Will The Mitchell Report Put An End To Steroids?
Posted: Thursday, December 13, 2007
by Abigail Richards
George Mitchell released his report today and has sent the baseball world in a frenzy as suspicion of several big name players using steroids is now confirmed.
The report consisting of over 400 pages is never ending in research into the steroid era of baseball. It details players, teams, suppliers, etc. all equally involved in the promotion of steroid use.
Mitchell stressed during his press conference that Baseball should not discipline the players named, but move on and put an end to the Steroid Era of Baseball.
In his report, Mitchell wrote he was against commissioner Bud Selig disciplining players -- those named in the report or not -- for past violations of baseball's rules against using performance-enhancing substances "except in those cases where he determines that the conduct is so serious that discipline is necessary to maintain the integrity of the game. I make this recommendation fully aware that there are valid arguments both for and against it."
Mitchell said baseball was slow to act on the drug issue fueling it across the game. However, he said it is time baseball move forward and learn from its mistakes.
"Knowledge and understanding of the past are essential if the problem is to be dealt with effectively in the future," Mitchell said. "But being chained to the past is not helpful. Baseball does not need and cannot afford to engage in a never-ending search for the name of every player who ever used performance enhancing substances. The Commissioner was right to ask for this investigation and report. It would have been impossible to get closure on this issue without it, or something like it."
He went on to say, "Everyone involved in Major League Baseball should join in a wellplanned, well-executed, and sustained effort to bring the era of steroids and human growth hormone to an end and to prevent its recurrence in some other form in the future. That is the only way this cloud will be removed from the game. The adoption of the recommendations set forth in this report will be a first step in that direction."
I guess I am curious to see how this plays out. I do believe Selig should discipline Clemens, Bonds, Tejada and some of the other big names. I think they should face consequences for their actions. They broke federal law. They should not get special favors based on who they are or their achievements.
Not to mention possibly a review of some of those key moments in the past when these athletes did achieve greatness.
To me it would be insulting to just move forward with no regards to the actions they made. Clemens and Pettite's agent has yet to comment on the situation and I am curious as to their spin on the situation.
In the meantime, I do think baseball should go on and move forward and put the steroid use behind them. Baseball should go the extra mile to make sure this does not happen again. It is America's pastime. It used to be a family sport. I haven't liked having to explain to my kids about steroids. I hope that the commissioner can get the integrity back and the sport can move forward in a clean, non-drug state.
I think it had gotten so bad and prevalent, because baseball was so slow to act, that players never had the chance to not use the drugs and still be competitive. The good news is that the players weren't just damaging the game with their actions, but at least their bodies will also pay the price.
But here is the real question, can baseball clean up its act? I would love to hear your thoughts. Please leave a comment below to fuel this discussion.
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