Selig Doesn't Want Blame For Steroids Era

[slickdtc]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3912702

What an idiot. How can you not be to blame for this steroids era? You're the freaking commissioner! You let a game end in a tie, I'm pretty sure you could've been more diligent in cracking down on steroids before they became so prevalent.

This isn't to say he's the sole reason for the game and steroids becoming synonymous but come on, you had a hand in it.

[wwharton]

Re: Selig Doesn't Want Blame For Steroids Era

"It is important to remember that these recent revelations relate to pre-program activity," Selig said last week. "Under our current drug program, if you are caught using steroids and/or amphetamines, you will be punished. Since 2005, every player who has tested positive for steroids has been suspended for as much as 50 games."

So why did you make unsolicited comments about suspensions and changing records? Why did you comment that you were thinking seriously about not attending when Bonds broke the record? If these are pre-program activities as you say, why are you acting like you're going to punish people now... even though you know you can't? And if you're speaking out against amphetamines also then where are the harsh words for the likes of Mike Schmidt who has admitted to taken them?

Just shut up, Bud.

[ehh]

Re: Selig Doesn't Want Blame For Steroids Era

He is so full of you know what, God I despise that man.

[WazzuRC]

Re: Selig Doesn't Want Blame For Steroids Era

Of course he shoudn't be blamed. Why? He should not be held accountable for illegal activity happening under his watch. He shouldn't be held accountable for helping to taint the most renowned record in professional sports. He shouldn't be held accountable from sweeping this stuff under the rug while making bank for his business.

The man is a joke.

[ehh]

Re: Selig Doesn't Want Blame For Steroids Era

He fits right in with the current fabric of our country - no one is accountable anymore and it's always someone else's fault.

I honestly hate Selig more than any guy who 'roided - Canseco, Bonds, A-Rod, Clemens, etc.

[p_rushing]

Re: Selig Doesn't Want Blame For Steroids Era

I read about half way through and couldn't read any more.

[Speedy]

Re: Selig Doesn't Want Blame For Steroids Era

He's an idiot; I bet the Brewers are thrilled he doesn't have control over that franchise anymore...He's made the all-star game a joke, the WS is horrible with like 10 days off between the LCS and the actual 1st game. I say just let Goodell take over MLB as well and be done with it

[BigDofBA]

Re: Selig Doesn't Want Blame For Steroids Era

Selig sucks. He is to blame. Not the players.

[OSUFan_88]

Re: Selig Doesn't Want Blame For Steroids Era

Too ******* bad Selig, because you are going to and deserve all the blame.

You single-handedly did this to baseball, turning a blind eye because you realized that long ball = profit.

Smart business move, but really stupid for the game and it's future.

[BigDofBA]

Re: Selig Doesn't Want Blame For Steroids Era

Too ******* bad Selig, because you are going to and deserve all the blame.

You single-handedly did this to baseball, turning a blind eye because you realized that long ball = profit.

Smart business move, but really stupid for the game and it's future.

Agreed 100%.

[SoxFan01605]

Re: Selig Doesn't Want Blame For Steroids Era

Selig sucks. He is to blame. Not the players.

I think this is wrong as well. While I 100% agree that Selig needs to bear responsibility for the overarching issues as the commissioner, I alos think the players need to be held accountable for their own actions as well.

It does not need to be as black and white as "Players or Bud." Selig is to blame for allowing it to continue and mature into a culture within the game. That's HIS responsibility as the figure head...whether he had direct knowldege or not. He takes the blame by default...positional responsibility. The escalation of this issue without correction falls squarely on his shoulders.

The rest of the management, executives, and other leadership within MLB AND the Player's Union share in that responsibility to a lesser extent as well, because they failed to make the issue relevant. Instead, they sat back and enjoyed the revenues streaming in. Their failure ultimately falls on Selig though as he should have (and certainly could have) pushed the issue.

The players, however, have no one to blame but themselves for taking the steroids. Unless Selig was there with a syringe and a smile, he is NOT responsible for their use. His culpability is much more indirect in this sense.

Everyone involved should hold some level of accountablity for the issue. From the commish, to the owners, to the players, and even to the media. There were plenty of media who are all over the issue now that simply let it slide then. Hypocracy in the media is nothing new, however...lol.

