For the past few months, baseball players and team owners have been debating over a new steroid policy. The existing policy didn’t work; yes over ten major league baseball players in its first year of unannounced testing did test positive for steroids. But is this policy essentially built well enough to rid steroid user’s period? I thought baseball wanted to get rid of steroids all together? Now Congress has stepped into the mix, proposing a stiffer testing process than what the baseball union initially proposed.
With Congress breathing down upon baseball’s powers at hand, baseball has been fumbling with what they want to implement. Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig proposed last April the penalties be 50 games for a first offense, 100 games for a second and a lifetime ban for a third and final offense; this is a lot more harsh than the 2005 season penalties of 10 days, 30 days and 60 days. Still lame.
Then in September, union head Donald Fehr countered with 20 games, 75 games and a penalty set by the commissioner. Lame. I know baseball’s powers at hand want to settle the policy themselves, but it seems like these powers only want to spank their baseball players for an offense while Congress wants to chop off arms and legs.
Commissioner Selig needs to wake up and realize that his 2005 policy didn’t work and is not strict enough. Before the 2005 season, baseball was applauding itself for having some type of steroid policy. But guess what? Over 10 big leaguers tested positive, 12 to be exact, including one of the best hitters of the past decade, Raphael Palmeiro.
Then weeks ago Senators John McCain and Jim Bunning revised their proposals to soften penalties, which would now have a half-season suspension for a first offense, an entire season for a second time, and a lifetime band for a third offense.
With the likes of McCain and Bunning putting pressure on Selig and Fehr, this might actually get baseball and even other professional sports to crack down on steroid users. This proposal would not only be active in Major League Baseball (MLB), but also in the other major sports such as the National Football League (NFL), National Basketball Association (NBA), and in the National Hockey League (NHL).
This is what baseball and the rest of the major sports exactly need to implement. With this new system, cheaters and liars will be brought to the forefront. The once so-called heroes and role models will dissolve from pedestals. There won’t be any more players who will say, “I have never used steroids period” and then find out months later they lied to the United States of America Congress.
There’s this old saying in sports: “If you’re not cheating, then you’re not trying.” With baseball getting some help from Congress to implement a stricter code, then you can say goodbye to the way it used to be.
As of Tuesday, Nov. 15, although not official yet, Major league players and team owners agreed to finally strengthen suspensions for steroids; a 50-game penalty for a first offense and a lifetime ban from baseball for a third strike.
Bravo Mr. Selig, you’ve finally done something right!