Baseball and amphetamines

The amphetamine era was another blight on the game, albeit an under-reported one. 

Amphetamines were a Schedule II controlled substance since the 1970's (ie: illegal).

Players in the clubhouse passed it around like candy for years before and after the 70's because it gave them a competitive advantage.

WAIT!!! WHAT ???

Players in a competitive sport, look for a competitive advantage over their competitors? 

WHO KNEW?!?

I understand why people will refuse to engage in a conversation that goes against their own personal belief system (willful, blissful ignorance, cognitive dissonance, whatever). It would be hard to remain offended by one group of baseball players use of illegal substances to break records when they come face to face with the knowledge that the same group doing the most carping used illegal substances to obtain their own position in the record books. 

AIN'T THAT A BEES-WAX????

In the end, everything comes down to the choices we make; moral or immoral, self serving or serving others.... etc. We can always change our future choices, but not the past. Those who are ashamed of their past choices rewrite history so that others do not know the depth of their betrayal.

Kreidler: Black day for the greenies, too

			Kreidler: Black day for the greenies, too Steroids are the headline. But the fact amphetamines are in baseball's new proposed agreement is real news.
			View on sports.espn.go.com	Preview by Yahoo

The only time anybody ever said anything bad about Tony Gwynn was when, in retirement, he spoke to a reporter about players habitual use of amphetamines. A lot of players still in the game, taking pills attacked Tony for this. Their attacks reflect mostly on them, IMO.

THE ARGUMENT....AND MEMORIES OF REEFER MADNESS

I'm going to give credit to the blog Steroid_Nation for outlining the major arguments for Congressional involvement in the PED issue in sports.



Then I'm going to outline why I think it's almost entirely wrong and in fact shockingly weak argument coming from a university professor.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

http://grg51.typepad.com/steroid_nation/2008/03/congression-wei.html





So why should Congress pursue Clemens as well as

investigate anabolic steroids, HGH, and other PEDs?



* Because the truth is an important ethical

concept worth defending. Perjury remains a serious

issue.



CS - I can't argue against truth, justice or the American Way. But to put in context, Congress called Clemens in to "perjure" himself, and it is normally the domain of the law enforcement agencies to investigate crimes. Congress was basically a willing tool of the owners and Bud Selig to get the kind of movement on the issue from the Players Association that they never would have been able to achieve on their own. Should Congress be inserting themselves in labor/management issues?



* Because steroid and PED use (like HGH)

represents a hugely lucrative illegal industry for

organized crime



CS - Doubtful. Anecdotally you may be able to come up with a case or two here and there with links to organized crime, but "the mob" tends to focus on those goods (cocaine, heroin) and services (gambling, racketeering) that are not readily available to the masses. Unfortunately, steroids and PED's are available via our neighbors to the south (Mexico) as well as the Dominican, to say nothing about the Internet. That said, enforcement of the law, is for the local police, FBI, DEA, etc. to work out. Congress makes laws, it doesn't enforce them. Perhaps Congress should have held hearings into why the laws that were on the books were not enforced as they now, with the benefit of 20-20 hindsight, believe they should have been. Why didn't the FBI follow up on Operation Equine in the 90's?



* Because PED distribution supports a

gazillion-dollar underground network that includes

money-laundering and income-tax fraud



CS - Gazillion is not a real number, but I've heard juveniles use it before to indicate a ridiculously large number. (Gazillion and other fictitious numbers from wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indefinite_and_fictitious_numbers )

Further, you are simply repeating your last point here in an attempt to pad (juice) the numbers and make your argument stronger. In reality, it's the same point.



* Because the PED (steroids and other drugs)

distribution networks also distribute other illegal

drugs including narcotics and stimulants



CS - Redundancy, redundancy, redundancy. Same argument as the prior two really, only weaker.



