Truth and Reconciliation in Baseball

The revelation that Alex Rodriguez tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003 and the public reaction to it suggest that baseball is not yet done with its cleansing process. A-Rod has now come clean and admitted to using steroids for his three years with the Rangers. A-Rod has shown us the way we should deal with the lingering scandal: "The more honest we can all be, the quicker we can get baseball [back] to where it needs to be."

The federal government has the list of the 104 players who tested positive as part of the screening process agreed to in the August 2002 negotiations between the owners and the Players Association. The Commissioner's Office promised those results would be confidential and would be destroyed immediately. Now you know why the union worries so much about confidentiality. It was the feds who abused a court-ordered subpoena targeted at ten players and threw everything they found into their briefcases. It was not the worst abuse of civil liberties by the recently-departed Bush administration, but don't tell that to Mr. Rodriguez.

I was gearing up for the Barry Bonds trial when the Rodriguez bombshell hit. Using steroids may not be a major criminal offense, but lying to a grand jury is, except apparently if you are Scooter Libby. If convicted, Bonds deserves punishment and will suffer even more public opprobrium than he has already received. This is all old news, however. It is time to think about how baseball can declare an official end to the steroid era.

Unless the Commissioner's Office and the MLB Players Association develop a way to clean the stable, the public will be treated to steroid waterboarding, as the names drip out one by one. (Obviously, A-Rod was the big fish and the leakers must be delighted with the public's reaction to their sniping at the premier player of our time.) Every player at every turn at bat will be a suspect, and it is impossible to prove a negative -- that you never took the stuff.

Baseball should create a Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Unlike George Mitchell's investigation -- which the players, for the most part, stonewalled -- this would be a joint effort of the owners and the players union. Each side would have representatives on the commission, and they would select a neutral chair. The federal government should supply the Commission with the list of those who tested positive so the Commission can accomplish its goal -- to end once and for all baseball's latest infamy.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission would be patterned after the governmental body created in South Africa after the end of apartheid to wipe the slate clean for those who had committed offenses during the previous regime. Those who came forward were granted amnesty, and the country could get on with its business of developing that great land. People might say that steroid use is not in the same category as killings and torture, but there is no reason to believe the process cannot be adopted for our purposes.

Say, for example, that someone like A-Rod were to come before the Commission and admit to steroid use, much as A-Rod has now done in his ESPN interview with Peter Gammons. If the player tells the whole truth, the sporting public should accept his confession and contrition and move on. As I have written before, the actual use of steroids has now been reduced almost to zero, and anyone who uses the stuff has a short career ahead. We have to clean up the past, however. The Commission can do that.

So why won't this work? The owners and the players have a better relationship now than at any time since the late 1960s. Rob Manfred for the owners and Donald Fehr for the Union are responsible players in the business of the game, and this is a pure business issue. Would the players come forward and tell all? Some may not know if they are on the remaining list of players, but they should know whether they used performance-enhancing substances. If they did, they should say so and apologize for doing so, even if that use was not banned at the time under the Basic Agreement.

As a result, players who come forward should receive "amnesty" for their confessed transgressions as far as baseball is concerned. For that select group of superstars of Hall of Fame caliber, like A-Rod, they should not be blackballed from Cooperstown like Mark McGwire has been and Barry Bonds will be. The Hall selects the finest players of each era of baseball, and that includes the last decade.

How would the public react to this mea culpa? I think that American sports fans would be amazed at the players' candid confessions and would be understanding. We have a great ability to forgive in our society. Many players from 2003 are no longer in the game, and they might be excused from the confessional. Others may not want to participate until their names are called out in the newspaper. Still others will hope the whole issue will go away in a time of economic disaster in the country. (The last idea is fanciful. Baseball was a very popular pastime during our last depression.)

We have to move on, and the Baseball Truth and Reconciliation Commission is a way to do that. There may be some criminal issues that linger on, for example with Bonds' perjury trial and Roger Clemens' alleged contempt of Congress, and so the strategy will not take steroids off the front pages, but it would be a critical step. Alex Rodriguez has shown the way. We could even have George Mitchell come back from the Middle East (after he solves the Israeli-Palestinian dispute) to bless the Commission for completing the work he started.

