One of the most poignant and prescient lines in the Simon and
Garfunkel song "Mrs. Robinson" refers to our nation
bemoaning the absence of an athletic role model like Joe
Dimaggio. "Jolting Joe has left and gone away," they
sang, and we are left with the likes of Barry Bonds as the new
record holder as he just broke Hank Aaron's record with his 756th
homer in San Francisco. His feat, however, is tainted by his
alleged steroid use, which many sports fans feel invalidates this
achievement. As long as we're asterisking and invalidating
athletic records, why don't we just strike all of them, both
amateur and professional, because for the past 20 years so many
of them stink to high heaven of cheating with enhancement drugs.
It's been common knowledge that steroids are the mainstay of
success in professional wrestling, body building and boxing, but
the real shocker is how prevalent it is in high schools. My three
sons, who all attended New York City private high schools,
informed me recently that steroids were routinely used by the
football players in their high schools and in some cases, the
coaches turned a blind eye to their usage. Many of the assistant
coaches were former players and may have been suppliers to the
team as well. "Roid" rages and erratic behavior were
typical signs of players who could be seen shooting needles
between their toes and their rears. When I expressed incredulity,
I was told this is going on in all the schools for years.
Is winning more important than the health of these youths? Aren't
they being warned about how destructive steroids are to the body?
Parents of young football players need to monitor their sons
carefully. They need to Google the biographies of former NFL
stars Lyle Alzado and John Matuszak, who died premature deaths
attributed to long term steroid abuse. Steroids are also the
suspected cause of the murder/suicide of wrestler Chris Benoit
and his family.
Above all, steroid use is cheating, but cheating in sports
through the use of drugs has been ongoing for years with little
punishment for offenders. The idea of steroids in golf sounds
ridiculous, but veteran champion Gary Player exposed that
possibility when he charged recently that he knows at least one
player on the PGA tour takes the drug and urged testing for the
tour. Guess who's being crucified - Player.
New York Yankee Jason Giambi testified before a grand jury and
admitted taking drugs, yet he's still a Yankee. If the Yankees
don't care that they hired a cheater why on earth should I root
for them anymore? That's why this old diehard fan has moved on to
the minor leagues. Here's another song that perfectly describes
my feeling about the Yankees today - "The thrill is
gone."
I'm writing this not as a sports commentator but as a fan who
feels betrayed by the acceptance of cheating in major league
sports today. When my daughter asked me what made me a Yankee fan
all these years, I recalled going to my first game at Yankee
stadium with my brother and father. Joe Dimaggio had already
retired, but he was at the stadium that day standing near the
dugout. Apparently, he was not averse to signing baseballs for
free then, because my brother came home with an autographed one.
I grew up cherishing the Yankees because they played as a team
and would win the most amazing come-from-behind victories, but
what are they now? High priced male divas more interested in
their press clippings than the all-American pastime.
The next question she asked was whether there is any Yankee that
I still respect. I'd have to answer Derek Jeter because he's
always played hard and he's always been a Yankee. That should
mean something to George Steinbrenner, who needs to come out to
the Richmond County Stadium in Staten Island and watch the Baby
Boomers play. This beautiful stadium is where he should be
getting his future stars. Look how well former Staten Island
Yankees Chien-Ming Wang and Robinson Cano are doing with the
Bronx Bombers. Look how poorly Randy Johnson and other high
profile acquisitions performed.
One of my favorite baseball movies is "The Scout". It's
about a young phenomenon who is signed by the NY Yankees. He's
not huge. He doesn't have a 19-inch neck. He's a natural and
perhaps that's the saddest thing about all this cheating with
steroids in the sports world. How on earth will we ever recognize
a natural-born athlete again?