* Because these drugs are also obtained from AIDs

patients, thus diverting legally prescribed

pharmaceutics to illegal activities



CS - How prevalent is this really? Is this another attempt to play the emotional card? First it's "we're protecting the nation's youth" now we're protecting against those who would prey on unfortunate AIDS patients? Come on. Surely, you're aware of the old lawyers saw "When you have the facts on your side, pound the facts, when you have the law on your side pound the law, when you have neither, pound the table"? Seems like a lot of table pounding so far.



* Because the use of these drugs amounts to

practicing medicine without a license



CS - By the same logic would the aforementioned AIDS patients selling their prescriptions constitute practicing as a Pharmacist without a license? So anyone who takes a drug, without their own prescription, is practicing medicine without a license? That's a new legal theory on me, can you cite precedent for this? Or is this more table pounding?



* Because the use of illegal PEDs defrauds the

paying public who are deceived by the drug-cheats;

this constitutes fraud



CS - Again, I think I would stay away from the legal theory, it's doesn't seem to suit you. It seems like you're stretching the legal definition of fraud to suit your cause. I know of only one case (it's still pending, but we've cited it here http://slavieboy.blogspot.com/2008/01/i-smell-refund.html ), where a ticket holder sued a team for fraud as a result of this. I would think team ownership could more sue a player for fraud (as in Giambi) and get out of a bad contract, but even that hasn't been tested yet. I wonder why. I think the onus is on the owners (employers) to take action against the players (employees) for the fraud you're describing. The fan would seem to have action against the team owners for any fraud in the purchase of the ticket. And I'm not sure there is a winnable case there.



Speaking of fraud though, an example you might be more familiar with is described below. The disgraceful state of education in this country. Tuition costs rising significantly faster than the overall inflation rate, while university endowment funds grow faster than oil company profits.

----------------------------------------------------

FROM THE BLOG CARPE DIEM: DISTURBING VIDEO ON DECLINE OF MATH SKILLS

http://mjperry.blogspot.com/2008/03/disturbing-video-on-decline-of-math.html



Q: What does a major state university do when test scores on a precalculus math exam for incoming freshmen continue to decline year after year, while at the same time high school GPAs of incoming freshmen are going up?



A: If your answer is "make the test easier," go to the head of the class!



Watch a disturbing video on the decline in math skills for college students (click twice on the arrow above), with an explanation for why it has been happening ("reform math"), and some ways to solve the problem (abandon "reform math").



Thanks to Oak Norton for the pointer.



See a previous CD post on the huge shortage of IT professionals and the lack of technology talent in the U.S.. Thanks to "reform math," that huge shortage will likely continue.

-----------------------------------

MATH EDUCATION: A UNIVERSITY VIEW

---------------------------------------------------

* Because many MLB games are played in public

financed venues, that raises issues of misuse of

public funds when the games are not fairly played



CS - The publicly financed venues you cite are generally state and local funds so it would seem to be more their concern then that of Uncle Sammy. They have used the tax exemption hook to stick their nose under the tent so to speak, but even that is weak argument. And you know what happens once the camel sticks his nose under the tent don't you? Sure you do, it's not long before you have a camel in your tent. If I attend a rock concert at the same venue, where there is marijuana/alcohol abuse and perhaps other illicit drug use going on all around me (and let's face it, what other kind of rock concert is there?) then using the same legal theory, shouldn't I expect Congress to get involved in the name of reducing/stamping out recreational drug/alcohol use?



* Because that the trafficking of PEDs though

players that use, trainers that distribute, or

street-dealers that sell, represents illegal drug

activity, certainly answerable to the federal

government and the FBI



CS - We're back to the CRIMINAL ACTIVITY, LAW ENFORCEMENT argument again. Redundant.



* Because illegal PEDs likely made their way

through international checkpoints (like Canada) with

players breaking international regulations (see Juan

Gonzalez's story)



CS - We're back to the CRIMINAL ACTIVITY, LAW ENFORCEMENT argument again. Redundant.



