Real challenge is to keep young people off steroids, By: John Jackson
April 12, 2006, ARGUS-COURIER SPORTS EDITOR
It seems to me that we're missing the point of this whole Major League steroid mess. What are we really worried about?
Are we concerned that professional athletes might actually cheat to gain fame, fortune and a championship? Doesn't baseball have a long and storied tradition of overt and covert operations?
Back in the beginning, outfielders would stash extra baseballs in the tall grass, the better for a quick throw to the infield. John McGraw would trip and hold base runners as they rounded third base. One of my favorite pitchers as a kid was Whitey Ford -- who gave new meaning to the phrase "crafty lefthander" because of his various methods of scratching, scuffing and mutilating a baseball. Sammy Sosa could have supplied Wimbledon with the tennis balls in his baseball bats.
Are we concerned about baseball players putting harmful substances into their bodies?
Even as they were chasing Babe Ruth's mythical 60 home run record, Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris were two of baseball's biggest substance abusers. Maris smoked himself to death and Mantle drank himself into an early grave.
Major Leaguers' use of methamphetamines is an open secret.
Are we concerned that Major League baseball players actually lied to Congress? Which is worse, Major Leaguers lying to congresspersons or congresspersons lying to the American public?
The real danger and what we should be concerned about is the use of steroids by high school and collegiate athletes trying desperately to emulate their heroes and to secure their own fame and fortune.
We should really be concerned about getting the word out that steroids are bad news. Young people need to be made to understand that while there may be temporary benefits from steroid use, the long-term effects can, and more often than not, are devastating.
The focus shouldn't be on how many of Barry Bonds' home runs were steroid-aided, but what steroids do to young bodies.
Instead of showing a poster of Bonds with Babe Ruth, we should be showing a picture of Bonds with a shriveled and dying Lyle Alzedo.
Every time we tell the story of Mark McGwire, we need to tell the story of Casa Grande High athlete Rob Garibaldi, who committed suicide while under the influence of steroids.
We need to emphasize over and over that, while steroids may allow a person to hit a ball farther or heal faster, they may also stunt growth, cause hair loss, produce impotence and lead to heart disease, strokes and death.
They will also mess up your mind, with deep depression among the more common symptoms.
I'm not sure what Major League Baseball hopes to prove with its latest investigation. Major League baseball has survived game fixing, gambling, spitballs, player strikes, owner greed and Charlie Finley. It will survive steroids.
It is time to look to the future and the future is our young people. They deserve to know the truth. They deserve to know the truth about their heroes. They deserve to know the truth about the game they love and the dreams they pursue.
Most importantly, they deserve to know the truth about steroids and the harm steroids will do to their bodies.
