| As Major League Baseball's steroid scandal widened to include the sport's most prolific active home run hitter, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) said yesterday that he will introduce legislation imposing drug testing standards on professional athletes if baseball players and owners do not adopt a stringent crackdown on steroids by January.
In the wake of the disclosure that San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds used substances provided him by a trainer who has been indicted in a steroid distribution ring, McCain, in an interview, gave baseball until next month to adopt the more stringent drug testing requirements of minor league baseball or face federal action. "Major league baseball players and owners should meet immediately to enact the standards that apply to the minor leagues, and if they don't, I will have to introduce legislation that says professional sports will have minimum standards for testing," McCain said after returning from a European trip late yesterday. "I'll give them until January, and then I'll introduce legislation." |
First off, no... in case you're wondering I have not forgiven him yet for the way he campaigned for Bush during the Swift Boat mess. He could have and should have done more to force Bush to call for an end to that nonsense. But... something tells me that he'll have plenty of opportunities to make up for it over the next for years, so I'm willing to keep an open mind.
But on this story... Personally, I don't care if baseball players use steroids. Sure, there are health concerns, but in my opinion that's the sort of thing that should be left to individual choice. I'm against drug laws in general, so why shouldn't I be against them here too? And on the whole cheating thing, I don't buy that either. If the stuff these guys are using isn't on a list of banned substances, how is it cheating? The one good argument I can see, however, is the role athletes play as role models for kids in sports. Although I don't normally go for that kind of argument, here I'm willing to give it a listen. Steroid use among teens is, from everything I've read, a growing problem. And as bad as steroids are for adults, they're far, far worse for teens.
Regardless, what I like about this move is that he's forcing baseball to step up and act, one way or the other. One thing I hate about baseball is how arrogant both the players union and the owners are, so anything that brings them down a notch is fine by me.
As for Giambi and Bonds I'll say this. Stop. The stuff wasn't "illegal" when they used it, so there's NOTHING WRONG with what they did. Nothing. Get over it.
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