After months of suspense, Major League Baseball finally announced yesterday that Alex Rodriquez (aka A-Rod) is headlining a list of 13 players being suspended for violating the league’s drug policy. They were all ensnared by their illicit association with Biogenesis – a steroids lab in Miami masquerading as an anti-aging clinic.
All of the players got 50-game suspensions; all, that is, except A-Rod – who got 211. One might reasonably deduce, therefore, that A-Rod’s abuse was four times worse than that of the others. But it was even worse:
Rodriguez’s discipline under the Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program is based on his use and possession of numerous forms of prohibited performance-enhancing substances, including Testosterone and human Growth Hormone, over the course of multiple years. Rodriguez’s discipline under the Basic Agreement is for attempting to cover-up his violations of the Program by engaging in a course of conduct intended to obstruct and frustrate the Office of the Commissioner’s investigation.
(MLB.com, August 5, 2013)
Unsurprisingly, all of the players accepted their suspensions (and commensurate financial penalties) with due humility and shame; all, that is, except A-Rod – who is appealing his with characteristic bravado and conceit:
I am disappointed with the penalty and intend to appeal and fight this… I am eager to get back on the field and be with my teammates… I want to thank my family, friends and fans who have stood by my side through all this.
(SB Nation, August 5, 2013)
In fact, appealing allowed A-Rod to return to the Yankees lineup last night for the first time this season – after rehabbing his most recent injury over the past six months. And, barring another injury, he’ll be allowed to play as long as a decision is pending, which may last well beyond the end of this season. Never mind that he stands even less chance of winning this appeal than the Chicago Cubs do of winning this year’s World Series.
Incidentally, A-Rod’s was the only name on the list I recognized. I am mindful, though, that some might make racial or ethnic inferences from the fact that all of the players are Hispanic.
But just bear in mind that no less a player than former National League MVP Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers was suspended just 12 days ago, for 65 games, for the same drug-policy violations. Not to mention non-Hispanic names – like Mark McGwire, Roger Clemens, and Barry Bonds – that have become synonymous with steroids in Baseball.
As for A-Rod, I reiterate this:
So Rodriguez is a liar and a cheat…. But, given the public scandal he’s made of his personal life (hitting on as many blondes off the field as baseballs on it), nobody needed Sports Illustrated to out him as a steroid abuser to confirm this fact…
At any rate, let’s hope this ‘revelation’ puts a final nail in the coffin of lies about the routine use of steroids in professional sports. More important, I hope it compels lawmakers to reconsider informed entreaties to legalize these performance-enhancing drugs. After all, like marijuana, steroids are less harmful to the body and pose far less social hazards than alcohol or cigarettes.
(“Alex Rodriguez Is a Steroid Junkie … Duh!” The iPINIONS Journal, February 9, 2009)
As for steroids in Baseball, I reiterate this:
Steroid use has flourished in Baseball and other professional sports pursuant to an open conspiracy among players and team owners to feed the gladiatorial lust of fans who want to see stronger, faster athletic cyborgs perform for their atavistic enjoyment. And, of course, the more fans revel in their steroid-fueled feats of athleticism, the bigger the players’ contracts (and even bigger the owners’ bottom line) become.
(“Barry Bonds Is a Steroid Junkie … Duh” The iPINIONS Journal, March 8, 2006)
In the meantime, I should note the patent fallacy (or abiding incentive) inherent in penalizing players only a fraction of their contracts. After all, taking A-Rod as an example, if using steroids could help him sign $525 million in contracts over a 22-year career, and the penalty for getting caught were only $25-30 million and a 211-game (or eighteen-month) suspension, why wouldn’t he take steroids?
In the statement he released yesterday, Commissioner Bud Selig insisted that “performance-enhancing drugs will not be tolerated in our game.”
But players will never have any real regard for this statement until they face far more serious penalties – like restituting at least half of their contract and being suspended for a commensurate number of games: For “A-Roid” – who signed a 10-year, $275-million contract with the Yankees in 2008 – this would’ve meant a penalty of $137.5 million instead of just $25-30 million and a suspension of more like 900 games instead of just 200.
As things stand, in addition to losing only a fraction of their contract, all of the suspended players will be back either later this season or for spring training next year, 2014; all, that is, except A-Rod – who will be back in 2015 (or 2016 depending on the outcome of his appeal and when he actually begins serving his suspension).
By then, though, A-Rod will be 40, or older.Which means that he might be more suitable for the old-timers league than the Major League. But he’ll still be entitled to collect on the last two years of his contract (i.e., over $60 million) – even if he can’t produce on the field without steroids.
For those of us who can’t stand the Yankees’ money-can-buy-me-anything attitude, season-ending losses like the one they suffered last night provide unbridled glee. But this glee was made all the more delightful by the irony of watching A-Rod, their $29-million-per-year man and the highest-paid player in the league, getting benched for his poor play: batting a noodle-like 3 for 25 at .120 during these playoffs, and giving credence to suspicion that A-Rod without steroids is like Samson without hair.
(“Tigers Sweep Yankees Out of Playoffs,” The iPINIONS Journal, October 19, 2012)
Related commentaries:
A-Rod steroid junkie…
Bonds steroid junkie…
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