Not sure how many of you heard this, but in a recent interview, Hank Aaron apparently said that he thinks baseball players linked to performance enhancer usage should have an asterisk placed next to their records.
Here's a link to the story: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/hof09/news/story?id=4355886
I find this humorous for two reasons.
The first is that, thanks to mass media-fueled ignorance, the general public considers all performance enhancers "steroids". However, anabolic steroids have only been listed as a controlled substance since 1990. That's less than 20 years. So, does Aaron think that only people who used controlled anabolic steroids should have an asterisk? Hmm, if that's the case, then we're not talking about a paragon of the game being interested in protecting its integrity, we're talking about a bitter old man protecting his own legacy.
The second begins with the assumption that he actually means that anyone who used what is considered a "performance enhancing drug" should have an asterisk. If that's the case, then, guess what, Hank gets an asterisk. Performance enhancing drugs aren't just comprised solely of anabolic steroids, they also contain a wide variety of stimulants (commonly referred to in the media as simply "amphetamines"). Unfortunately, Hank's problem here is that he's even on record as admitting that he used amphetamines during a game.
Here's a link to that too: http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4192628
Bottom line, Hark Aaron is just embarrassing himself here and he needs to understand that he's standing on a very slippery slope. One that might drop him down with those he likes to think he's above.
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2 comments:
I know this is a little off topic but what reminded me of it was the idea of things being considered bad because they are controlled substances.
After that picture of Phelps with a bong I remember the debate about whether his medals should be taken away and reading someone's reply that if he could swim that well and smoke pot they should probably make up a medal for that.
I am continually amazed by the stupidity of some of these morons can be when the subject is "controlled substances" and how conditioned some people are in their reactions. While Phelps caught a lot of heat, the it's nothing to the situation Ross Rebagliati went through back in 1998.
A lot of people don't remember Rebagliati, but he's a Canadian who won the first ever Olympic Gold Medal for snowboarding. After he won, he tested positive for marijuana and was stripped of his medal. The reaction was amazing. Rebagliati was crushed, the Canadian team was embarrassed, and the Olympic Anti-Doping people were about to throw out their shoulders patting themselves on the back.
Then something amazing happened which I will never forget. Someone reminded the International Olympic Committee that marijuana wasn't a banned substance in international competition because it's not a performance enhancer. At this point, a very embarrassed IOC returned Rebagliati's medal.
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