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When cheating’s a way of life

Just months after Lance Armstrong was stripped of seven Tour de France victories comes word that a major doping scandal is brewing in Major League Baseball.

Names being bandied about in the media this week as focal points of the investigation included superstars Alex Rodriguez and Ryan Braun.

The operator of a Miami clinic called Biogenesis reportedly will testify that he administered performance-enhancing drugs to some 20 to 25 major leaguers, including Rodriguez and Braun.

Players who are determined to be guilty of taking the drugs could be suspended for 50 games for a first offense, 100 games for a second offense and for life for three or more times.

When one is talking about salaries like Rodriguez’s and Braun’s, the penalties will be in the millions of dollars.

It is also likely that some will face the fate of Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa – forever on the outside looking in at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

It appears that once again, some of our heroes will be shown to have feet of clay.

One has to wonder why such scandals keep occurring in a day and age when a cheater is almost certain to be exposed by sophisticated testing. Perhaps the millions of dollars paid to sporting heroes is a cause – but the heart of the problem is that at some point these stars accept cheating as a way of life.

Because that is what taking PEDs is – cheating. It is the antithesis of what our games are supposed to be about – honest competition and sportsmanship.

Obviously, some of our superstars reject any notion that they have a responsibility to be role models for youth. So, if some of these stars are found guilty of doping, it will be up to parents to point out to their kids that cheating is too high a price to pay for fame.

* Editorials reflect the opinion of the publisher.

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