Steroids: Is Anybody Listening?

June 20, 2007

There comes a time when people just tune out. It happens every time there's a labor dispute in sports. There's a strike? A lockout? Get back to us when it’s over. The same goes for steroids.

I have a feeling that sports fans have had it. They really don't care anymore. Yes McGwire and Sosa's home run chase was tainted. So is Barry Bonds. And no matter what New York Yankees first baseman Jason Giambi fesses up to sports fans could probably care less.

What do sports fans care about? Whether their team wins or loses. Period.

And they like imperfect people. Yankees fans like Giambi as long as he hits home runs. Sure he cheated, but he kind of admitted it unlike all those other scoundrels, so isn't he a great guy and all?

Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig is holding Giambi's feet to the fire, and its widely assumed in the next day or so Giambi will agree to talk with George Mitchell's steroid committee. What will he tell them? Probably whatever he told the grand jury in California. That he used steroids. He'll become the first active player to admit it to the committee. Heck, he's probably the first active player to even talk to them. What then?

The steroid committee issues some big report and it makes headlines for about 24 hours. Commentators like me will go "tsk tsk" and demand that the sports world cleans up its act. We demand to see a level playing field. Sports fans will yawn and ask if their team won or lost.