* Because that it is clear youngsters under 18 use

PEDs (steroids and others) based somewhat on their

idol's use of PEDs



CS - Oh, Thank God. Protect the young people!!! Why is this so far down the list when it appears to most to be the number one reason for Congressional involvement. Let's get our priorities in order shall we, Professor? You say "somewhat" but if you look at the most recent issue of Sports Illustrated they cite their own polling that shows 99% of America's youth (99% PERCENT), would not, I repeat, WOULD NOT use steroids or PED's simply because their favorite athlete did.



http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/magazine/03/11/steroid.survey/index.html



Further, 97% said they would not use PED's even if they knew it would make them a better player. So it seems like kids are a lot smarter then we are giving them credit for. This restores my faith in the youth and makes me question more the faith in adults who would use condescending arguments from the "Reefer Madness" era to make their case in this issue. Makes me wonder if future generations are going to laugh just as much about our handling of this issue as our parents and grandparents handled the marijuana issue. Kids are not little idiots and should not be treated as such.



* Because these illegal drugs produce serious

medical side-effects, which in themselves are cause

for concern, but also represent a major public health

problem



* Because there is evidence the PEDs are addictive



CS - MEDICAL ISSUE - Two arguments for the price of one redundancy again. Now we're getting somewhere, let's let the AMA and Big Pharma decide this, they haven't screwed too many modern day issues up with their incompetence and corruption.



* Because illegal anabolic steroids have been

shown to be involved in felonious crimes beyond drug

trafficking -- crimes like murder, assault, and rape.



CS - We're back to the CRIMINAL ACTIVITY, LAW ENFORCEMENT argument again. Redundant. Nice touch by adding the murder, assault, rape emotional kicker. Did you forget about child molestation?



* Because the US Olympic team, which is obviously

a visible ambassador to the world, appears to be

violated by the drug-cheats and the PED dealers



CS - Then they would fit right in with the most corrupt organization involved in sports the International Olympic Committee. It wouldn't bother me at all if we didn't participate at all in that sham and for many reasons that have nothing to do with the PED issue. I didn't miss it at all when we boycotted the Olympics.



CS - Seriously Professor, if one of your students turned in a paper with these arguments and you didn't throw it right back into his face for a re-write than I wonder about our so-called institutions of higher-learning. Feel free to rebut.

------------------------------------------------------------

FROM THE REEFER MADNESS ERA: OR THE MORE THINGS CHANGE....THE MORE THEY REMAIN THE SAME



http://www.reefermadness.org/propaganda/trail_a.html







Another excerpt from On the Trail of Marihuana, the Weed of Madness:



"We now know that marihuana --



1. Destroys will power, making a jellyfish of the user. He cannot say no.

2. Eliminates the line between right and wrong, and substitues one's own warped desires

or the base suggestions of others as the standard of right.

3. Above all, causes crime; fills the victim with an irrepressible urge to violence.

4. Incites to revolting immoralities, including rape and murder.

5. Causes many accidents, but industrial and automobile.

6. Ruins careers forever.

7. Causes insanity as its specialty.

8. Either in self-defense or as a means of revenue, users make smokers of others, thus perpetuating the evil."



[italics were not added, they appeared in the original source]



Source: On the Trail of Marihuana the Weed of Madness by Earle Albert Rowell & Robert Rowell, Pacific Press Publishing, 1939, p. 33



---------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.reefermadness.org/propaganda/congress.html





Hearing Before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Finance United States Senate, Seventy-Fifth Congress, First Session on H.R.6906 - July 12, 1937 Excerpt from statement of Federal Bureau of Narcotics chief Harry J. Anslinger



MR. ANSLINGER





I received this letter from an attorney at Houston, Texas, just the other day. This case involves a murder in which he alleges that his client, a boy 19 years old, had been addicted to the use of marihuana.

SENATOR BROWN





Shall we read this into the record?

MR. ANSLINGER





Yes, sir; I shall be very glad if you will.





(The letter is as follows:)



Houston, Tex., July 7, 1937



H. J. Anslinger United States Commissioner of Narcotics Washington, DC



Dear sir: Your article on Marihuana appearing in the July issue of the American is very useful as well as interesting. this subject strikes close to home because of a client II have who not so long ago murdered in a brutal way a man who had befriended him in giving him a ride. This client is a boy 20 years of age and he explained to me he has been smoking marihuana for several years. I would like to have about 1 copies of your article and will gladly pay any necessary charges. I would appreciate an early reply.