Comments

[FairTalk]

A-Rod has not "come clean" as far as I am concerned. He is spining just like those before him. He said he only juiced from 2001-2003, but he didn't testify under oath. I have no reason to believe he isn't still using. His performance these past few years, including his roid rage incidents, both off and on the field, make me question his "story."

[TonyOnly]

",,,players who come forward should receive "amnesty" for their confessed transgressions as far as baseball is concerned.­" - There's a lot names mentioned in your post but the closest you come come to mentioning that of Bud Selig is when you point out the Comissioner's office broke their promise of confidentiality. I would like for you to explain to me why it is that Bud Selig's amnesty goes without saying. Do you really believe there were no transgressions on his part? Is it not part of his duties to protect the integrity of the most significant record book in all of pro sports, not to mention the honour of the game? It was due to the congressional hearings that MLB was finally forced to adopt a steroid policy. Are you suggesting Congress was aware of the steroid abuse in basebal but Selig was not? The point is: Selig and the owners knew about the drug use and by their silence, condoned it. Now you want to hang the players out to dry and do nothing to the people who's responsibility it was to put an end to the abuse long before it got anywhere near as bad as it did.

[Nommo]

Brett Farve's retirement has kind of buried ARod and co. None the less, I keep saying that many a blind eye was turned to all the cheating and that the extent of cheating in all sport is now beyond any real reckoning. When there is a bunch of money being made, no one wants to upset the apple cart with integrity or something silly like that.

[TonyOnly]

If we're not going to upset the apple cart with something silly liked integrity then we should throw open the the door to the Hall and rename it The Hall of Shame. My serious take on all this is: as part of the process of putting the bloom back on the rose, Selig has to resign. If there's no sacrificial lamb from the management side, they'll never get rid of the stink.

[TomH7259]

look, here's the thing. I've been personally involved in some pretty big screw ups myself. What I have found, is that most people are willing to forgive almost anything, if you admit that you screwed up, express remorse, accept your punishment, and state what you have done to make sure that it never happens again. The thing is, I don't believe that most of these "Steroid Athletes" are willing to accept any punishment. And even worse, some of them.... yes like Pete Rose, and now Mr A-Fraud, make up excuses and/or act like 'Yeah I did it, but so what, it's no big deal". Well, it is a big deal. You want to be in Cooperstown, then fess up, don't make B.S. excuses, and accept your punishment. Your punishment, is that none of your so called "achievements" during the time you were "steroid boy" are counted. If you were able to still achieve greatness after you clean yourself up, then fine, you can make it to Cooperstown. Otherwise, your out. BTW, that means your OUT Mr Bonds, and Mr McGwire. Same for you Mr "I gambled but it's no big deal" Pete Rose. All 3 of you, and anyone else with similar attitudes.­.. Forget it. Cooperstown is better off without you.

[charlietuna11]

he lied, cheated, and will continue to cheat as long as baseball is prevented from testing for hgh. he got caught red handed. he should be required to tell authorities where steroid came from, where delivered, who injected him and other relevant info. don't misinterpret his damage controll for cooperation. i'm a life time yankee fan and i say no steroids user should ever be allowed in cooperstown. open up the hall to him and you open it up to bonds, mcguire,clemons, sosa, palmiera, and a host of other cheaters and liars...

[noralou]

It is just a stupid game...

[noralou]

Frankly with all that is going on in the world, who gives a flying f**k about baseball players using steroids? I am much more concerned with the feds abusing their warrant and getting this man's name.
He is just a baseball player. I brought my kid up to look for role models within his family and educators not sports figures and movie stars.

[Nommo]

The T and R Commission bore witness to brutal crimes against humanity. Torture, murder, and the concomitant lies and cover ups. That was their domain. What we are talking about here is the abuse of prescription drugs by those who had no prescriptions. While there are many who languish in jails because they were caught with some illegal drugs, we get to watch a whole other class of illegal drug procurers attempt to justify their indiscretions. Did the owners not rake in a bunch of money by way of these activities? Did all of baseball turn a blind eye?

Let us have a Truth and Reconciliation Commission for all the non-violent drug offenders who languish in prison cells across the nation. Who speaks for those victims of the "war on drugs"? Those without the benefit of million dollar salaries paid by billionaire bosses. Those who have no HOF to be hopeful of. Let us have a commission for those cities and communities victimized by new stadium mania.

