What’s Pettitte’s price for admission?
December 18th, 2007
Interesting column by Jayson Stark about Andy Pettitte and HGH.
It’s getting more and more obvious to those who pay attention that HGH developed a reputation among athletes as some kind of miracle quick-healing potion. Do a little research. That theme comes up over and over.
We hear medical authorities tell us, just about daily, that that’s a myth. But it’s a myth that became part of the sporting culture. So clearly, it was that panicky desire to heal faster, to “get back on the field,” that fueled the HGH use of hundreds of athletes.
“I’m willing to say that in the case of just about every guy who used HGH,” one longtime baseball man told us recently, “it can almost always be traced to some kind of injury.”
So let’s ask you again: Is that “cheating”? Discuss.
While I appreciate Pettite’s candor in the situation and tend to believe his confession, I do not believe this removes from him the stigma of cheating.
He stated that he quit taking the HGH treatments because he didn’t feel right about it. That indicates that he knew all along he shouldn’t be doing it.
Furthermore, if it caused him to heal faster, then he gained an unfair advantage over the players who didn’t benefit from its fast-healing properties.
He also stated that he did it for the benefit of his team. It could be argued that if any player cheats, his team will probably benefit on some level, so this is not a valid excuse.
I am glad, however, that he has come forward to take his medicine like a man. (No pun intended)
The road to ruin is paved with good intentions.
Whew. How many hot button issues is Tim going to post about? Why don’t we wrap them all up into one big controversy like:
Do we use capital punishment for home schooled baseball players that take steroids while going to an Acts 29 congregation and drinking an occasional beer.
Parse all THAT out.
Stark points out in his article the double standard applied in football and baseball in relation to HGH, steroids, and all the rest. I personally am sick of baseball being singled out as the biggest offender. Where was the outcry when football players started juicing? Lyle Alzado DIED as a result. How many more will there be? The outcry concerning baseball is overdone. We rush to judgment because we fans think we have been, for lack of a better term, personally and physically injured by the scandal.
This too shall pass. But PLEASE stop acting as though baseball is as pure as the wind-driven snow, and that we fans have been mortally wounded.