Yours Truly, Sidney Benbow

MR. ANSLINGER





I have another letter from the prosecutor at a place in New Jersey. It is as follows:





The Interstate Commission on Crime March 18, 1937



Charles Schwarz, Washington, DC



My Dear Mr. Schwarz: That I fully appreciate the need for action, you may judge from the fact that last January I tried a murder case for several days, of a particularly brutal character in which one colored young man killed another, literally smashing his face and head to a pulp, as the enclosed photograph demonstrates.



One of the defenses was that the defendant's intellect was so prostrated from his smoking marihuana cigarettes that he did not know what he was doing. The defendant was found guilty and sentenced to a long term of years. I am convinced that marihuana had been indulged in, that the smoking had occurred, and the brutality of the murder was accounted for by the narcotic, though the defendant's intellect had not been totally prostrate, so the verdict was legally correct. It seems to me that this instance might be of value to you in your campaign.



Sincerely yours, Richard Hartshorne



(Mr. Hartshorne is a member of the Interstate Commission on Crime. We have many cases of this kind.)

SENATOR BROWN





It affects them that way?

MR. ANSLINGER





Yes.

SENATOR DAVIS





(viewing a photograph presented by Mr. Anslinger) Was there in this case a blood or skin disease caused by marihuana?

MR. ANSLINGER





No; this is a photograph of the murdered man, Senator. It shows the fury of the murderer.

SENATOR BROWN



That is terrible.



MORE REEFER MADNESS MADNESS: This is good reading, see if you can spot the parallels between current events and the events as described here.



http://www.reefermadness.org/propaganda/essay.html



http://www.reefermadness.org/propaganda/essay2.html



---------------------------------------------------------------

Some of the more positive suggestions I've seen from one of the few Congressmen that I thought acquitted himself well during the Clemens hearing.



FROM CONGRESSMAN ELIJAH CUMMINGS (D-MD) WEBSITE





http://www.house.gov/cummings/newsletter/050808.htm

http://www.house.gov/cummings/newsletter/050808.htm





Congressman Cummings Expresses Disappointment in

Baseball Star's Steroid Use



In continuing to take an active role in opposing the

tolerance of steroid use in professional sports,

Congressman Cummings expressed disappointment with

regard to the news that broke on August 1 that Orioles

baseball player Rafael Palmeiro was suspended for

steroid use.



He continued by noting that when sports leagues ignore

this type of cheating, they send a message to the

public that steroid abuse is acceptable.



"Unfortunately, this perception has contributed to an

increase of the drug's abuse by teens from 1 in 45 ten

years ago to 1 in 16 (and in some surveys, 1 in 8)

today. Further, the players' unscrupulous actions send

a message to young children-many of whom try to

emulate their sports heroes-that steroids are safe."



Congressman Cummings said that he would continue to

urge Congressional Leaders to expedite consideration

by the full Congress of The Clean Sports Act of 2005

(H.R. 2565/S.1114) which he has co-sponsored with his

House colleagues Congressmen Davis, Waxman and Mark

Souder (R-Indiana). Senator John McCain (R-Arizona)

has introduced companion legislation in the Senate.



Specifically, the Clean Sports Act of 2005 would

require these professional leagues to:



1. Expel athletes for two years for their first

steroid-abuse violation and impose a lifetime ban for

a second violation;



2. Adopt a comprehensive list of prohibited

performance-enhancing drugs;



3. Test each player on an unannounced basis at least

three times during the regular season and twice during

the off-season; and



4. Finally, in an effort to ensure balance, the

legislation guarantees that players who test positive

receive their due process rights, including the right

to notice, a fair, timely, and expedited hearing, the

right to be represented by counsel, and the right to

appeal.



