I’ve looked over some of the earlier posts on this subject and noticed the lack of enthusiasm but I’m going to press forward on the subject anyway. This is about drug use in professional sports, and more specifically, as you can tell from the title, who I’m pointing the (index) finger at.
We can all agree athletes share a large part of the blame for steroid and drug use. They’re responsible for their own actions and I don’t mean to say they’re blameless. But union representatives, team owners and league officials are responsible for maintaining the integrity of their profession. That’s why they need to accept a large part of the blame for the situation. Of course professional sports are going to pursue this issue only as much as they have to. Like any other business, they’re just trying to make a profit.
Keep following the money trail and it leads right back to us, the fans. But how much is the casual fan contributing by attending a couple games a year and buying a few hats and jerseys? Probably not as much as the corporate sponsors and season ticket holders. I’m sure AT&T has a drug policy for their employees but no problem sending buckets of money to the MLB so they can put their name on a ballpark. Not to mention all the skybox owners at all the stadiums throughout the country.
So next time we feel inclined to complain about Barry Bonds or Curt Schilling, we should ask ourselves what we’ve done about the problem, or how we’ve contributed to it. At that point we might also ask ourselves if we really care at all.
