“I’m not here to talk about the past. I’m here to be positive about this subject.”
Those tearful remarks uttered by Mark McGwire in front of a congressional hearing in March 2005 not only destroyed his reputation as one of baseball’s all-time great sluggers but coined a phrase that now stands as a symbol of Major League Baseball’s steroid and performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) scandal that’s taken down many of its game’s great names.
With MLB, its commissioner and its players’ association essentially standing idle and doing nothing; dozens of baseball’s best known and top players were brought down, one way or another, over the last five years because of their connection to PEDs.
Baseball’s overall lack of action and meager public relations control of the scandal has caused its most valuable commodities, its players, to suffer horrendous damage to their reputation and image.
Players who were once beloved by fans and certain locks for the hall of fame were “hung out to dry” by MLB and many, like McGwire, have had to hide in obscurity.
However, because MLB’s Steroid Era is so recent (perhaps even still ongoing today) history can not yet judge or measure its impact on the sport. As more time goes by, more evidence and information comes to surface implicating more and more players to PEDs.
So whether baseball and its fans like it or not; it is becoming clear that a strong percentage (probably more than half) of today’s MLB players have used some type of performance enhancing drug during their careers.
With so many big names linked to PEDs and, subsequently, ostracized from the MLB community, at what point, if ever, can baseball and its fans allow these players back into its good graces?
With such a large number of players identified as “cheaters”, they can’t all run and hide away forever…there’s just too many names. At some point, MLB has to open its doors and attempt to get the fans and media to embrace these players again.
In order to begin the healing process and restore some of the enormous trust and respect lost by its fans and media, MLB needs to encourage these players to re-enter the baseball world and begin the necessary work to restore both their image and the image of baseball.
And it appears the first step of this process has already begun.
Last week the St. Louis Cardinals announced that McGwire has returned to the organization as the team’s batting coach for the 2010 season and it appears MLB is fully supporting this move. Commissioner Bud Selig recently told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he was delighted that McGwire is returning to baseball.
“I have no misgivings about this at all…Mark McGwire is a very, very fine man and the Cardinals are to be applauded.” Selig said. “I give (Cardinals manager) Tony La Russa a lot of credit and [Cardinals chairman] Bill DeWitt a lot of credit for making this happen…I was, and am, very supportive of their decision.”
Wow! This is a huge step for MLB.
McGwire will, of course, now have to address the media for the first time since his debacle in front of Congress in 2005.
For the media and fans to forgive him and accept him back to baseball, McGwire will have to begin his media address with a statement of admission to using PEDs followed by an appropriate apology. For more than five years people have been waiting to hear McGwire speak on this topic and bring the entire issue to light.
He owes it to the fans, the media, baseball and himself.
But unlike his first time around, McGwire has to have some sort of public relations plan or strategy when he eventually addresses the media. With MLB’s support and assistance, McGwire has to be able to discuss the issue honestly, confidently and with strong character – not hiding behind empty statements like in 2005.
And he needs to be prepared for the media and their questions (really prepared), and to answer all of them.
Selig’s statement backing McGwire and the Cardinals was a great move, but it’s not nearly enough. Selig should be with McGwire during his press conference to not only discuss and support McGwire’s return to baseball but to also bring to attention that it’s okay for other banished players to come back and be accepted as long as they’re honest and truthful – about everything.
No more lies, baseball!
MLB has a lot of work to do in restoring its image and repairing the damage inflicted by the Steroid Era. Using McGwire to begin this work is an excellent first step.
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