The steroid era haunts Major League baseball
Caleb Sanford
Issue date: 1/27/10 Section: Sports
What is that saying? If he had not played in the steroid era, he wouldn't have juiced? If he had played ten years later, he would never have made such a mistake? So that means he is a victim of the era he played in and not an adult who is responsible for his own mistakes?
Labeling this period of baseball "the steroid era" has left an opening for players to push the responsibility off of themselves, and onto a faceless period of time. They don't need to take responsibility for betraying the trust of so many people. Now they can just shift the blame away from themselves and pretend there is a reason they did steroids besides their own faults as human beings.
There is a reason these players took steroids. It's because they are human and made mistakes. That's understandable. That doesn't make it OK, but it does make it forgivable.
These players should be allowed to make amends and try to do some service to a sport that they have damaged. Players may begin this process by admitting their mistakes, accepting responsibility for their actions and promoting awareness of the steroid problem so that their mistakes will not be repeated by younger players working their way up the ranks.
But there's an even bigger reason not to label this period of time the steroid era. There are players who are victims of this era in baseball history. Honest, good players who work hard to be the best athletes and best players they can be; guys who don't cheat and don't take the easy path to fame.
The problem is that there is no way to tell who has taken steroids and who hasn't. Many players have already proven that they will deny steroid use unless confronted with evidence (as Alex Rodriguez did). So we either need to put asterisks next to the name of every major league baseball player over the past decade and a half, or none at all.
The players that have competed with honesty and integrity do not deserve to carry the label of having "played in the steroid era." They deserve to be recognized for their own accomplishments in the game and to look back at their careers with pride, because that is something they can do far better than any player who took steroids.
Labeling this period of baseball "the steroid era" has left an opening for players to push the responsibility off of themselves, and onto a faceless period of time. They don't need to take responsibility for betraying the trust of so many people. Now they can just shift the blame away from themselves and pretend there is a reason they did steroids besides their own faults as human beings.
There is a reason these players took steroids. It's because they are human and made mistakes. That's understandable. That doesn't make it OK, but it does make it forgivable.
These players should be allowed to make amends and try to do some service to a sport that they have damaged. Players may begin this process by admitting their mistakes, accepting responsibility for their actions and promoting awareness of the steroid problem so that their mistakes will not be repeated by younger players working their way up the ranks.
But there's an even bigger reason not to label this period of time the steroid era. There are players who are victims of this era in baseball history. Honest, good players who work hard to be the best athletes and best players they can be; guys who don't cheat and don't take the easy path to fame.
The problem is that there is no way to tell who has taken steroids and who hasn't. Many players have already proven that they will deny steroid use unless confronted with evidence (as Alex Rodriguez did). So we either need to put asterisks next to the name of every major league baseball player over the past decade and a half, or none at all.
The players that have competed with honesty and integrity do not deserve to carry the label of having "played in the steroid era." They deserve to be recognized for their own accomplishments in the game and to look back at their careers with pride, because that is something they can do far better than any player who took steroids.
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