US Congress, Baseball Square Off Over Steroids
Major League Baseball for the weakness of its
policy governing performance-enhancing drugs.If
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subscribe.Print This PageMarch 18, 2005 (AXcess
News) Washington - A U.S. House of Representatives
committee has rebuked Major League Baseball for
the weakness of its policy governing performance-enhancing
drugs. The congressional panel heard from baseball's
commissioner, medical experts, star players and
the parents of two amateur players who committed
suicide after using steroids.
In a crowded hearing
room, the House Government Reform Committee hearing
started with Virginia Republican Tom Davis criticizing
Major League Baseball (MLB) for not taking the
fight against steroids seriously.Mr. Davis said
that the league's testing agreement, which has
not yet been signed by the players' union and
contains a provision that would allow Commissioner
Bud Selig to impose a $10,000 fine instead of
a 10-day suspension for a first positive steroid
test.
Mr. Davis said that's not enough to solve the
problem."Baseball cannot simply turn its back
on recent history, pronounce that the new testing
policy will solve everything, and move on. You
cannot look forward without looking back," he
noted.Kentucky Senator Jim Bunning, a former major
league player and member of the professional baseball's
Hall of Fame, said there is no doubt that big,
strong major leaguers are using performance-enhancing
drugs.
Senator Bunning said that the hall of famers
he played with were very different from today's
players."They did not put on 40 pounds and bulk
up in their careers," he added. "And they did
not hit more home runs in their late 30s than
they did in their late 20s. What is happening
now in baseball is not natural and it is not right."AdvertisementThe
panel also heard from the families of two amateur
players who committed suicide after using, then
withdrawing from, steroids.
Donald Hooton, whose
son Taylor killed himself after becoming depressed
when he stopped taking steroids, said Major League
Baseball has a responsibility to clean up its
act."I am sick and tired of having you tell us
that you do not want to be considered role models,"
said Mr. Hooton. "If you haven't figured it out
yet, let me break the news to you that whether
you like it or not, you are role models.
Why don't
you behave like we try to teach our kids to behave.
Show our kids that you are man enough to face
authority, tell the truth and face the consequences."Several
of the top home run hitters, including former
Saint Louis first baseman Mark McGwire, current
Baltimore Orioles Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro
all told the committee that steroids need to be
eliminated in baseball.
McGwire, who broke Roger Maris's single season
home run record four years ago, told the committee
more needs to be done."It is a problem, and that
needs to be addressed," said Mr. McGwire. "Most
importantly, every little leaguer, pony league,
high school, and college player needs to understand
that performance-enhancing drugs of any kind can
be dangerous."McGwire's voice cracked with emotion
as he told the committee that he would not sit
in judgment of other players.
He joined several
other players in condemning former Oakland and
Texas star Jose Canseco's book about steroid use
in baseball.Baltimore Orioles designated hitter
and Cuban native Rafael Palmeiro took a more aggressive
stand, telling the committee immediately that
he did not use drugs."I do not know how to say
it any more clearly than that - never," he stated.
"The reference to me in Mr. Canseco's book is
absolutely false.
I am against the use of steroids. I do not think
that athletes should use steroids, and I do not
think that our kids should use them."Baseball
enjoys a special exemption and tax status in the
United States because the sport, known as "America's
pastime," has a significant place in American
cultural history.
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