CS Note - This provision, albeit the American Way, would not satisfy the USADA, WADA Nazi's who use tactics to counteract that would not past serious legal muster in this country. So I would urge caution when listening to these purveyors of information on the topic, their agenda and methodology is wholly un-American.



"Passage of this legislation would send a strong

message to the public and especially to young people

that no one wins when athletes cheat," Congressman

Cummings said.

WITH LOVE TO STEROID NATION - THE SLAV

Just so you don't think that I only notice the negative things that go on in this world, I want to note a great article that seems to mirror what I've been saying for years and years. Now that the Great Satan, Barry Bonds, is removed from our daily news and sports broadcasts, we may have time to reflect on some other pressing issues that effect both the world of sports and our nations youth.


http://grg51.typepad.com/steroid_nation/2007/08/steroids-arent-.html


Steroids aren't the only problem in public health

08/14/2007
Steroids aren't the only problem in public health
We blog about steroids as a public health problem here. However, there is far more wrong in the USA public health domain than just steroids. Recent reports show that health care in the US is #42 (by one measure) and falling. The New York Times editorial is found here:

Here's a wrenching fact: If the U.S. had an infant mortality rate as good as Cuba's, we would save an additional 2,212 American babies a year.

Yes, Cuba's. Babies are less likely to survive in America, with a health care system that we think is the best in the world, than in impoverished and autocratic Cuba. According to the latest C.I.A. World Factbook, Cuba is one of 41 countries that have better infant mortality rates than the U.S.

The author cited many health issues that deserve our attention on a national level. Some that I really haven't thought about much, I have to admit. I've often said that when it comes to our nation's health, especially the health of our kids, the following topics rank as high or higher than steroids:

1. Concussions in football - really in almost any sport
2. Alcohol and tobacco use and abuse - I don't give it a pass because it's legal)
3. Other recreational drug use - amphetamines, cocaine, crack, inhalants, etc. have not gone away. Just because they aren't abused by sports stars, doesn't mean they don't deserve our attention and vigilance
4. Youth Obesity - again, just because it doesn't strike the athletic population as hard, doesn't mean it's not worthy of attention. You go, Shaq!!

Just in these areas, we could be facing a veritable tsunami of health issues in our future that will overwhelm an already rickety national health system. In a sense, the best thing to happen, the night Bonds hit #756 (other than Aaron's message) is we may finally be able to focus more attention on these issues.

OH LORDY!! Barry Bonds is going to go all Lance Armstrong on a MF'er!!

And it looks like the first MF'er is going to be that noted Wizard of Words, the current President of the "Why Didn't Barry Sue? - Why Didn't Barry Sue?" Club, none other than Curt Schilling.

These folks have the same simplistic logic and magpie-like talking points as the late Johnnie Cochran used to sway a jury in favor of Orenthal James (O.J.) Simpson, many years back.

"If glove doesn't fit, you must acquit." becomes "If Barry didn't sue, it must be true." Both quotes succeed in creating a diversion in the minds and the ears of the listening audience. And we like our logic to be simple don't we now? Otherwise, we might have to go to Bob Costas and Mike Lupica to explain stuff to us, and we don't want that.

In the Simpson case, it was the "mountain of evidence" pointing to his guilt. In the Bonds case, it is ANY PIECE of evidence or logical train of thought that would explain a scenario different than that which the listener would be inclined to believe about Bonds.

And now it appears that very shortly, the "Why Didn't he Sue?" crowd will go to wherever the "Hank Aaron doesn't approve" crowd is hanging out these days.

The good folks at Steroid Nation are breaking details of this story (along with a more restrained tone then they've exhibited in the past against one Barry Lamar Bonds):

http://grg51.typepad.com/steroid_nation/2007/08/barry-bonds-to-.html

08/14/2007
Barry Bonds wants to sue you, but settles on targeting Curt Schilling
Alleged (note 'alleged') roid-monger Barry Bonds, the recent career home run king, announced that he contracted with two Bay-area lawyers to track down miscreants who would besmirch his good name. The accused juicer threatens to sue Curt Schilling or anyone making false statements about him or his large head.

