"I did not have sexual relations with that woman..."
It happened, folks. The first big slugger in Major League Baseball has been suspended for violating MLB's anti-drug policy. That slugger? Rafael Palmeiro. Surefire Hall of Famer. In his 20 year career, Palmeiro has more than 3,000 hits and 500 home runs- only 4 other players in HISTORY have compiled those kind of stats.
You may remember that Palmeiro was one of the baseball players to testify in front of Congress in March on steroid use in baseball. All of this came under the microscope after Jose Conseco published his tell-all book with mighty interesting detail, pointing fingers at Mark McGwire, Palmeiro, and other well-known names. Palmeiro's testimony that day was particularly memorable, as he condemned Conseco for the "lies" in his book, and said emphatically in his opening statement, "Let me start by telling you this: I have never used steroids. Period. I don't know how to say it any more clearly than that. Never."
Pretty believable, right? If you watched the testimony, you would think so. Congress was so taken by his words, that they appointed him to the No Tolerance Committee, a joint task force on steroids.
Faced with the suspension, though, Palmeiro now states: "I have never intentionally used steroids. Never. Ever. Period. ... Ultimately, although I never intentionally put a banned substance into my body, the independent arbitrator ruled that I had to be suspended under the terms of the program."
So, what are we baseball fans to believe? Is Rafy just playing a game of semantics? Did he fool everyone into believing that he was telling the truth and never used steroids, even with Conseco's accusations? Or is he a true baseball star, playing by the rules and becoming one of the best at what he does, and accidentally ingested something that has traces of a banned substance?
Personally, I'd like to believe him, since he speaks so convincingly about his innocence. But seriously- how ironic is it that a guy who is accused by one of his peers of taking steroids, claims he is innocent, and then a simple urine test 4 months later shows positive results?
I just don't get it. If you've never used and have been accused, and the heat of the spotlight is on the entire season, I would think you'd be extra vigilant to make sure you wouldn't touch the stuff with a 10-foot pole, no? Even the stuff that's not exactly "the stuff," but kinda smells like it. Or acts ike it. Or has even a trace of it mixed in somewhere.
Something sure smells fishy.
You may remember that Palmeiro was one of the baseball players to testify in front of Congress in March on steroid use in baseball. All of this came under the microscope after Jose Conseco published his tell-all book with mighty interesting detail, pointing fingers at Mark McGwire, Palmeiro, and other well-known names. Palmeiro's testimony that day was particularly memorable, as he condemned Conseco for the "lies" in his book, and said emphatically in his opening statement, "Let me start by telling you this: I have never used steroids. Period. I don't know how to say it any more clearly than that. Never."
Pretty believable, right? If you watched the testimony, you would think so. Congress was so taken by his words, that they appointed him to the No Tolerance Committee, a joint task force on steroids.
Faced with the suspension, though, Palmeiro now states: "I have never intentionally used steroids. Never. Ever. Period. ... Ultimately, although I never intentionally put a banned substance into my body, the independent arbitrator ruled that I had to be suspended under the terms of the program."
So, what are we baseball fans to believe? Is Rafy just playing a game of semantics? Did he fool everyone into believing that he was telling the truth and never used steroids, even with Conseco's accusations? Or is he a true baseball star, playing by the rules and becoming one of the best at what he does, and accidentally ingested something that has traces of a banned substance?
Personally, I'd like to believe him, since he speaks so convincingly about his innocence. But seriously- how ironic is it that a guy who is accused by one of his peers of taking steroids, claims he is innocent, and then a simple urine test 4 months later shows positive results?
I just don't get it. If you've never used and have been accused, and the heat of the spotlight is on the entire season, I would think you'd be extra vigilant to make sure you wouldn't touch the stuff with a 10-foot pole, no? Even the stuff that's not exactly "the stuff," but kinda smells like it. Or acts ike it. Or has even a trace of it mixed in somewhere.
Something sure smells fishy.
posted by elanit | 1:24 PM
1 Comments:
I seem to remember thinking the exact same thing about Pres. Clinton: when under a civil lawsuit for poor sexual conduct, what was he thinking fooling around with a staffmember barely older than his daughter? bleah.
To me, this just shows both hubris (they'll never catch me) and poor judgement.
Sorry to see that athletic prowess doesn't include a healthy dose of common sense...
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