Sir Charles just might be wrong...
Last week I was a guest with Brian Kilmeade on Brian & the Judge on Fox News Radio. Brian asked me a simple question, “Why is this important?” Amongst all of the other reasons, perhaps the most important is kids. Charles Barkley once famously said “Athletes are not role models.” Sir Charles may indeed be right, but I would ask: How many teenagers have giant posters of their fathers on their walls? How many of them go around with oversized $150 jerseys that read “Mom” on the back? Like it or not, athletes often populate the pantheons of heroes young people build for themselves in their rooms, lockers and in their minds.
As it relates to young people, the issue at hand is important for two reasons; health and character.
Health is obvious. One need not dig too far to find data demonstrating the catastrophic costs of steroids. From Lyle Alzado to Bill Romanowski the physical and mental effects of steroids are easily seen. Indeed, even a look at the incredibly shrinking Mark McGuire gives one insight into the changes that occur after one stops juicing. It is clear that the short term gains of using steroids are far outweighed by the long term consequences.
Less obvious, but perhaps more important is character. The simple fact is that sports are one of the venues in which many young Americans learn about the verities of life. Sport is nothing more than a microcosm of life, played out between the lines, where its rules are defined, but the field is just a part of a bigger world. It’s where they learn to play by the rules; to be part of a team; to work as hard as they can; to strive to be the best; to be humble in victory and gracious in defeat. Many of the lessons learned on the little league or high school baseball diamond will be with them long after they have thrown their last pitch or touched that last base. While sports are not the only classroom in which young people learn the lessons of life, for many it is one in which they spend a great deal of time.
Many people have written me suggesting an equivalency between Ruth and Bonds because Ruth drank during prohibition and Bonds used steroids before they were banned by baseball in 2002. The suggested equivalency is false. The argument is patently illogical. Just as Prohibition was the law of the land via the Constitution, the use of steroids was made illegal by the federal government in 1991. By their reasoning, pointing out Ruth’s infraction only further damns Bonds.
The Ruth drinking issue is simply a red herring. The truth is that most players, like most Americans have broken the law at some point in their lives – how many times in the last week have you exceeded the speed limit? The issue here is not just one of breaking a particular law. The real issue is the fact that Bonds broke the law with the specific intent of positively impacting his performance between the lines. Say what you will about Ruth, unless he was related to Dr. Johnny Fever, the motivation behind his drinking had nothing to do with scoring on the baseball diamond. Fundamentally, men like Ruth, Aaron, Robinson, Williams, DiMaggio, Gwynn were heroes, perhaps even role models, not because of what they did on the field, but for how they did it. Compare their legacies with those of Shoeless Joe Jackson or Pete Rose.
Make no mistake, if Bonds is allowed to break Hank Aaron’s HR record, the message young people will get is that cheating is an acceptable path to success. MLB has already disgraced itself by spending much of the last 15 years with its head in the sand on this issue; it should not further diminish itself by placing its greatest crown on the head of someone who will have gained it in such a dishonorable way.
(Visit http://www.helpsavebaseball.com/ for shirts and e-mail links to MLB)
As it relates to young people, the issue at hand is important for two reasons; health and character.
Health is obvious. One need not dig too far to find data demonstrating the catastrophic costs of steroids. From Lyle Alzado to Bill Romanowski the physical and mental effects of steroids are easily seen. Indeed, even a look at the incredibly shrinking Mark McGuire gives one insight into the changes that occur after one stops juicing. It is clear that the short term gains of using steroids are far outweighed by the long term consequences.
Less obvious, but perhaps more important is character. The simple fact is that sports are one of the venues in which many young Americans learn about the verities of life. Sport is nothing more than a microcosm of life, played out between the lines, where its rules are defined, but the field is just a part of a bigger world. It’s where they learn to play by the rules; to be part of a team; to work as hard as they can; to strive to be the best; to be humble in victory and gracious in defeat. Many of the lessons learned on the little league or high school baseball diamond will be with them long after they have thrown their last pitch or touched that last base. While sports are not the only classroom in which young people learn the lessons of life, for many it is one in which they spend a great deal of time.
Many people have written me suggesting an equivalency between Ruth and Bonds because Ruth drank during prohibition and Bonds used steroids before they were banned by baseball in 2002. The suggested equivalency is false. The argument is patently illogical. Just as Prohibition was the law of the land via the Constitution, the use of steroids was made illegal by the federal government in 1991. By their reasoning, pointing out Ruth’s infraction only further damns Bonds.
The Ruth drinking issue is simply a red herring. The truth is that most players, like most Americans have broken the law at some point in their lives – how many times in the last week have you exceeded the speed limit? The issue here is not just one of breaking a particular law. The real issue is the fact that Bonds broke the law with the specific intent of positively impacting his performance between the lines. Say what you will about Ruth, unless he was related to Dr. Johnny Fever, the motivation behind his drinking had nothing to do with scoring on the baseball diamond. Fundamentally, men like Ruth, Aaron, Robinson, Williams, DiMaggio, Gwynn were heroes, perhaps even role models, not because of what they did on the field, but for how they did it. Compare their legacies with those of Shoeless Joe Jackson or Pete Rose.
Make no mistake, if Bonds is allowed to break Hank Aaron’s HR record, the message young people will get is that cheating is an acceptable path to success. MLB has already disgraced itself by spending much of the last 15 years with its head in the sand on this issue; it should not further diminish itself by placing its greatest crown on the head of someone who will have gained it in such a dishonorable way.
(Visit http://www.helpsavebaseball.com/ for shirts and e-mail links to MLB)
posted by Help Save Baseball at 7:23 AM
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