THE MITCHELL REPORT

There are

unwritten codes in every walk of life. When I played football in college back in the late 70's several of my team mates used steroids. I did not use them and I was not the only one that didnt. But I was not going to run around and tell on people. They were grown men in my eyes and they had to deal with the ramifications of getting caught and the health issues down the road. You can not expect ML baseball players to run around and squeal on their team mates. The league should have had serious testing in place and they should have taken an aggressive stance against them. When you have people that driven to make it to that level , stay at the level , take it to another level at that level , then you have to police it you can not expect them to police it.

It should not be on the players to make sure that their team mates are not using. And it should not be on the players to enforce the rules or turn in team mates. MLB got what they wanted , tons of HR's for the HR happy fans. Has anything ever been pumped any harder than the Sosa , McGuire record chase? Did anyone have to tell anyone with half a brain that steroids were rempant? Could you not look at the changes in the size of these guys over the period of time we are talking about and not see it for yourself. Look at guys like Fred Lynn , Will Clark , Hank Aaron , they came into the leauge one size and left pretty much the same size. They got older and got a little thicker but the physical changes were very natural over time. Now look at McGwire , Sosa , Clemens , Anderson , Bonds and many many more. They came in pretty much normal looking athletes and they blew up bigtime. Several blowing up much later in their careers when most guys are starting to break down physically.

MLB knew it. They chose to ignore it. Now they put out a report based on hearsay and rumor. They put out some names to appease those that wanted some names. And now they saw lets move forward. Its a joke thats all it is. Untill they put a testing procedure in place that is totally random , tests for all types of enhancing drugs and bans people caught for life as well as strikes their records from the books - nothing is going to change.

As soon as a test is in place for one drug and new drug will be out that can not be detected. As long as people are willing to take the risk there will be people taking that risk. The penalty for getting caught must be so severe that everyone is scared to death to take that risk.

 

All you need to know...

Roger Maris hit 61 home runs in 1961. It took forty years for someone to break that record and then it was broken four times in the next three years. Hellooooooo Mr. Selig.

There are everyday joe's that will risk their health everyday to bench press another 20 lbs., win a competition or even get a date with the hottie that works in the nail salon next door.

But hey, you know what? It's entertainment. And as long as people are willing to pay the outrageous ticket prices thus creating millions of dollars to be had, there will always be players in all sports that will find away to enhance their performance and grab the biggest piece of the pie, health be damned. RIP Lyle Alzado.

I personally hope they blow the lid so far off that they clean it up in all sports and really get serious about it. The NFL has a policy in place but you can't tell me that those guys aren't circumventing the system somehow. That's why I'll take college and high school sports any day...but even those are beginning to scare me.

 

Good points Coach. I would never want or expect players to say anything. But I do expect the league to have done something. This could have been addressed quietly years ago however it went unchecked and now we have a situation that has spiraled.

 

Ladies night

Would SHE be willing to come on the Stretchlon Sports show to discuss this subject. I will bring the steroids!!!

 

I for one was ready to read the report just to see if there was real evidence against any players that we had not heard about in the media. What I see is a short list, and it was stated that this was not a complete list. I don't think they could have come up with a complete list because all of the players were not dumb enough to write a check for steroids to a lab or pharmacy and leave a paper trail. What I got from the report was that almost every player used something and the coaches, managers, trainers, as well as owners knew about it. But like so many things in our country today all they care about is the bottom line. Just look at the statement in todays paper by the Brewers when asked about Eric Gagn'e. "We were disapointed to see he was on the report, BUT we still think he will help our ballteam". That's all they care about. I too am not a fan of Barry B but now I have to back off of him because I see alot of pitcers on that list. Do we only count his HR's he hit against pitchers who were also on roids. Well that could still be all of his HR's.

Even more disappointing to me is how little effect all of this is having on the youth. All they see is a guy hitting bombs and then finding out he took steroids to get stronger and off he goes to find some so he can do it too. A local team had a meeting yesterday about drug alcohol and drug abuse. The players were told there might be some testing done. Some players then were heard saying "I hope they aren't going to test us for steroids". I don't understand why anyone would be so dumb to take them but at the same time you see that they think if I don't take them and the other guys are I don't have a chance. Believe me it is still going on in high school and college.

 

Non User Litigation

I'm waiting for an average or below average player to come forward with a lawsuit against either (MLB, the PA, his Club, or even a Player that used) on the grounds that he could have played longer and made more money had he not been forced to compete against steroid enhanced players.

 

Here's a devil's advocate argument for you guys...

If so many athletes in so many sports are taking steroids to enhance performance and recover from injuries, maybe steroids should be legalized and allowed in sports.

Certainly steroids work - athletes who use them get bigger and stronger and recover from injuries quicker than athletes who don't use them. Why not bring steroid use out of the back alleys and let athletes take them under proper supervision?

Are we to believe that steroids are so bad on the human body that there will soon be an epidemic of serious health problems and deaths from athletes who have used steroids in the last 20 years? Anybody seen any articles that report on the kinds of health problems we should start seeing from aging athletes who used performance enhancing steroids?

Maybe, like all sorts of drugs and medications, a certain dosage is fine but excessive use is harmful and dangerous. Anybody seen any articles that lay out the short and long term benefits and risks of steroid use at different dosage levels and different time periods?

What do you think?

Just throwing it out to see people's arguments pro and con...

 

Still Hogwash...

You all can laud Senator Mitchell all you want. I choose not to. If his sources are suspect, which I believe they are in a lot of areas, then his document is suspect, too, and not necessarily based on fact.

I'm not naive to think that steroid use was not rampant, but I do believe that these stories of hearsay and speculation have been brought to the public incorrectly.

Shouldn't Mitchell have thought about that? And don't say that he didn't have some input into how the findings would be brought to the public?
DDD

 

I'm sorry guys, but you can't blame "the league" for turning a blind eye and whine about folks disrespecting "the game" while also talking about how you can't bring yourself to turn in someone on your own team who is cheating in the same or next breath.

 

Drug Dealers/Users Beware

The bigger problem that I see is the effect that this would have on our youth. They would all want to get their hands on the stuff sooner than they would be ready for it just like they now get their hands on the booze before the age of 21. It is a no win situation unless it is totally band and as someone else said earlier in a post "make the punishment real stiff". This has to be stopped NOW and if it is then maybe the Mitchell report would have helped the case.