Sick and tired of steroid talk

By Eric Lear
Sports Editor

Enough is enough. I want to be able to turn on ESPN and hear baseball analysts talk about spring training, not who they speculate is or is not on the juice.
Read more... The spring should be a time of hope for baseball. Every team has a shot at winning a World Series, even if they haven’t won it for a century. Instead, it has turned into a circus about Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, and steroid use.

Here is where perhaps my opinion differs from the rest of the world. I don’t care if Clemens did or did not take steroids. He would still be the best pitcher of our era, if not in the history of the game, regardless of what he has allegedly been shot up with. I am in no way condoning use of illegal drugs in sports. What I am condoning is giving a second chance. Let them play in the league steroid-free and see what they can do.

We are so quick to jump on a player even if we have no evidence of them using. I always hear the argument “look how much bigger he is now than before.” Give me a break; these guys work out every day, not to mention that when people get older, it is almost inevitable that they will gain weight. Most of us are not hot shot lawyers, or the judge and jury, so let’s leave it up to them to decide.

With that said, if Clemens actually did take performance-enhancing drugs, I will lose a great deal of respect for him. There seems to be a large lack of honesty in the sports world and now would be a great time to turn it around. Take Pettitte for example, he used illegal drugs and admitted it. He isn’t the person that is taking the heat; in fact, it seems that the media and the general public give him the benefit of the doubt.

Most of this chaos comes from the media. Watch Sportscenter on ESPN and see what they say about baseball. I would be willing to wager that the majority of the talk revolves around performance-enhancing drugs.

Perhaps it’s about time they focus on the good in baseball again.