What there is, however, are druggies, cheaters, racists and thugs. I remember a phrase I heard a lot back in the 60's, "Playing just for the pure sport," but you won't hear that anymore. It's not a sport anymore, it's a business. And it's certainly not pure.
My attitude toward the use of PEDs has changed in the past year or so. I used to think it was just a couple of dozen baseball players that 'juiced,' but it seems now that that was a pretty naive view. The Biogenesis scandal has produced 13 ballplayers guilty of using banned substances, and we think that's a lot. Well, consider this: Some of the people on the list were never caught before, in spite of the continuous testing that goes on. How many other players found sources of the drugs through areas not involved with Biogenesis? How many are still out there, confident in their ability to circumvent the testing? There are 750 players on Major League rosters. Do you really believe that only 13 are guilty? That's less than 2%. And let's not forget the 600 players in the minors who are on the parent clubs protected list. Some of them were caught, too, but certainly not all of them.
Other sports, all sports actually, are just as screwed up. Johnny Manziel is the poorest representative of a Heisman Trophy winner ever. College football players violate every rule we can think of. The coaches are just as bad. There are a number of them who violated recruitment rules and when they got caught, they simply moved on to another job, leaving their former school to suffer for their wrongdoings. Pro football players seem to think that getting arrested is a badge of honor. Golfers cheat and make racist remarks.
I just finished reading a book called, "Little Girls in Pretty Boxes," about amateur gymnastics and ice skating. AMATEUR. These girls are willing to risk their long term health by taking pills, training and working out to the point of exhaustion, and suffering eating disorders, all to win an Olympic gold medal. Some have died, most have health problems for the rest of their lives. The coaches, however, are fat, healthy and rich, emphasis on the rich.
Bud Selig is currently basking in the glory of "...the best drug prevention program in professional sports." Bud, you haven't cleaned up a thing. What about the previous violations? What about all the 'sacrosanct records' that were obliterated?
In the movie, "My Blue Heaven," Steve Martin tells this joke: "What's the difference between a pregnant woman and a light bulb? The answer: "You can unscrew a light bulb."
So Bud, how are you going to unscrew all these tainted records? Get back to me on that, will you?
There is no THEY SAID IT section. I'm not feeling very funny today.
CP-
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