They say love is blind.
Typically, this statement is used to refer to the whimsical trysts of young teens, unable to recognize all the facets of their relationship, preferring to remain in a state of blissful ignorance.
Bud Selig loves baseball, in this there is no question. Yet however blinded he may be by his love of the sport, he is choosing to be ignorant of the plethora of issues facing his sport. Bud Selig has stated that the "steroids era" is over in baseball.
What?!?
The recent BioGenesis scandal as well as Ryan Braun's recent admission of a second violation of the league's drug policy has got to be painfully obvious, and while the notion of a cover up seems like an exercise in futility, Selig is trying his best to not face the facts.
Baseball has reached it's crisis point on performance enhancing drugs.
The BioGenesis scandal is likely to come to a head sometime in the upcoming weeks, and depending on the punishments doled out, the fallout could be huge. The list of fifteen players is likely to grow, and yet it already contains a handful of All-Stars, an NL MVP and two World Series champions. All of whom are suspected and heavily expected to be found guilty of violating the drug policy.
We have Ryan Braun and Alex Rodriguez, already two repeat offenders of the drug policy, who have both been exposed as false and have rightfully taken the fall for their offenses. Rodriguez is likely to be suspended for some portion of this season, as Braun already has been, and could potentially find himself out of baseball within several years.
Now the question arises, what does baseball do with the awards and accomplishments these players have "earned" while using illegal substances? We cannot draw an exact picture of when either man went dirty, but should the use of any illegal substance warrant a forfeiture of MVP awards and World Series rings?
If Selig is to curtail the doping issue before it spirals out of control, then the time has come to start throwing the book at players. The notion of players getting second or even third chances to come clean and play fair is simply ludicrous and invites players to get better at not getting caught, not stopping steroid use.
To effectively punish current offenders and well as dissuade future offenders, Selig must not consider any punishment off the table. Multi-season bans and even lifetime bans from the sport should seriously be considered, as well as fines. I mean, come on, in the NFL you get fined for tying your shoelaces wrong, it seems fitting that MLB should be able to punish players with a fine worthy of the crime.
Repeat offenders, what repeat offenders? One and done is how it should be done, and i'm not just rhyming for fun, hun. Players, analysts, fans and the commissioner himself have voiced tremendous displeasure for steroid use in the sport, so it's time to put the money where the mouth is and DO something about it. Fifty game suspensions are nice and all, but it's obviously not an effective tool when players don't even miss a whole season.
Manny Ramirez is trying to work out a comeback to the league. Don't worry, Boston fans, he won't probably make it. Lets be serious here, guys like Ramirez have no place in a league competing amongst clean players who work hard, play hard and give their all to win.
If Bud Selig really loves baseball, and truly wants what is best for the league, it is time for him to take the reigns and take whatever action is necessary to clean up his sport.
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