Sports scandals are not really new in the American pastimes we are supposed to enjoy. All the way back to the 1919 World series when the Chicago White Sox were accused of throwing the series with the Cincinnati Reds we have seen bad behavior. Babe Ruth as a drunk and womanizer, boxers throwing fights, and more recently, Pete Rose with a gambling suspension, Michael Vick with fighting dogs, and swimmers with illegal swimming gear. And who will forget the doping scandal with the home run race in the 1990's between Sammy Sousa and Barry Bonds? And then there is the Lance Armstrong story that really hurt a lot of people. And now, we have more doping problems with baseball, and 33 players in the NFL arrested since the last Super Bowl. The time has come for fans to expect more from those who we consider athletes and not support sports for the sheer enjoyment of competition. It is about money and greed pure and simple. The objective is for the players union and owners to protect the bottom line at any cost. When players are found to be using "performance enhancing drugs" they should be banned forever. But what happens to them now? They receive a 50 game suspension with a small fine compared to their millions in salary and a vacation. But, every time I see a well-hit baseball, a fantastic reception in the NFL, or a very fast runner in the Olympics, I have to wonder if it is a great athlete or a great drug. The technology to outwit the drug test is far ahead of the curve. It is too easy to cheat and not get caught. The trend is for much more of the same and fewer people being found to have cheated. Of course there are honest athletes but for now, everyone should get an asterisk in the record books.
After the first game of the 1919 series the Philadelphia Bulletin ran a poem about how clean sports really is and it is pure irony:
Still, it really doesn't matter,
After all, who wins the flag
Good clean sport is what we're after,
And we aim to make our brag
To each near or distant nation
Whereon shines the sporting sun
That of all our games gymnastic
Base ball is the cleanest one!
Play Ball...
After the first game of the 1919 series the Philadelphia Bulletin ran a poem about how clean sports really is and it is pure irony:
Still, it really doesn't matter,
After all, who wins the flag
Good clean sport is what we're after,
And we aim to make our brag
To each near or distant nation
Whereon shines the sporting sun
That of all our games gymnastic
Base ball is the cleanest one!
Play Ball...
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