Simply put, steroid control falls on the league. Steroid use falls on the players. Bud Selig, as commissioner, is both directly and indirectly responsible for both, respectively.

[elTodd]

Re: Selig Doesn't Want Blame For Steroids Era

I think this is wrong as well. While I 100% agree that Selig needs to bear responsibility for the overarching issues as the commissioner, I alos think the players need to be held accountable for their own actions as well.

It does not need to be as black and white as "Players or Bud." Selig is to blame for allowing it to continue and mature into a culture within the game. That's HIS responsibility as the figure head...whether he had direct knowldege or not. He takes the blame by default...positional responsibility. The escalation of this issue without correction falls squarely on his shoulders.

The rest of the management, executives, and other leadership within MLB AND the Player's Union share in that responsibility to a lesser extent as well, because they failed to make the issue relevant. Instead, they sat back and enjoyed the revenues streaming in. Their failure ultimately falls on Selig though as he should have (and certainly could have) pushed the issue.

The players, however, have no one to blame but themselves for taking the steroids. Unless Selig was there with a syringe and a smile, he is NOT responsible for their use. His culpability is much more indirect in this sense.

Simply put, everyone involved should hold some level of accountablity for the issue. From the commish, to the owners, to the players, and even to the media. There were plenty of media who are all over the issue now that simply let it slide then. Hypocracy in the media is nothing new, however...lol.

Simply put, steroid control, falls on the league. Steroid use falls on the players. Bud Selig, as commissioner, is both directly and indirectly responsible for both, respectively.

This man speaks the truth. Well said Sox.

[jetercanoturn2]

Re: Selig Doesn't Want Blame For Steroids Era

Selig it's an easy solution. let (them) take the roids and just move the fences back 100 feet. Boom!! problem solved:wink:

[steelcurtain311]

Re: Selig Doesn't Want Blame For Steroids Era

Ugh. Selig is one of the worst (if not the worst) authority figures in sports history. To sit there and act like he had no knowledge of what was going on, when his players showed up looking like pro wrestlers, and then come out years later and act like he was against the whole thing and pushed for testing, he's quite simply full of ****. If he REALLY pushed for testing, it would of been a big deal back at the time, and it wasn't.

He's one of the most deserving people of the blame, since he was the only person who could of really nipped it in the bud. He's almost single handedly responsible for the destruction of baseball's credibility. Now we have records, awards, World Series victories, that have turned into jokes, due to steroids.

Everyone brings up the records, but fail to recognize the fact that World Series titles were tainted by steroids just the same. Barry Bonds led the Giants to the World Series in 2002, when he was clearly on steroids, and that Giants team belonged nowhere near the WS without Bonds production. So that's nice, numerous NL teams were screwed out of the playoffs by his cheating.

Hell, Luis Gonzalez was definitely roided up in 2001, the year the DBacks won the WS on HIS game winning hit. So how's that going to look? A roider won the WS.

Selig is a piece of garbage, and I hope he's remembered that way.

[Haggis]

Re: Selig Doesn't Want Blame For Steroids Era

Hopefully, when his contract extension is up in 2012, we won't have to worry about him anymore. There are a lot of things that happened on his "watch" with Baseball (realignment, wild card, 94 strike, interleague play, all-star home team advantage, to name a few) and now it appears that most players may have been juiced. It's really depressing to know that the generation of players that I have grown up with are cast, for good of for ill, under that shadow of suspicion.

Off topic, I was looking at the teammates that A-Rod was playing with in Texas in his first year there and I guess it shouldn't be a surprise that he was using or felt that it was all right. (Ken Caminiti, Rafael Palmeiro, Ivan Rodriguez, Gabe Kapler, Kenny Rogers?)

And you're going to tell me that Tom Hicks didn't know what his players were doing then?

Off topic 2, I've always wondered about the evolution of the uniform and how players wore them. The trend from skin tight "leotards" to really baggy "longer and looser" uniforms transitioned around the late 90s to early 2000s. I wonder if this was to "hide" the bulk of the increasing player size if that makes any sense.