| The Mitchell Fiasco |
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| Written by Troy Chuinard | |
| Friday, 21 December 2007 | |
The Mitchell report has been released for almost a week now, and we are already beginning to see the impact it is having on the game of baseball.
While the report has accused a handful of players for consuming performance-enhancing substances, it does lack actual concrete evidence. This may be the exact reason why it is hard to determine the severity of the penalties, if any should be invoked at all. Former Senator George Mitchell has gone on the record to state that his ultimate goal was not to punish people; Mitchell simply wishes to raise awareness and hopefully shed some light on the impact of illegal substances in the game of baseball today. "This is not a legal proceeding. That's for others to decide. Let's be clear about that. This is a private investigation, without any power to compel cooperation or participation. It is not a judicial proceeding. It is not a trial," Mitchell reported to The Associated Press on the day after he released his report. Certain big name athletes, including Baltimore Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts and New York Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte, have avoided any sort of controversy by simply confessing their illegal use of performance-enhancing substances. Roberts has openly confessed that he used steroids in 2003 and that it was primarily out of “curiosity.” "In 2003, when I took one shot of steroids, I immediately realized that was not what I stood for or anything I wanted to continue doing," Roberts said. Yankee superstar Andy Pettitte admitted that he used the drugs while he was on the disabled list in hopes of speeding up his recovery process. In his statement, Pettitte claimed that he used the substances for only two days. He was one of the first players listed on the Mitchell Reports to respond. “I felt an obligation to get back to my team as soon as possible,” Pettitte said. “For this reason, and only this reason, for two days I tried human growth hormone. Though it was not against baseball rules, I was not comfortable with what I was doing, so I stopped.” While some players have attempted to prevent any more speculation from arising by admitting their use of the illegal substances, others, including seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens, have denied that they were ever involved with such activity. Clemens is said to be very upset with the accusations made against him, and he feels that after all of his accomplishments, it is a shame that Major League Baseball is now skeptical of his credibility. It is also quite evident that the Mitchell report is going to have somewhat of a trickle effect that may cause extreme controversy throughout the major league organization. Boston pitching ace Curt Schilling has already bashed Clemens for his alleged steroid use, claiming that unless Clemens can prove otherwise, he should forfeit the Cy Young Awards that were received at the same time he supposedly used steroids. In his official blog, located at 38pithces.com, Schilling goes on to express his feelings regarding the Mitchell report and how Roger Clemens in particular should not take credit for his accomplishments after the 1997 season. "From that point on the numbers were attained through using [performance-enhancing drugs]. Just like I stated about Jose [Canseco], if that is the case with Roger, the four Cy Youngs should go to the rightful winners, and the numbers should go away if he cannot refute the accusations." Schilling also went on to explain how he looked up to Roger back when they were both in the Red Sox organization, and that he can’t believe what the game has come to in regards to the topic of steroid abuse.
All in all, we are only experiencing the beginning effects of the Mitchell report, and there will certainly be more controversy as time goes on. Will the MLB and Commissioner Bud Selig take any legal action? Though it is highly doubtful, it would not be without considerable reason.
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