The HOF is already full of cheats, liars, racists and every manner of miscreant. What is the author's particular issue with Barry Bonds? Unless all intend to come clean, there is little point in any commission. We need a commission in the Bronx for the kids whose park was stolen by the Yankees, who are apparently stupid enough to pay an egregiously high salary to a steroid enhanced choke artist.

Take his salary and give the kids their park back.

[agent7x6]

In what way was A-Rod honest? He played the victim throughout his so-called confession - the pressure was great, the environment was loosey-goosey, he was young and stupid, blah, blah,blah. He then claimed he didn't know specifically what he took or where he got it from. Please. The article's author is an attorney. He knows that a vague confession like this wouldn't pass muster in any courtroom in the country. Why should the sports world accept it?

Of course, in my opinion, baseball should name the rest of the 103 and move on. There were no existing rules against steroid usage at the time, so acknowledge those shortcomings without punishment.

[Rog49Thomas]

You can judge a civilization by the things it holds important, by the things that occupy its public discourse, by the things that trouble it soul.

Case closed.

[Veritas 1]

A-ROD should get Hall of Fame amnesty because he came clean...af­ter being caught...a­nd lying about his steroid use? Give me a break. There is no legitimate reason to separate Bonds, A-Rod, Canseco, McGwire or anyone else on the issue of Hall of Fame candidacy. As far as i am concerned, A-Rod just spent enough time in the shadows to figure out his best plan of action was to come clean. Unfortunately for Bonds, he made the choice to lie to Congress and has to stick with his story to keep himself out of jail. In my opinion, the Hall of Fame should either seek to ban those who have tested positive for steroids or disregard the issue altogether. I would prefer that they just let it go. It has become apparent that performance enhancing drugs were widespread in baseball and many other professional sports. Why can't we accept it as part of the era and accept these players, with or without the benefit of steroids, as the era's best?

[ARonHenry]

I hate to say this guys, but the only thing worse than the baseball media is baseball fans.

[charlietuna11]

aron your right thats why we should never forget that the word fan is deriverd from the word (fanatic).­..

[Nommo]

Nothing worse than a critic of baseball fans. Barrel scrapings.

[smiling dog]

Okay, let's stop kidding ourselves. Any Hall of Fame for any sport has been a monument to steroid users for about the past 30 years at least. Steroids are running rampant in all major sports, as are a host of other performance enhancing drugs. You can't make the NFL (certainly the offensive or defensive line) without it. They are probably still using things in baseball and their penalties are miniscule. Bicycle racing is a farce. Weightlifting? Give me a break. How about the fact that Serena Williams is bigger, with more muscle definition than any of the steroid-pumped East German swimmers from the 70's. Bolt's hundred yard dash? Spare me. The denial continues. The real story is how they are beating the tests. Either they have a new undetectable substance, or they stop using in time for it to not be detected on tests, or they do a little switcharoo with the urine samples (or all of the above). Wake up. The days of drug free sporting events are long over.

[usedtowander]

Truth and Reconciliation.

Just no consequences.

If any other player is penalized, then Alex Rodriquez should be penalized. If baseball makes exception, just because the individual apologizes, then baseball statistics no longer have meaning and MLB has lost whatever shred of perceived integrity it might have retained.

[UnknownSoldier]

How much does anyone really care about this story. This is all contrived by the Baseball Sports Writers, I'll be very happy the day they take away the Hall of Fame Vote from these NERDS.

[ARonHenry]

Thank you, UK! If anything should be blackballed from the Hall Of Fame it should be the previlage enjoyed by these hacks from the Baseball Writers Assocation of Amercia to vote on which players make it and which players don't. They have committed many errors of omission, but now they've moved into the realm of commission, and it's an ugly, disgesting thing to witness. They are turning "enshirement" into The Hall Of Fame into a farce with their ink-stained sound-bite driven wise-guy media witch-hunts.

The baseball media is to journalism what house painting is to fine art.

[hopein]

Ya let Aroid in, but ban that evil Pete Rose. Give me a break, we true fans want nothing to do with him.

[Rhorner]

As an athlete, all you have is your skills and the fact that your body can perform said skills. If you make such claims and enhance yourself by injecting steroids on top of that, isn't that committing fraud in some way? That athlete is working with a crutch, who has lied to the owner of the club, teammates, and the fans.