Sports column: Making steroids disappear

By Jeff Feyerer

Poof!

Just like that, the momentum created by a Red Sox world championship – which catapulted baseball back to its rightful place at the throne of American sports – was erased.

The 10 years it took after the 1994 strike. The events like Ripken’s game streak; Sosa and McGwire’s home-run chase; the Cinderella World Series runs of the Diamondbacks, Angels and Marlins. The events that have transpired during the past decade seem a bit irrelevant now.

Last week’s statement by Yankees first baseman Jason Giambi that he used steroids for a three-year period has sent baseball into a tailspin.

It was always suspected that steroids were used, but the truth was left unsaid. Now, leaving things unsaid doesn’t remain an option.

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People don’t seem to realize yet what these allegations mean for baseball.

We, as fans, have been lied to.

In an age where fans plunk down astronomical amounts of money to see the stars hit balls into outer space, we’ve been punked out of money, time, loyalty and most importantly, our love of the game.

Like they always do, players will deny and deny until the talk dies down. Then, when a particular player does something great on the field, rumors will begin to swirl again and the great circle of deceit will continue.

Since Giambi’s admission to steroid use, blame has been passed around like a hot potato from one group to another.

Some blame the owners for making baseball not a game, but the biggest of businesses.

Some blame the agents for jacking up the prices on their clients and putting pressure on the players to perform at the highest level.

Even the fans have been blamed for desiring home runs to be hit longer and more often.

But wouldn’t owners have done something if they knew one of their players was taking steroids?

Wouldn’t agents encourage their clients to eliminate any source of controversy that could prevent them from receiving a big payday?

And wouldn’t fans come back to the game anyway?

The answer to this predicament is simple. The players, and only the players, are the ones to blame.

And because they should be viewed as the lone instigators in BALCOgate, it is the players’ job to rectify the situation.

They need to come out and say they used steroids.

Don’t wait for the embarrassing court documentation and questioning or even Jose Canseco’s book because he probably won’t spell the names right.

Tell us now.

As crazy as that seems, considering it may end the careers of those players, it’s not only much better than lying about it and failing a drug test at a later date, but it also injects a little truth and integrity back into the game.

No one is bigger than the game, and it’s about time players remember that.

By taking steroids, these players have compromised the integrity that this game was founded upon, and it’s their responsibility to bring it back.

It’s their responsibility to give back the heart, desire and respect that greats like Hank Aaron and Roberto Clemente put into every hit, catch and throw.

Those qualities can still be found in the littlest of places, like the red stitching on each baseball, but with the cloud of steroids hovering overhead, the chance of the aforementioned attributes being brought out by today’s players is miniscule.

Whether Jason Giambi, Barry Bonds and other players decided to shrink their own baseballs for the money or the stats, their reasoning will never hold any water.

They turned one of America’s most trusted institutions into a playing field for lies and scandal.

They put the thought of using steroids into the minds of the nation’s youth.

And they lied to the people that are most important to their current and future success.

The fans.

Testing needs to start immediately. Admissions need to come out immediately. Something needs to be done before our national pastime becomes obsolete.

Baseball will probably survive this scare as it has through past scandals and allegations.

But steroids cannot.

Jeff Feyerer is a senior in ALS and can be reached at [email protected].