-- January 11, 2008 -- (Read my past columns)
Mitchell Report Is Not Exactly Earth-Shattering News
The "Report To The Commissioner Of Baseball Of An Independent Investigation Into The Illegal Use Of Steroids And Other Performance Enhancing Substances By Players In Major League Baseball" by George J. Mitchell was released to the public nearly a month ago.
Since then, we've heard big talk from Commissioner Bud Selig; confessions, denials, and threats of lawsuits from players named in the report; harsh words from sportswriters -- and pretty much a giant shrug from the fans.
I don't mean to make light of the problem of drug use in Sports, which is a serious issue. But my first reaction when I saw what was in the report was along the lines of, "Tell me something I don't know." It's not exactly a revelation that the use of so-called performance-enhancing drugs has been a wide-spread epidemic for many years.
And during most of those years, the Head Honcho of the game of Baseball was none other than the man who commissioned the Mitchell Report, Bud Selig. I make no secret of the fact that I'm not a fan of Selig. I thought it was utterly preposterous that, after Fay Vincent was forced to resign as Commissioner by a group of owners angry at Vincent for daring to investigate their alleged collusion against free-agent players in the 1980's, one of those very owners was selected as Acting Commissioner. After the "Acting" was removed from his title, Selig did sell his team -- to his daughter.
This glaring conflict of interest helped set the stage for the longest strike in Major League Baseball's history, and the cancellation of the World Series in 1994. Of course, he had plenty of help, most notably from the arrogant and stubborn Donald Fehr, head of the MLB Players Association. Neither Fehr nor the owners was willing to give an inch on issues which seem minor in retrospect, and while it's not fair to lay all of the blame for the protracted stoppage at Selig's feet, it's easy to imagine a more neutral party having greater success at bridging the gap. Rather than acting in the "best interests of baseball," the cornerstone of the role of Commissioner, Selig has never done anything but act in the best interests of team owners.
So it's no surprise that when baseballs started flying over outfield walls with unprecedented frequency later that decade, and attendance and revenues started growing faster than Sammy Sosa's forehead, Bud Selig smiled and presided over the "rebirth" of the game. Even then, there were whispers that something wasn't quite right about this picture. The whispers slowly grew louder, eventually becoming shouts of outrage. All the while, Selig did nothing, hardly enforcing an already ridiculous drug policy. Players were given 24 hours notice before "random" drug testing, thus ensuring almost no positive results. Any player who did test positive was essentially given a slap on the wrist -- suspensions were only handed down after multiple offenses.
Why such leniency? Because fans love to see home runs, and they kept showing up, and as long as the owners made money, the Commissioner was happy. Selig either didn't know how big a problem steroids had become, or he didn't care. Neither option paints him in a very good light.
What about the players themselves, though, the ones who knowingly injected or ingested or massaged illegal substances into their bodies in an effort to gain an edge over the competition, who broke the rules to get ahead, who cheated? They are to blame as well, yes. And the defense of "everybody else is doing it" didn't work with your Mom when you were 10, and it doesn't work here either.
But in an environment where so many players were doing it, where so few were getting caught, where even the Commissioner of Baseball himself was turning a blind eye, it was easy for good men to get lured. Try to put yourself in the cleats of a talented rookie, who knows he's good enough to earn a roster spot but sees other players jumping ahead of him by using drugs. Or an aging pitcher who can squeeze a couple more lucrative years out of his career, if only he can keep his shoulder almost as strong as it used to be. It's not so hard to understand the temptation. And it's always easier to do something you know is wrong... when you know you can get away with it.
Which brings us back to the Mitchell Report. There's a great scene in Casablanca where Captain Renault, looking for an excuse to shut down Rick's nightclub, angrily proclaims, "I am shocked - Shocked! - to find that gambling is going on in here!" No sooner have the words left his mouth than an employee hands him a wad of cash and says, "Your winnings, sir."
Last year, under increasing pressure from fans and media, Selig recalled the good Captain and became shocked - Shocked! - that steroids were being used in baseball. He hired Senator Mitchell to find out all he could and report back to him.
Actually, that's former Senator Mitchell. The retired lawmaker had no subpoena power to compel anybody to answer his questions. Nobody testified under oath. No power of any government or law enforcement agency was behind Mitchell's investigation. The vast majority of players, trainers, agents, and others whom he approached refused to cooperate. The resulting report is a compendium of accusations by a handful of people of questionable credibility who claim to have seen certain players use illegal substances.
Having said that, are there players named in the report who did indeed use steroids or Human Growth Hormone? Undoubtedly. Are there also innocent players who have been wrongly accused? I wouldn't be surprised. Roger Clemens has angrily denied the claims made to Mitchell by his former personal trainer, who stated that he provided Clemens with HGH. Personally, I'm not sure whom to believe in this case, but it doesn't really matter. A reputation that took years to build is irreparably damaged, if not outright destroyed. Chicago Tribune columnist Philip Hersh, who writes a lot about figure skating, has already declared in print that he "won't ever vote for Clemens" on a Hall of Fame ballot. Clemens is guilty until proven innocent, and even then, many won't be convinced.
The naming of names in the report is unnecessary and counterproductive. It simply points the spotlight into the past, dragging some players through the mud while sparing others, seemingly at random, with no way to prove or disprove the accusations.
Instead, the focus should be on the present and future of the game. Bud Selig needs to find the strength to defy the powerful players' union and proclaim zero tolerance for steroids and HGH, effective immediately. This would include truly random testing with no advance notice, suspensions for first time users, and a lifetime ban for repeat offenders. This might sound harsh, but the time has come for drastic measures, now, rather than re-hashing the transgressions of years past.
Baseball can still be saved, and if Bud Selig turns out to be the guy to do it, he may end up earning my respect after all.
But I'm not holding my breath.
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