Dave Zirin: The Mitchell Report Is a Fraud

[marmar]

from The Nation:




southpaw | posted December 14, 2007 (web only)
The Mitchell Report Is a Fraud
Dave Zirin


Ever had someone spit in your face and tell you it's raining? That's how it felt watching former Senator George Mitchell's press conference on steroid use in Major League Baseball. The former Senate majority leader unleashed his "investigative findings" in the somber, deliberate tones of an exhausted undertaker. Mitchell strained to heap scorn upon baseball owners and the player's union for being "slow to act." Yet beneath the surface, his report is ugly, sanctimonious fraud, meant to absolve those at the top and pin blame on a motley crew of retired players, trainers and clubhouse attendants. This is truly the old saw of the magical fishing net that captures minnows but lets the whales swim free.

Sanctioned by commissioner Bud Selig's office, the Mitchell Report was seen by some as an unprecedented act in sports: a $20 million internal investigation aimed at rooting out "performance enhancing drugs and human growth hormones" in the game.

The Mitchell Report certainly gives off a sexy sizzle. It names names: including MVPs Mo Vaughn, Miguel Tejada and Barry Bonds, and former all-stars like Eric Gagne and Lenny Dykstra. It also names a man being called the Moby Dick to Mitchell's Ahab: seven-time Cy Young award winner Roger Clemens. For some time, people in the game have whispered about Clemens being on the juice. And for some time, the 45-year-old Clemens denied all charges, as a compliant media lapped it up. As Yahoo Sports's Dan Wetzel wrote, "Year after year he peddled the same garbage, Roger Clemens was so dominant for so long because he simply outworked everyone. It played to the nation's Puritan roots, made Clemens out to be this everyman maximizing his skills through singular focus, dedication and a commitment to drinking carrot juice, or something. It's all gone now, the legend of Rocket Roger dead on arrival of the Mitchell Report; one of the greatest pitchers of all time, his seven Cy Young's and 354 career victories lost to history under a pile of lies and syringes."

The Mitchell Report confirms not only suspicions about Clemens but also the existence of an outrageous media bias and double standard. Seven-time MVP Barry Bonds has been raked over the conjectural coals for years, but Clemens got a pass. Two players, both dominant into their 40s, one black and one white, with two entirely different ways of being treated. It doesn't take Al Sharpton to do the cultural calculus. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20071231/zirin

[bemildred]

1. Gosh, who knew people would resort to drugs to get and keep million dollar jobs?

Why, oh why, don't they just quietly fade into poverty if they are not good enough?
:rofl::rofl:

[msongs]

2. pro baseball is entertainment, not sports. who cares if they are junkies? nt

[Wilber_Stool]

4. Exactly.

I don't care if they genetically engineer pitchers to be 12 feet tall and infielders to have six hands. They're athletic entertainers. We watch them because they are entertaining. The only ones that could benefit from this are the gamers in Vegas. Wouldn't do to have someone change the odds by getting on the juice in the middle of the year.

[SidDithers]

3. This Bonds vs Clemens comparison is bullshit...

and the difference between the two can be summed up with just 5 little letters: BALCO.

If Clemens had been implicated in BALCO, at the same time and in the same way as Bonds, then the he too would have been "raked over the conjectural coals for years" the same way that Bonds has been. It's not racism, it's simply the amount of time that actual evidence has been available.

Sid

[HamdenRice]

5. Are you sure?

Or is this post subject to the Sid Dithers Discount?

[SidDithers]

6. Hmm, 2 minutes after your latest agreement on common ancestors...

Why, it's almost as if you went looking for my current posts in order to post your meaningless reply. Or did you just happen to go directly from the creationism thread to a day-old Bonds vs Clemens thread, in a completely different forum?

Are you stalking me Hamden?

Are you unstable? Should I be worried for my safety?

Sid