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  • December 14, 2007 10:15 PM ET

The Major League Baseball players union should get most of the blame for the Steroid Era

YDT8523 (16-30-1) vs Lifer: Metallica Sucks! (348-131-26)
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In an Era where steroids are being used rapidly, the Major League Baseball Players Union have completely drop the ball on steroids.

The Union, led by Donald Fehr and Gene Orza, if they had their way would never ever have drug testing in baseball.

The reason baseball has steroids testing is because congress had to drag the union kicking and screaming into getting steroid testing.

Now they are not the only ones that are to blame. Everybody is to blame including Commissioner Bud Selig. But at least Selig is trying to do something about it.

Also during George Mitchell's investigation on steroids, Fehr and Orza advise players not to talk Mitchell. Then when the Mitchell report came out, Fehr complain that he didn't get the report until Senator Mitchell's press confernence. Well that's because you didn't allow your players to talk to Mitchell.

And one more thing, Jose Canseco said he was surprise that Alex Rodriguez was not on the report. The problem with that is there is no proof that A-Rod was taking steroids. So unless Canseco or anyone else has proof that A-Rod took steroids, Canseco should shut up about A-Rod.


Call me crazy, but I'm going to say that the players that actually took the needle and shot themselves up with steroids/HGH/whatever deserve the majority of blame. Granted, the Players Union doing all of the things listed above does not help, but there wouldn't have even been a Steroid Era without idiotic athletes pumping themselves full of Steroids and the like.


The Union did not take a stand when all the rumors of steroids used came out. They had a chance to do something about. But instead Fehr and Orza basically ignores it. The players that are clean, are going to worry about being link to the players that are taking steroids. The Union never ever does what is best for the game of baseball. This is no exception.


OK, sure. The Union did some pretty bad things as far as ADVANCING baseball into the Steroid Era. But I will say it again: we are in the Steroid Era not because of how the PU handled the situation, but rather because of the players who were deliberately shooting themselves up with performance-enhancing drugs, the players who were doing the actual cheating and breaking of the rules.

Baseball fans obviously are not happy with the PU. But tell me this: Who do they blame more? Barry Bonds, or the PU? Jason Giambi, or the PU? Mark McGwire, or the PU? The players right now are shouldering the blame because they deserve to shoulder the blame. However badly the Union handles things, the cheating players were the cause of it all.


The players union should had know ahead of time what is going on. The union seems to not care about steroids until recently. Bottom line is that the Players Union was force to come up with a steroids testing system.


No way. It is not the job of the Players Union to play babysitter to the (adult) players. These athletes that are cheating...they should be able to make their own decisions. The Players Union, for the most part, did what it was supposed to do, which was protect the rights of the players. Besides, there's really no reason why the PU would have known about this before the MLB and general public. From whom would they have learned this? The cheating athletes weren't going to bandy around to the PU talking about HGH while keeping silent to everyone else.

Comments (32) Add A Comment

December 14, 2007  10:30 PM ET
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Did the Union inject the players? Did they provide them illicit OTCs? Did they make shady deals with Florida dentists?

December 14, 2007  10:30 PM ET
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I guess what YD is saying is the reason there was a whole Era of steroids was because the Union sat on their hands...

December 14, 2007  10:49 PM ET
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I think Coletrain should get blamed, and he wasn't even born in that time era...

December 14, 2007  10:50 PM ET
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I blame Bon Jovi.

December 14, 2007  10:55 PM ET
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I blame it on Rock and Roll...

Hey, isn't that a song? Lol.

December 14, 2007  10:56 PM ET
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I don't think you can affix blame to any one entity. Owners turned a blind eye because revenue was increasing, the unions job is to protect the interest of it's players but they should have been proactive in protecting their HEALTH issues as well as their legal ones, the Commish office didn't want to know.

But, ironically, I think the players themselves are the LEAST to blame for the whole sorrid era. Sure, they did it by choice, but they also knew that others were doing it and if they didn't follow suit they wouldn't be competing at the same level as their peers.

For superstars this meant watching lesser players outperform them and for lesser players it meant possibly losing their job altogether. The pressure on the athletes had to be immense. That's not to condone the actions, or release the players of responsibility, but their position is at least understandable to an extent.

December 14, 2007  10:57 PM ET
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Hey! Bon Jovi is cool...

December 14, 2007  10:57 PM ET
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Coletrain hates Bon Jovi...

He doesn't know what is good, does he?

December 14, 2007  10:58 PM ET
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Ah, but CCC, you are getting off topic. The reasoning doesn't matter; I don't care if they were taking Steroids to pay off their mortgages. They took them, they ushered in the Steroid Era. Again: the reason doesn't matter.

December 14, 2007  11:01 PM ET
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I know what sucks...Bon Jovi

December 14, 2007  11:01 PM ET
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Sure...

December 14, 2007  11:01 PM ET
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Coletrain, want to know something funny?

My birthday is the same day as Bon Jovi's, ironic, eh?

December 14, 2007  11:02 PM ET
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You 2 were meant for each other...lol

December 14, 2007  11:04 PM ET
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Well...

You and Ervin kill the relationship, yet?

December 14, 2007  11:06 PM ET
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No we are still going strong. Everything has been great.

December 14, 2007  11:07 PM ET
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Even with his terrible 6-12 year?

LOL

December 14, 2007  11:08 PM ET
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We don't talk about that. Everyone has bumps in the road...we are looking to next year...

December 14, 2007  11:12 PM ET
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Oh, he might not even play anymore...

December 14, 2007  11:12 PM ET
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Josh Garland will bump up, and he doesn't deserve to be in the Bull-Pen.

 
December 14, 2007  11:14 PM ET
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Ervin will prove all you wrong!

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