The biggest issue in baseball is the usage of steroids. Bud Selig and the rest of the league have become more wish-washy and flip-floppy than any politician on the face of the planet. Implementing a ban on performance enhancing drugs is only a fraction of what the league needs to do to keep PEDs out of Major League Baseball.
All of this comes in light of the Manny Ramirez retirement, after he was notified that he had "issues" passing a substance test from the league. Even though his announcement seems quite selfish, at least he has taken his name out of the game.
Unlike Ramirez, there are still a few players who have remained on the diamond, despite their use of steroids.
First and foremost, they need to start banning players, stripping them of all their career stats and records, if it is found out that they used steroids at some point in their career. Who cares if players like Alex Rodriguez cry while admitting to the use of these drugs? An illegal substance is an illegal substance and a cheater is a cheater. It seems that fans excuse this behavior because of the emotional apology, but in reality Alex Rodriguez did a smart thing. By admitting his use he was trying to avoid a situation like Bonds or Clemens is in, in which they now face federal perjury charges.
Bonds and McGwire catch so much heat for their use of steroids, and due to this, both will need a miracle to get into Cooperstown. Despite this, Alex Rodriguez is still playing! Am I the only one who thinks this is the most hypocritical matter in sports today? Not only is he still playing after using an illegal substance to enhance his game, but he is still the highest paid player in the league, raking in around $33 million per year.
Pete Rose was placed on "permanent ineligibility from baseball" by his own accord, for betting on the sport and his team; yet a substance abuser, yes I said it, substance abuser like A-Rod can still stutter-step across second base as he trots his way around the diamond after a home run blast. Even though Rose wasn't throwing games in which he bet upon, betting is betting as well, and I am not trying to excuse Rose of his crime. However, in my opinion, gambling isn't remotely as erroneous as chemically enhancing in baseball.
I really don’t think the league and 75 percent of baseball fans truly realize how big of an issue this is, and to fix it, the league needs to dissociate themselves from players like Rodriguez, McGwire and Bonds, and now Ramirez. Like I said, cheaters are cheaters, no matter how many tears they shed.
There you have it—the solution to performance enhancing drugs in the sport of baseball is to have players placed on "permanent ineligibility from baseball," based on a "No Exceptions" or "No means No" policy. And in the process, they must take away all of their stats and meddle. Doing this would begin to restore the credibility to front offices, Mr. Selig himself, the MLB and the sport in general.
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