This is really not my battle and I am not sure why the steroids investigation in baseball bothers me the way it does, but it appears that in the pursuit of justice there is more than a little injustice being overlooked.
I will say this upfront that I am in no way for the use of illegal drugs, performance enhancing or otherwise. Yet, what I see going on in these baseball investigations has left me somewhat puzzled. I have yet to hear a very clear and detailed explanation for why this investigation has taken place.
Is this witch hunt in baseball taking place because the government has stated that certain substances are illegal? I can understand the concern where the hardcore steroids are the issue because of health risks. However, might I point out that many of the substances in question could be likened to a PG-13 or R rated movie as opposed to and X rated movie and the substances were available over the counter until 2005 when the FDA then classified them as illegal for public distribution.
The Mitchell Report is dangerous and borders on McCarthyism by naming names and claiming people to be guilty until proven innocent. Our country always use to pride it self by telling people you are innocent until proven guilty what changed? People who may have taken what some may call performance enhancing drugs prior to 2005 are now being called cheaters and law breakers even though at the time what they did was not illegal.
I know that time does not forgive sin, but if something was not illegal and then becomes illegal the person should only be considered guilty if they continue after it has become illegal.
If I am an athlete being paid millions of dollars to go out and perform to help my team win, I am going to do everything I can to make sure I am performing to the peak of my ability. As an athlete I have a limited shelf life and would want to do everything I could to prolong my playing days. Especially, if I have a medical trainer and medical doctor administering and watching my blood levels.
As I said earlier many of the drugs in question today were legal prior to 2005. The question should be asked is which of these athletes stepped over the line and used illegal performance enhancing drugs. Even today there are a number of legal performance enhancing supplements, some called steroid alternatives that are readily available to the general public (check out, getanabolics.com) that as of this time the FDA has not yet considered them to be illegal. Is using these supplements cheating or just or just an attempt to maximize ones potential? If later these supplements become illegal does that then classify the individual as a cheater for using the supplements prior to their becoming illegal?
A second question that is begging to be asked is at what point does the use of an outside source to enhance performance on the field become an issue of cheating. Batting gloves to help grip the bat? Eye glasses or contact lenses to improve eye sight? Creatine? Where does one draw the line when it becomes illegal or banned.
Lastly, the Mitchell Report and those associated with it should be held accountable for the damage done to the reputations of those named within who are truly innocent of using illegal substances. HGH was not always illegal or banned. It was only in 2003 that baseball banned the use of certain substances.
Ray Comfort in one of his tracts called Save Yourself Some Pain tells the following story:
A woman once spread some hot gossip about a local pastor. What he had supposedly done became common knowledge around town. Then she found that what she had heard wasn't true. She gallantly went to the pastor, and asked for his forgiveness. The pastor forgave her, but then told her to take a pillow full of tiny feathers to a corner of the town, and in high winds, shake the feather out. Then he told her to try and pick up every feather. He explained that the damage had already been done. She had destroyed his good reputation, and trying to repair the damage was like trying to pick up feathers in high winds.
The Bible says that there is life and death in the power of the tongue. We can kill or make something alive with our words.
I understand the need to eliminate the use of harmful illegal drugs from our sports, but I feel there may be some irreparable damage caused to some innocent people that have been named in error. With this report, what many are forgetting is that there has been no trial before peers, no evidence has been submitted to a court of law, the accused have not been given time to properly defend, and no judge has ruled on the evidence. As of this time it is all hearsay, circumstantial and speculative. It feels like this is Salem and the 1950s all over again.
I will say this upfront that I am in no way for the use of illegal drugs, performance enhancing or otherwise. Yet, what I see going on in these baseball investigations has left me somewhat puzzled. I have yet to hear a very clear and detailed explanation for why this investigation has taken place.
Is this witch hunt in baseball taking place because the government has stated that certain substances are illegal? I can understand the concern where the hardcore steroids are the issue because of health risks. However, might I point out that many of the substances in question could be likened to a PG-13 or R rated movie as opposed to and X rated movie and the substances were available over the counter until 2005 when the FDA then classified them as illegal for public distribution.
The Mitchell Report is dangerous and borders on McCarthyism by naming names and claiming people to be guilty until proven innocent. Our country always use to pride it self by telling people you are innocent until proven guilty what changed? People who may have taken what some may call performance enhancing drugs prior to 2005 are now being called cheaters and law breakers even though at the time what they did was not illegal.
I know that time does not forgive sin, but if something was not illegal and then becomes illegal the person should only be considered guilty if they continue after it has become illegal.
If I am an athlete being paid millions of dollars to go out and perform to help my team win, I am going to do everything I can to make sure I am performing to the peak of my ability. As an athlete I have a limited shelf life and would want to do everything I could to prolong my playing days. Especially, if I have a medical trainer and medical doctor administering and watching my blood levels.
As I said earlier many of the drugs in question today were legal prior to 2005. The question should be asked is which of these athletes stepped over the line and used illegal performance enhancing drugs. Even today there are a number of legal performance enhancing supplements, some called steroid alternatives that are readily available to the general public (check out, getanabolics.com) that as of this time the FDA has not yet considered them to be illegal. Is using these supplements cheating or just or just an attempt to maximize ones potential? If later these supplements become illegal does that then classify the individual as a cheater for using the supplements prior to their becoming illegal?
A second question that is begging to be asked is at what point does the use of an outside source to enhance performance on the field become an issue of cheating. Batting gloves to help grip the bat? Eye glasses or contact lenses to improve eye sight? Creatine? Where does one draw the line when it becomes illegal or banned.
Lastly, the Mitchell Report and those associated with it should be held accountable for the damage done to the reputations of those named within who are truly innocent of using illegal substances. HGH was not always illegal or banned. It was only in 2003 that baseball banned the use of certain substances.
Ray Comfort in one of his tracts called Save Yourself Some Pain tells the following story:
A woman once spread some hot gossip about a local pastor. What he had supposedly done became common knowledge around town. Then she found that what she had heard wasn't true. She gallantly went to the pastor, and asked for his forgiveness. The pastor forgave her, but then told her to take a pillow full of tiny feathers to a corner of the town, and in high winds, shake the feather out. Then he told her to try and pick up every feather. He explained that the damage had already been done. She had destroyed his good reputation, and trying to repair the damage was like trying to pick up feathers in high winds.
The Bible says that there is life and death in the power of the tongue. We can kill or make something alive with our words.
I understand the need to eliminate the use of harmful illegal drugs from our sports, but I feel there may be some irreparable damage caused to some innocent people that have been named in error. With this report, what many are forgetting is that there has been no trial before peers, no evidence has been submitted to a court of law, the accused have not been given time to properly defend, and no judge has ruled on the evidence. As of this time it is all hearsay, circumstantial and speculative. It feels like this is Salem and the 1950s all over again.
~Consider~
***
the Truth is not always politically correct.
***
I am but a man on a narrow path pointing at the Son.
***
the Truth is not always politically correct.
***
I am but a man on a narrow path pointing at the Son.