A local Bay-area TV station(CBS5) first carried the story:

Now that Barry Bonds has passed Henry Aaron to become baseball's all-time home run king, he's threatening to sue anyone who makes false or misleading statements about him, two Bay Area attorneys said Monday.

Attorneys John Burris of Oakland and Todd Schneider of San Francisco said Bonds has retained them "in connection with legal issues arising from the myriad of false statements attributed to him by players, the media and others."

The attorneys, who are veteran civil rights litigators, said they believe "such statements are defamatory and have legal consequences."


I GUESS THIS MUST BE WHAT BONDS MEANT WHEN HE SAID, MY DAY WILL COME. These lawyers are going to busy for quite some time, I hope they're getting paid by the hour. But now that Bonds has the all-time HR record, I guess he can spend his money however he wants to.

Interesting to note that in the Steroid Nation commentary was this paragraph:
"According to The San Jose News, Bonds' old attorney, -- Michael Rains (maybe feeling some jealousy?) Note: words in parenthesis added by Steroid Nation


I posted this comment on their site, If they respond I'll let you know:
Explain to me why Rains would feel any jealousy that Bonds retained civil rights lawyers. Rains is a criminal defense lawyer, whose plate is rather full I'm sure.

The others are civil rights attorneys.

Attorneys specialize in narrow areas of the law. Rains may feel he has little or no competence in this arena.

Are you sure it's not some jealousy or envy or bias that you are showing?

I'M GUESSING THE ANSWER IS YES, BUT THE ANSWER (IF ANY) POSTED WILL BE SOME SORT OF J.K. LINE OF BULL. A TACTIC DISGUISED AS A J.K. IS A TACTIC NONETHELESS.

Zero for 150 - What an Epidemic!!! - Do I Hear 500??

I suppose these high school kids all made the switch to HGH using their paper-route money once they got wind of the steroid tests. You know how these cheaters are, always one step ahead of the law.

Give me a @#$%^&*+ break.

There's $100,000 of taxpayers money well spent. Doesn't matter, it ultimately gets charged back to the participants parents in fees and time spent selling candy bars, attending car washes, etc.

Guess those inflated numbers regarding high-school users we heard about before congress and in the media were either flat-out lies or fabrications to promote an agenda. Wonder if anyone will be punished for perjuring themselves, or in this case I think the correct term is prostituting themselves.

Props to the website www.steroidnation for highlighting this story. It surely will not make the front pages or the Sports Center lead.





AP New Jersey
Random steroid tests on N.J. high schoolers all negative
February 18, 2007, 1:49 PM EST
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) _ New Jersey's first in-the-nation tests of high school athletes for steroid abuse showed no positive results among 150 random samples taken in the fall, according to the group that administered the tests.

All tournament-bound high schoolers randomly sampled tested negative for performance-enhancing drugs, according to Bob Baly, assistant director with the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association.

New Jersey became the first state to administer the test to athletes amid concerns that high schoolers might be bulking up to be more competitive. National studies have shown that about 2 percent of teenagers use steroids before graduating from high school.

The scholastic association, which oversees high school sports, plans to test about 500 athletes during tournaments for various sports in the 2006-07 school year. The $100,000 cost is split between the association and the state Education Department.

Baly says the money is well-spent, even if every test is negative.

"If we find out that people aren't doing something illegal because they're afraid to get caught, then we're successful," he told The Philadelphia Inquirer for Sunday newspapers.

(Emphasis added - Bad Jersey - C.S.)

In Philadelphia, St. Joseph's Prep stopped testing for steroids years ago.

"It was too costly and it wasn't productive," said Gil Brooks, who coaches St. Joseph's football team. "We didn't find anyone who tested positive."

(Emphasis added - Good Philly - C.S.)

The National Federation of State High School Associations reported in its February publication that Illinois is close to starting steroid testing among high school athletes, and that it plans to use New Jersey as its model.

(Look out Illinois - Monkey see, Monkey do - C.S.)

___