For Congress, It’s Steroid To Heaven
January 15, 2008 at 10:14 am
So what’s Nancy Pelosi’s House of Representatives up to today?
Would you believe, holding a hearing on baseball and steroids?
Why yes, yes they are.
Here’s Rep. Diane Watson of the House Government Reform Committee on C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal” this morning, answering host Peter Slen’s most excellent question: “Why does Congress care about baseball and steroids?”:
“This is the American pasttime, great pasttime. It’s a game that really exemplifies who we are as a country and as a people. As you know, our youth look up to our celebrities and the top of that list are baseball players, I feel. And so, it’s important to us that we don’t sit by and allow an issue that has impacted baseball for an era to continue, because it breaks down the faith and the trust.
“Baseball players are role models. And so, Congress feels that it has a duty to take a look and investigate.”
Yes, baseball players are role models. But with this flimsy foundation for a highly-visible Congressional investigation you have to wonder whether Congressmen are role models, too.
Beavis N. Teehhead said,
January 15, 2008 @ 12:57 pm
Heh-heh: he spells “pasttime” like “Butthead” with two tees.
Bryan said,
January 15, 2008 @ 4:04 pm
I’m with congress as long as all seat holding elected officials go through the same tests as the ball players. Since they are role models too.
_Jon said,
January 15, 2008 @ 4:49 pm
After 9/11, they setup a *commission*.
But they investigated baseball themselves.
This isn’t a new form of ‘confusion’ for them….
careylenn said,
January 15, 2008 @ 4:50 pm
Of course the gentle Congresswoman misses the only faintly legitimate reason to have the hearings….the anti-trust exemption given to professional baseball by Congress.
Joanne said,
January 15, 2008 @ 5:39 pm
This is crazy.. as if congress does not have any thing else to do… it is a performance enhancing drug… and I bet ole Ted Kennedy, and about 60 others in the senate use Viagra to improve their performance…
jim said,
January 15, 2008 @ 7:14 pm
When did the constitution get amended to make Congress a trial court?
Mike A said,
January 15, 2008 @ 8:07 pm
Hold on here folks. Investigating steroids and baseball sounds like an outstanding role for Congress to me. After that they should look into whether Yoko Ono helped break up the Beatles, whether red cars get tickets more often and if the 3 point line should be moved back in college hoops.
Its either that or finding ways to end a war that we are winning, raising taxes or more pork barrel spending.
Nope, steroids and baseball are the perfect distraction for congress.
Joshua said,
January 16, 2008 @ 3:13 am
Great point, Mike A.
I would add that, while it might seem silly for Congress to get involved with stuff like this, ESPN pointed out the other day that when it comes to getting the truth out of someone, there’s just no substitute for having them testify under oath. Ballplayers who have used steroids/HGH have had no compunctions about denying it to their teams’ management, to league officials, and to the media, because they fear the PR hit of being an admitted cheater more than they fear the consequences of being caught lying to any of those parties. Fear of going to prison for perjury, however, trumps both of the above.
jim said,
January 16, 2008 @ 10:06 am
Joshua is right, lets get OJ out of the Nevada courts and in front of Congress. And while they are at it, lets get the truth from Brittany Spears. In fact, lets get rid of the court system and sent all the cases to Congress to resolve. After all what is more important , the war and the economy or whether some overpaid jock juiced himself to earn even more money. OOps, I said juiced which brings us back to OJ.
Conrad said,
February 15, 2008 @ 2:05 pm
I can certainly understand the above comments about the fear of perjury being a valid reason for Congressional hearings, but A) They have better things to do (let’s assume for the moment that those include improving the country, not destroying it, as Mike A suggested), and B) There’s already a government agency set up that enforces drug laws: the DEA.
If the substances we’re talking about are banned only by league policy and not by the law, then these guys should be kicked out of the league or fined or whatever. If these are prescription drugs that are illegal to use without a prescription, then it’s the DEA’s job. I think jail time with heroin addicts and total defamation is a better motivator than having to sit through Congressional hearings.