Seligs steroid investigation comes a bit too late
April 2, 2006
THERE is more than a dollop of irony in the fact that Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig launched a full-scale investigation of alleged steroid use by Barry Bonds and others in the sport on the same day that Victor Conte was released from prison.
Conte and his company, Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative (BALCO), were the links that blew the lid off the long-suspected use of performance-enhancing drugs in Americas pastime.
The fact that Selig, reacting to Game of Shadows, the tell-all book on Bonds alleged drug use, initiated the probe as Conte ended a four-month prison term for his role in juicing illustrates how tardy and knee-jerk the games grasp of steroid abuse has been.
Since the not-so-secret problem went public in 2003, there have been grand jury and congressional hearings, two writings of regulations and punishments for those who use performance-enhancing drugs, and convictions of such suppliers as Conte and others associated with BALCO.
The timing of Seligs investigation, coming on the heels of the book, indicates that he is still feeling public pressure.
Selig says the contents of the book convinced him the investigation was necessary. He chose ex-Sen. George Mitchell to head a probe aimed at finding out if steroids were used after baseball banned them in 2002. The inquiry could delve back even further, if justified.
But the choice of Mitchell isnt without controversy. He is chairman of Walt Disney Co. It owns ESPN, which is paying baseball $2.4 billion to telecast games through 2013. Mitchell also is a director of the Boston Red Sox.
To some, that appears to be conflict of interests. Sen. Jim Bunning of Kentucky, a former Major League pitcher who is in the Hall of Fame, says Mitchell is certainly a man of great integrity, but adds, Baseball would have been
wiser to pick someone who is not as close to the game and may ... take a more objective look at the facts.
Amen, if only because Mitchells coziness with baseball will cloud public perceptions, especially if the panel sees no problem.
Selig says the findings will be made public and hell decide if any players should be punished after the probe.
So, whats he going to do if whats suspected materializes? Suspend or ban Bonds — and others — from the game when theyve never failed a drug test? Strike or put asterisks beside juice-induced records in the record books? Either one would trigger lawsuits that could saddle the game with legal setbacks.
Seligs action is years behind and a players salary short. This investigation should have started several years ago, when baseballs began flying out of ballparks with unearthly regularity. Were beyond putting the genie back in the bottle.
The only real justice would be a measured amount of public pecuniary punishment by fans making fewer trips through turnstiles.
Selig says baseball must confront its problems head on. We agree, baseball needed to systematically clean up the game and punish steroid abusers — years ago.
The games integrity has already been damaged by its prolonged refusal to acknowledge its steroid problem. That lapse sent the wrong message to millions of young, aspiring athletes.
What Selig has initiated is damage control of the most transparent kind: too little, too late.
