Steroids and Congress: Cheating in America
| January 11, 2008 | 1:58 pm | Sports & Recreation
Today Marion Jones was sentenced to six months in prison for steroid use. Marion Jones, for those of you who do not know, was one of America’s most prominent and talented track and field competitors, winning five gold medals at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. She was uncovered for her steroid use after the BALCO steroid investigation, stripped of her medals, and now must report to the slammer by March 11th. Roger Clemens, one of the greatest pitchers in the history of Baseball, has been linked to steroids via the now infamous Mitchell Report and his former trainer, Brian McNamee. He has been summoned to give a sworn disposition to Congress and his own testimony to the House Oversight Committee. After all is said and done, it will likely end up that both men will back up their cases and it will be clear that either Roger Clemens, who stands to lose his entire reputation and the Hall of Fame, or Brian McNamee, who stands to go to jail, lied to Congress.
Steroids have clearly become a contentious point of American culture and debate. Athletes continue to find ways to pass screening tests and use steroids because, let’s admit it, they work. They make you stronger, faster, and more powerful than your opponents. They may also shrink your testicles and turn you into a rage-induced monstrosity, but let’s set that one aside for now. What’s important is that America’s athletes do act as role models to the children of this country, regardless of how shallow of role models they may actually be. The steroid use of athletes probably has encouraged some children, especially those with pro athlete aspirations, to use them. More importantly, it sends a message about cheating. And here’s that message:
Cheat your way to the top, and you can become a legend.
Thanks Barry for showing that cheating can make you the Home Run King. Thanks Mr. Bonds for showing that you can draw the attention of the entire world and make money by cheating.
A debate that I have consistently heard the last few days has been over whether Congress is wasting its time entering the Mitchell Report/Roger Clemens fray. People ask, reasonably, Is this a waste of my taxpayer dollars? Will this really solve anything? Is Congress simply trying to put on a show? Is Congress ganging up on Roger Clemens? and Aren’t there more pressing issues America has to deal with?
Although my initial reaction to the announcement of the Congressional hearings was that this was a waste a time, I’m now inclined to believe that Congress tackling this issue head-on can help bring the message we want to send to our children: Cheating is not the way to succeed. And Karma will come to kick your ass to the moon.
I began to change my mind when I listened to Skip Bayless on the ESPN show First Take. He debates other sportswriters and commentators about a variety of issues in sports. He’s also annoying as hell and sometimes I wonder if he listens to the things that come out of his mouth. But I digress. The issue this particular day was actually whether or not it was a waste of Congress’s time to be investigating Roger Clemens and the Mitchell Report. The person sitting across from said it was, but Skip disagreed. His main point: That Congress going after these people made examples of them and made examples of what happens when you cheat the system. By making examples of them and showing that it does not pay to cheat using steroids, children would get the message. Though I think steroids are unfortunate, I think the underlying notion of cheating is more dangerous. And Bayless was right. If Major League Baseball wasn’t going to make examples of these cheaters, someone had to, even if it had to be the federal government.
Yes, I do think Congress has more pressing issues, but if Congress never took on issues that were “less pressing,” we’d probably be in the stone age. Space exploration is not a “pressing issue” but I’ll be damned if I ever let Congress cut funding to the space program for ANY reason. In this case, Congress acting may actually dole out some punishment and some good. The last time there were investigations, it beefed up the punishments and testing of several sports, especially the MLB. This time, it will be about the message.
Congress should not gang up on Clemens, let me be clear. Clemens may be innocent and McNamee is not the most trustworthy man in the world. What SHOULD happen, though, is that everything needs to be set out for the public to see and, if a crime has been committed, then there should be hell to pay. I feel a bit sorry Marion Jones, but it does not make what she did right. I feel a bit sorry for Clemens, but if he did use steroids, he needs to be punished. And don’t get me started on Bonds. The fiasco surrounding him has sent a horrible example.
The message that cheating can help your prosper, whether it’s steroids or a notecard full of answers during a test, must be dispelled and we need to fight that message. Those who cheat their way to the top rarely develop the skills they need to succeed in the real world. And the attitudes these people bring in their interactions with others can be downright sinister. So Congress isn’t wasting their time on this. It’s not as if Congress is having an emergency joint session on the issue. It’s drawing attention to something that affects millions of us, because sports are a huge part of our lives, both on the T.V. and on the grassy park fields we send our kids to play soccer on.
While Congress makes examples of those who have flipped the middle finger on the system and on their sports, let’s do our part, and make sure that people know that cheating does not make them legends, but makes them mere afterthoughts. What do you think when you hear Enron? Do we want our legacy or the legacy of our children to be that?
