TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

MLB Gets Right Signals From Mitchell

ADVERTISEMENT

The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 14, 2007

Thursday's long-anticipated report on Major League Baseball's "steroid era" was surprising only in the long list of players who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs and that all 30 teams had at least one abuser.

"Everyone involved in baseball over the past two decades - commissioners, club officials, the players' association and players - shares to some extent the responsibility for the steroids era," said former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, who led the review. "There was a collective failure to recognize the problem as it emerged and to deal with it early on."

The report culminated a 20-month investigation, and even though it has no enforcement power, its recommendations should be heeded by all parties involved. This includes the recommendation that no disciplinary action be levied for past offenses. There should be no exceptions.

On this, Mitchell slightly hedged.

"I urge the commissioner to forgo imposing discipline ... except in those cases where he determines that the conduct is so serious that discipline is necessary to maintain the integrity of the game," he said.

But who is to determine what conduct is "serious" enough? It would be unfair to punish certain players based on an arbitrary scale of abuse.

Whether a player broke the all-time home run record or remained a scratch hitter shouldn't matter when it comes to absolution.

Mitchell also recommended that baseball's relatively new drug-testing program be run by an outside source, that its timing be more unpredictable and that a list of abuses be made public periodically.

For the sake of the game, owners and players should heed his advice.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT