“Are you crying? There’s no crying…There’s no crying in baseball!” – Tom Hanks “A League of Their Own”
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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – The public’s love and adoration means always having to say you’re sorry. Take the recent events concerning Mark McGwire and his “coming out of the steroid closet”. As a result of the St. Louis Cardinals’ and Coach Tony LaRussa’s decision to hire him as the Major League Baseball team’s batting coach, the man most famous for shattering Roger Maris’s single season home run record and then telling Congress that “he was not here to speak about the past” has now admitted to ten years of continuous steroid use, given three consecutive days of interviews, cried to the cameras, denied that steroids gave him a competitive advantage and fallen on the sword and begged for the public’s forgiveness. While all of this was going on, Jose Canseco, the “rat” who blew open baseball’s hidden skeleton’s by naming names, including his teammate and former “Bash Brother” McGuire, was incredulous when he stated “Mark, there is no crying in baseball.”
While it seems that many athletes who have now been confronted with the truth concerning decisions that they made during their careers to take steroids, human growth hormones or other types of performance enhancing drugs (P.E.D.s) the public ridicule and reaction is almost as interesting as the players decision to come clean themselves. What is it that the public really wants? Clearly the public wanted to see its heroes hit mammoth home runs. Baseball fans reveled in the great Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa rivalry chasing down Roger Maris’ single season home run record, as well as Barry Bond’s assault on the all time home run marks of Babe Ruth and later, Henry Aaron. But all of Major League Baseball and even McGuire’s own coach, Tony LaRussa, stated that until McGuire came clean months ago, they never “knew” that McGwire or other long ball hitters were using steroids. Are they just turning their backs and covering their butts when they act so oblivious to what every sports fan and critic knew to be going on right in front of them? It is this blind eye of organized baseball and the bright lights of the public and investigative reporting that conflict and has caused the outing of many of baseball’s iconic record holders. Those long ball hitters have been placed upon the pedestal of Major League Baseball, not only by the fans, but by Major League Baseball’s Commissioner, its owners, fellow players and their managers. But what happens when the fans realize that their idols have feet of clay or in this case biceps loaded with steroids and human growth hormones? They feel cheated. They feel dirty. They want an apology and they need to see the tears!
The fans were giddy with excitement and the baseball owners were lining their pockets with the revenue derived from the resurgence of fan attendance as Major League Baseball parks were being packed by fans who would arrive hours early to the game just to watch these athletes hit hundreds of balls into the stands during batting practice. When the athlete is finally proven to have been dirty, the fans feel dirty, too. So while the line “there is no crying in baseball” a statement that is relevant when echoed by Jose Canseco, it appears that the athlete once again gets a free pass to shed his alligator tears right into the camera and beg for forgiveness of the same fans that gave them the free “Get Out of Jail” card, so long as the ball went “yard.”
Let’s take a look at some of the athletes accused of using P.E.D.s and how some have admitted their use, apologized and been accepted and how others, who have never been found guilty to have used P.E.D.s, have been treated and vilified by the public for not coming clean.
We all know that the court of public opinion is a crazy place. Giving proof of the wacky world of public opinion is the way the public perceives and accepts Alex Rodriguez and Andy Petite versus the way the public perceives Rafael Palmiero, Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Jason Giambi…and the “Hall of Fame” question…how the public will perceive Mark McGwire. All seven of the individuals have either been accused, rumored to have used or have admitted to using P.E.D.’s .
Andy Pettitte, a proven juicer came clean immediately. He apologized. He stated that he used steroids for an elbow injury, accepted blame and got a free ride.
Alex Rodriguez initially issued a public denial, but was outed by a leak of secret and confidential drug test results. Once he came out and apologized, held a public press conference, and had an ESPN televised interview with Peter Gammons, he then received the public’s blessing.
Sammy Sosa a home run hitting machine with a smile that could light up the whole stadium went before Congress and all of a sudden couldn’t speak English and needed an interpreter to deny any use of performance-enhancing drugs. He did however admit to cheating by using a corked bat (but tried to back-peddle by saying he had used it in batting practice and mistakenly used it in the game) after it broke during an at bat. The public has never fallen back in love with him. His smile and the public adoration have been lost possibly forever. In fact, recently when he has appeared at events, there have even been rumors that he has lightened his skin complexion.
Rafael Palmiero stuck his finger out to Congress and asserted “I have never done steroids.” Three weeks later he was suspended for fifty games for violating the Major League Baseball Banned Substance Policy, having flunked a drug test. His credibility was flushed down the toilet with the B-12 shot he claimed to have taken.
Barry Bonds has been in total denial. He stated he did not “knowingly” use steroids. He believed the substance rubbed on his arm and legs allegedly called “the clear” (a non identifiable steroid) was flaxseed oil. He is currently facing perjury charges for lying to the Grand Jury in the Balco case and his reputation and his career Home Run Title is forever tarnished.
Roger Clemmons allegedly lied to Congress and denied steroid use. He is now involved in a defamation case against his trainer who has testified under oath that he personally injected Clemmons with steroids (in his backside). Clemmons faces a possible perjury for falsified testimony.
Jason Giambi after his name appeared as one of the individuals who flunked a steroids test in the early 2000’s apologized. When asked what he was apologizing for, he never really answered the question. He said he apologized for his behavior, but he never once admitted to taking steroids.
Mark McGwire took the Fifth Amendment before Congress and for five years went into seclusion, but recently had a change of heart and admitted long term steroid use. Just last month, he was cheered by thousands of fans after calling himself a moron for using steroids and told the fans that it was the dumbest and stupidest thing he had ever done.
So what is the verdict of the Court of Public Opinion?
Two admitted steroid users, one who came out immediately and one after being outed accepted responsibility and apologized and both have been accepted and forgiven by the public.
Four denied any such use and have never been proved to use steroids, but have lost their case in the court of public opinion and Jason Giambi has never been the same and the public never really accepted his lame apology.
But the tale of Mark McGwire is one that the fans, media, owners and players alike will be watching carefully and closely. An admitted steroid user who has recently “come clean” after five years has been partially accepted, but was he really as remorseful as he claimed to be? Is he trying to reestablish his reputation and image in an effort to get into the Hall of Fame? Was his name one of the more than 100 players on “The List” of players found to have used P.E.D.s and the fear of being outed caused him to be proactive before the final shoe hit the floor? Or is he truly sorry for his “stupidity”? These are tough questions, and McGwire still defiantly claims that he did not use the drugs to gain a competitive advantage despite the fact that his former trainer stated that if Paris Hilton had used the combination of P.E.D.s that McGwire did, she could run right through Hall of Fame Chicago Bears Linebacker Dick Butkus. The jury is still out.
It took five years for Mark McGwire to come out of the steroid closet. Five years of isolation on his ranch. Five years to think. Five years to allow his denial to be mulled over in the media, with his fans, and with the baseball writers who control his Hall of Fame fate. Five years to allow his brother to write a tell-all book on their drug use and five years for McGwire’s name to be thrown in the mud every time another player was alleged to have taken steroids. This all could have been avoided if he would have stepped up and told the public and Congress the truth and owned up to his own mistakes and moved on. By now, the dust would have settled and all of the other athletes’ indiscretions would have taken over the public eye. If McGwire had come clean, he might have had a chance to one day be a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. His defiance, his lies and his silence over the last five years was a Hall of Fame-sized mistake.
So it looks like you have to come clean, throw yourself under the bus and admit to using P.E.D.s, look directly into the camera but get the Kleenex ready because when you apologize for using steroids…there certainly is crying in Baseball.
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