The steroid era haunts Major League baseball
Caleb Sanford
Issue date: 1/27/10 Section: Sports
After years of speculation and rumors, Mark McGwire finally came out and said that he took steroids during his playing career. The suspicion was there even before 2005, when McGwire appeared before a congressional hearing on steroids and refused to answer questions under oath. The only thing McGwire did by admitting it on Jan. 11, was make it official.
Many players in addition to McGwire, both retired and active, are admitting they have taken steroids, including Jose Canseco and Alex Rodriguez. Some players have also been accused of using steroids but have not admitted to it. The most visible case of this has probably been Barry Bonds, who to this day has continued to deny allegations of steroid use. No concrete evidence has emerged to prove or disprove his guilt.
But the most disturbing thing that has come out of this scandal is not the tearful admissions or the records that will forever be cast into doubt, but the use of the term, steroids, to describe an entire period of baseball.
"Looking back, I wish I had never played during the steroid era," McGwire said in one of the many interviews he has given since admitting to the use of steroids earlier this month.
The steroid era. At first, it seems to be a fairly good way to describe the past 15 years of baseball. The issue has more or less defined Major League Baseball since 1998 when Mark McGwire, in the midst of his 70-home run season, was spotted with a bottle of androstenedione. More commonly known as andro, it's a muscle stimulant that, while not banned in baseball at the time, was banned in the Olympics, NFL and all college sports.
Since that day, more and more light has been shed on an issue that was swept under the rug by players, managers and reporters for a long time. In many ways, those involved in the sport deserve to have this ignoble moniker placed on the years they were involved in the business. But the way that McGwire uses the term is indicative of a trend that could be a sign of things to come. He says it like it is an excuse, or a reason, wishing that he had never played in the steroid era.
Many players in addition to McGwire, both retired and active, are admitting they have taken steroids, including Jose Canseco and Alex Rodriguez. Some players have also been accused of using steroids but have not admitted to it. The most visible case of this has probably been Barry Bonds, who to this day has continued to deny allegations of steroid use. No concrete evidence has emerged to prove or disprove his guilt.
But the most disturbing thing that has come out of this scandal is not the tearful admissions or the records that will forever be cast into doubt, but the use of the term, steroids, to describe an entire period of baseball.
"Looking back, I wish I had never played during the steroid era," McGwire said in one of the many interviews he has given since admitting to the use of steroids earlier this month.
The steroid era. At first, it seems to be a fairly good way to describe the past 15 years of baseball. The issue has more or less defined Major League Baseball since 1998 when Mark McGwire, in the midst of his 70-home run season, was spotted with a bottle of androstenedione. More commonly known as andro, it's a muscle stimulant that, while not banned in baseball at the time, was banned in the Olympics, NFL and all college sports.
Since that day, more and more light has been shed on an issue that was swept under the rug by players, managers and reporters for a long time. In many ways, those involved in the sport deserve to have this ignoble moniker placed on the years they were involved in the business. But the way that McGwire uses the term is indicative of a trend that could be a sign of things to come. He says it like it is an excuse, or a reason, wishing that he had never played in the steroid era.
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