Quote:
Originally Posted by slidekellyslide
I no longer give professional athletes the benefit of the doubt. Whenever something out of the norm happens I just assume PED's. Sucks for Davis if he is indeed clean, but the rampant use of drugs in sports has ruined any trust I have for record breakers.
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That is the damage done by a generation of drug cheats. Punish the team and not the player and you will see results. Last year Melky Cabrera played 113 games prior to testing positive for performance enhancing substances. During that time he was an MVP candidate. When MLB suspended him 50 games, he released the following statement.
"My positive test was the result of my use of a substance I should not have used," Cabrera said in a statement released by the union. "I accept my suspension under the Joint Drug Program and I will try to move on with my life. I am deeply sorry for my mistake and I apologize to my teammates, to the San Francisco Giants organization and to the fans for letting them down."
His team mates obviously accepted his apology because they voted him a full share of their World Series winners bonus. In doing so they acknowledge the value of his tainted contributions to their success as a team and organization.
In track and field if one member of a relay team tests positive for performance enhancing substances every member of the team forfeits their medals. If baseball operated in the same manner the Giants would have forfeited all 113 games Cabrera appeared in. This would have meant no World Series for the Giants organization. Cabrera should have remained on the active roster and taken the field everyday. He would have been a pariah in the locker room, destroyed by the media, and abused by the fans everyday. His use was evidence of his self centered make up. If they made him face the music everyday it would send a very clear message to every other potential cheater. If you think Fred Merkle and Steve Bartman were ostracized can you imagine how history would have remembered the Melkman? Then again most Giants fans will tell you Barry was clean.
