'Roids or 'Noids

OR



Two weeks ago, when the story broke that Alex Rodriguez took steroids, no one seemed to be too surprised. Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds, Miguel Tejada, Mark McGwire, and Rafael Palmeiro all allegedly took steroids. Jose Canseco, Andy Pettite and Jason Giambi, among others, admitted to using steroids. After Sports Illustrated reporters made it public that A-Fraud…excuse me…I mean A-Rod took steroids, it was really no surprise that he admitted this. Why? Because he doesn’t want to go to jail. Clemens, Bonds, and Tejada could all be facing prosecution for lying to grand juries. Naturally, Rodriguez saw this as the wrong way to go and decided to come “clean.”

At a February 17th press conference at the New York Yankees spring training facility in Tampa, A-Rod said that from 2001 to 2003, his “cousin” Yuri Sacart injected him with an over-the-counter substance from the Dominican Republic. However, after saying this, it has been speculated that the substance was, and still is actually illegal in the DR and that Sacart is not even Rodriguez’s cousin.

A-Rod has also admitted to training with Angel Presinal, a known steroids dealer who has been banned from all major league clubhouses. A-Rod says that he hasn’t trained with Presinal since 2003, the last year that he supposedly took steroids, but reports have linked A-Rod and Presinal together as recently as 2007. According to the New York Post, Rodriguez said, "I knew we weren't taking Tic Tacs. I knew what we were taking was potentially something that perhaps was wrong.” He then clarifies this by saying, “I didn't think they were steroids. That's part of being young and stupid. It was over the counter, it was pretty basic, and it was really amateur hour." (1) He also said that his best years came before and after his three steroid seasons, although he was voted American League MVP in 2002. He also feels that he should still be voted into the Hall of Fame based on his non-steroid years. Yeah…good luck with that, Alex!

Didn’t think they were steroids? Yeah right. Over the counter? Apparently not. Instead of owning up to his mistakes, A-Rod is just further shading the truth. He admitted to using steroids, so he “admitted” his mistake. However, he isn’t owning up to it. Not owning up to it is almost as bad as denying it. Obviously Rodriguez was aware of what steroids were capable of, and obviously he saw the same effects in his body after injecting the drugs.

On the flip side, another famous athlete recently admitted to drug use. What was he or she doing? Cocaine, speed, ecstasy, steroids? No, not at all. In contrast to A-Rod, Michael Phelps was “caught” smoking pot. Yeah…marijuana, a drug that grows in the dirt and a drug that is arguably safer than alcohol. A drug that does have some negative consequences, like the possibility of causing lung cancer, slowing down one’s reaction time (which is bad while driving), and giving someone the “munchies.” However, marijuana doesn’t make a guy’s testicles shrink and give people an insanely high amount of testosterone.

When the photograph of Phelps smoking a bong at a University of South Carolina party came out, Phelps, who won 8 gold medals while swimming at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, admitted his mistake. According to CNN, Phelps said, “I'm 23 years old, and despite the successes I have had in the pool, I acted in a youthful and inappropriate way, not in a manner that people have come to expect from me, For this, I am sorry. I promise my fans and the public -- it will not happen again." (2)

What is different between this apology and A-Rod’s? Phelps owned up to his mistkake. He admitted that what he did was wrong and that it was his own fault. He could have lied and said he was smoking tobacco out of the bong, or said that he was just posing with it for photography’s sake, but he didn’t. He chose to do the honorable thing and admit that he was wrong. Phelps lost sponsors and was suspended for three months as a result of his confession, but Phelps did the right thing.

Phelps’ biggest mistake was allowing the photograph to be taken. What he does at a private party is his business. However, he allowed the photographer to make it the world’s business. Phelps’ DUI conviction 4 years ago was arguably much worse than him smoking marijuana. Drunk driving routinely kills people, while marijuana does not.

If the shoe was on the other foot, if Phelps admitted to taking steroids during the Olympics, and A-Rod admitted to hitting a bong, things would be very different. Not only would Phelps be disgraced and stripped of his medals, he would be banned from organized swimming forever. The United States, as a whole, would also be disgraced at having the most decorated Olympic athlete in its history de-medaled. Nothing would happen to A-Rod. He would maybe look stupid or immature, but nothing else would happen.

Fortunately for Phelps, the shoe is not on the other foot. Phelps’ mistake will eventually be forgiven, and he will go on to dominate the next one or two Summer Olympic Games. A-Rod’s legacy, on the other hand, is tarnsihed. Rodriguez will not be voted into the Hall of Fame and people will no longer see him in the same, awestruck light. If this were swimming, he would be banned, but not in baseball. No, in baseball you get banned from the game for life for betting on your own team, but you get a slap on the wrist, or nothing at all, for using intravaneous drugs that noticably improve your athletic performance.

Sources:
1.http://www.nypost.com/seven/02172009/sports/yankees/a_rod_press_conference_155638.htm
2. http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/02/01/michael.phelps.marijuana/