Initially I thought this story was just about sports, but the more I learn, the more I see it as a story that tells us quite a bit about both our media and our society in general.
Today's big news is that NY Yankee's star pitcher Andy Pettitte has admitted to using HGH. Here's how the Washington Post headlined the AP story:
Pettitte Admits to HGH Use in 2002
Sounds bad, right? But wait.... here's the lede:
Yankees Pitcher Says He Used Human Growth Hormone for Elbow Injury
Hmm.... so this was both related to an injury and potentially limited in scope. Let's take a look at the article for more details:
Pettitte said he tried HGH on two occasions, stressing he did it to heal faster and not enhance his performance. He emphasized he never used steroids.
"If what I did was an error in judgment on my part, I apologize," Pettitte said Saturday in a statement released by his agent. "I accept responsibility for those two days."On Thursday, Pettitte was among 85 players named by former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell's investigation into steroids and performance-enhancing drugs. Pettitte had not commented publicly on the allegations.
Pettitte asked the trainer he shared with Roger Clemens, Brian McNamee, to help him with HGH while on the disabled list early in the season, the report said. McNamee recalled injecting Pettitte two to four times, Mitchell said.
"In 2002 I was injured. I had heard that human growth hormone could promote faster healing for my elbow," Pettitte said in the statement released to The Associated Press by agent Randy Hendricks.
"I felt an obligation to get back to my team as soon as possible. For this reason, and only this reason, for two days I tried human growth hormone. Though it was not against baseball rules, I was not comfortable with what I was doing, so I stopped.
"This is it -- two days out of my life; two days out of my entire career, when I was injured and on the disabled list," he said. "I wasn't looking for an edge. I was looking to heal."
Pettitte was not linked to steroids in the report, and said he never had never used them.
"I have the utmost respect for baseball and have always tried to live my life in a way that would be honorable," he said. "If I have let down people that care about me, I am sorry, but I hope that you will listen to me carefully and understand that two days of perhaps bad judgment should not ruin a lifetime of hard work and dedication.
"I have tried to do things the right way my entire life, and, again, ask that you put those two days in the proper context. People that know me will know that what I say is true," he said....
According to the Mitchell Report, Pettitte asked McNamee about using HGH after the 2001 season, and the trainer said he discouraged the pitcher from trying it.
We are talking about 2 days, both of which were while Pettitte was on the disabled list. According to the report, he also "asked" about HGH on another occasion, but was discouraged from using it by his trainer.
So I will ask again: Please explain to me how this is cheating. Explain why this is something I should condemn. When this whole thing started I said I didn't understand it, and the more I learn, the less sense an already senseless situation makes.
This isn't about baseball, integrity, or competition. This is about our media's mindless obsession with meaningless controversies. Because the story is on some level about "drugs," because "drugs" automatically equal "controversy," and because "controversy" sells newspapers and attracts viewers, this story has been hyped to the heavens. Sadly, it really is that simple. There are so many false and unspoken assumptions here that its almost impossible to know where to start with my complaints.
Pettitte used the stuff twice. While he was on the disabled list. But he is now being equated to Barry Bonds, who may or may not have used both HGH and steroids for years. And "may or may not" is critical here, because even with Bonds, of course, we still have no idea what actually happened. So it's not entirely clear to me why a comparison to Bonds should mean anything.
Two times. While he was injured and unable to play. While it wasn't against baseball rules. Explain to me why I should care. Explain to me why we are treating Pettitte as if he has done something wrong. Go ahead and try. I'm waiting...
UPDATE: If you're going to email me your answer, please don't lead with this "what about the children" nonsense. If you honestly think that the use of HGH by a star ballplayer twice in his career is the most pernicious potential influence kids face these days, you really aren't paying attention.
This story hasn't "destroyed" baseball specifically or sports more generally. It has destroyed the myths we tell ourselves about baseball and sports. Sports aren't "noble, pure, and good." They never have been, nor will they ever be. That's not the fault a few athletes, but the fault of human nature. We aren't perfect, so nothing we do will ever be perfect. We tell stories about perfection to give us something to aspire to, but they are still just stories. We need to learn to stop confusing our mythologies with our reality.
And that goes for every aspect of life - politics, sports, religion, culture, you name it - not just baseball. We need to collectively get a grip. I don't expect we will of course, but...
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