday in the game’s most infamous lineup since the Black Sox scandal.
The report culminated a 20-month investigation by former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, hired by commissioner Bud Selig to examine the steroids era.
“The illegal use of performance-enhancing substances poses a serious threat to the integrity of the game,” the report said. “Widespread use by players of such substances unfairly disadvantages the honest athletes who refuse to use them and raises questions about the validity of baseball records.”
This is so tragic. I say we approach this with grace. Let us not deny Hall of Fame status, let us not strip the records etc. Hopefully those involved will be convicted of their transgression and come clean. And for those that do, I would consider them clean and admonish them to do it no more.
Well, they could start an Enhanced Sports League, where steroid use is not against the rules, but is actually encouraged. Hypertrophied freaks could entertain us with superhuman feats of athletic prowess. You know, the ideals of sportsmanship, hard work, and natural talent are all the prejudices of an unsophisticated age.
I’m sure TEC would bless it.
What this means is that the last decade at least of baseball is forever suspect. Marion Jones just lost all her medals and records. Essentially, her name is wiped from the history of the sport except as a scandal note. But these guys, forgive and forget? How many high school and college athletes may have followed their examples? So much for the American game. And to think that coaches and management didn’t know is naive.
Thank you again, Henry Aaron. Still my hero.
Kendall – I’m never for deleting postings. But don’t you think that no. 2 was stupid and inappropriate?