Steroids in Baseball...Really?

This has become a popular subject lately, with the new Canseco book released. I have been listening to the sports radio stations and I have to tell you that the amount of attention this is getting is really pissing me off. Is anyone really surprised that there is steroid use in baseball? Be real...have you been watching the game at all for the last ten years or so. All of you that think that athletes in professional sports are clean, need to wake up and smell the performance enhancing power shake.

The thing that really irks me is that the public can be so outraged about this at all. Do you know where you live? This is America. Land of the free and the brave. Also the land of SHOW ME THE MONEY. How can you be shocked in this day and age of $200 million dollar contracts that athletes would do whatever they can to maintain their position in professional sports. It is not that hard to understand that an athlete would rather make $200 million over the next 10 years than be sent down to the minor leagues or start working for a living. And that is just their baseball salary...let's not forget endorsements, personal appearance fees and all the other ways they get free money.

We live in the greatest capitalistic society in the world. And one of the byproducts of that society is that people will do what ever it takes to make money. This is not just relegated to the sports world. It happens every day all around us. Think of all the recent examples of CEO's padding the books so they can make a little moula. Accept it or move to the commune.

I know what some of you are saying right now...the athletes cheated...that they set a bad example for our kids...that steroids are illegal and they knew it. Yeah, the athletes carry some of the responsibility. Most athletes today lack the moral integrity to not be tempted to cheat their way to performing at a higher level and making the big dollars. I don't blame them, but I sure wish our world was filled with more righteous souls.

The only thing that really bothers me about the players, is that they deny the allegations. I would rather they just stood up and admitted juicing. I am sure that most have stopped with the ban by baseball and the testing coming up. But I guess if the had the integrity to admit their wrong doing, then they probably would not have used the steroids in the first place.

But let's place the rest of the blame where it really belongs.

First - Major League Baseball. I find it amazing that we don't hear about their responsibility in all this. Steroids were made illegal in this country some time around 1987. Do you know when baseball made them illegal? 2002! It took them fifteen years to decide to ban them and another two years to perform testing. And they only did this when the out cry about steroid use began to hurt business. That's right...it is still about the might buck. They did not care who was juicing up when it was leading to more home runs, more crowds in the ball parks and more MONEY for the league.

I had someone tell me that they thought the athletes, by using steroids, were pressuring kids today to use them as well to keep up. What a bullshit argument. I got news for you there are only two things that pressure kids into feeling like they need to juice up to be better at something...parents and friends. You parents of kids in sports...stop pressuring them to be great and let them enjoy the game. I lived in Texas for some years and I can tell you first hand that the parents put more pressure on their kids that pro athletes do. It is not the pro athlete holding their kids back in school so they will be bigger and older when they hit high school and start playing football. It happens! If you don't think parents are pressuring their kids, then go down and watch a game at your local soccer, hockey, pop warner or baseball leagues.

Let's not forget about society. Our society is just as much to blame as the athletes and MLB. As someone who grew up and lives in the ghetto, I know first hand that most kids believe their only way out of here it through sports. That can be a lot of pressure. I somehow doubt when little Johnny injects himself with steroids, he is thinking "I am going to be just like Barry Bonds." He is thinking I have to be the best so I can get out of this slum. Try giving these kids some more options in life and maybe they won't resort to illegal actions to try and SURVIVE.

The last thing I would like to inject concerning this topic...Stop talking about the records that have been broken lately and whether they should count. I have heard recently that Roger Maris' family wants McGuire investigated. Why? I also read daily about Barry Bonds and his breaking the home run record should be discounted if it shown he used steroids. Are you guys crazy? You can not discount what these athletes have done. Steroids, no steroids it is still miraculous. Besides, if steroids had been available when Babe Ruth was playing, he would have been drinking them with his bourbon. Steroids would have become his hangover cure. Let's not assume the players of old were better because they did not fall under this temptation. They did not have the temptation, nor were they playing for this kind of money. They played the game for the only real reason to play the game - they loved it. Those days left us when we started paying ball players more money that we do college graduates. Times have changed and we need to change with them. End of rant.