Now that the steroid issue in baseball is a full blown scandal, and we now "officially" know that some of Major League Baseball's best and brightest have used (and still may be using) steroids. (Even though its been around for years. As far back as 1993, when Lenny "the stick" Dykstra transformed into the incredible hulk.)
Since Bud Selig is now demanding an end to this, i think it would be rather hypocritical for Baseball to make such a big deal about this and then end up doing nothing. So shouldn't some kind of punishment be handed down? How should these players be reprimanded? Should they be banished from baseball like Pete Rose? Should there simply be a suspension? How about the talk about voiding contracts? What's a fair way to deal with this crime?
Personally, i don't think anything at all will probably come of all this so this topic may be a moot point, but i think something should be done. Putting an asterisk or taking away records isn't a plausible idea. Only because if you put an asterisk next to a single season record, you need to put it next to all the other things that record indirectly and directly affected. For example on the road to 73, some of the homeruns Bonds hit helped the Giants win quite a few ball games, so do you put an asterisk next to the Giants' win record for that season? No, you can't. Its not fair the players on that team that did not cheat. I also personally think a life time ban is a bit harsh. Its not like these players are the first to ever cheat in baseball. I do like the idea of being able to void player contracts, but no way will the player's union will ever let that happen.
I feel the fairest thing to do is suspend the players involved with BALCO. Although i do feel its unfair to single out this players, it would allow baseball to save some face by making an example of them. The lenght is rather arbitrary, but i like the idea of a half year suspension (unpaid obviously). I also like the idea of a full one year suspension for subsequent offenders. Random drug testing would also be a nice idea.
So what do you guys think? Should or shouldn't these players that have admitted or tested positive to taking steroids be punished? Why and/or how?
Since Bud Selig is now demanding an end to this, i think it would be rather hypocritical for Baseball to make such a big deal about this and then end up doing nothing. So shouldn't some kind of punishment be handed down? How should these players be reprimanded? Should they be banished from baseball like Pete Rose? Should there simply be a suspension? How about the talk about voiding contracts? What's a fair way to deal with this crime?
Personally, i don't think anything at all will probably come of all this so this topic may be a moot point, but i think something should be done. Putting an asterisk or taking away records isn't a plausible idea. Only because if you put an asterisk next to a single season record, you need to put it next to all the other things that record indirectly and directly affected. For example on the road to 73, some of the homeruns Bonds hit helped the Giants win quite a few ball games, so do you put an asterisk next to the Giants' win record for that season? No, you can't. Its not fair the players on that team that did not cheat. I also personally think a life time ban is a bit harsh. Its not like these players are the first to ever cheat in baseball. I do like the idea of being able to void player contracts, but no way will the player's union will ever let that happen.
I feel the fairest thing to do is suspend the players involved with BALCO. Although i do feel its unfair to single out this players, it would allow baseball to save some face by making an example of them. The lenght is rather arbitrary, but i like the idea of a half year suspension (unpaid obviously). I also like the idea of a full one year suspension for subsequent offenders. Random drug testing would also be a nice idea.
So what do you guys think? Should or shouldn't these players that have admitted or tested positive to taking steroids be punished? Why and/or how?