We can urge baseball to clean up its act, but ultimately, it's up to them. We fans do, however, have options: we can vote with our feet and our wallets, choosing not to buy paraphernalia, attend, or watch games on TV. We can also keep up the clamor for change by calling sports talk shows, writing letters to the editor, and contacting our local papers to urge them to keep up the scrutiny. Or, we can complain loudly to one another but essentially do nothing. Rest assured that letting this slide also sends a message.
I have no idea whether baseball has the will to reform and police itself properly. If their bottom line remains strong and their fan base doesn't fade away, what will be their incentive to reform themselves? We teach our kids that actions have consequences. Otherwise, why bother to stop at the red light or pay taxes? In that regard, baseball is a reflection of our own values and integrity. We may not like what we see, but the mirror doesn't lie.
The obstacles facing baseball are, admittedly, formidable. But, the industry has an opportunity to begin turning things around. They can start by reframing the issue as a challenge to be overcome, rather than an excuse to do nothing. While it's true that the entire world of sports seems to be engaged in this cheating, that still doesn't make it right or acceptable.
Baseball can choose to create its own island of sanity. The first step is to get everyone -- commissioner, owners, management, players and players association, coaches and trainers -- on the same page. While this will not be easy, it is imperative if the industry is serious about cleaning up its act. Together, the various parties must agree on clear guidelines and back them up with no-nonsense, non-negotiable consequences for infractions. Those in the upper echelons of management have been notoriously ambivalent about drug use and what to do about it. But, as in the corporate world, those at the top set the tone and everything follows from there. The hard part will be defining those guidelines and sticking with them. Expect a period of transition while everyone adjusts to the new policy, but as time passes and everyone can see that it is being administered consistently and impartially, it will be accepted as the norm.
Thus, baseball will regain its good name and can go back to doing what the public pays it to do -- playing ball. And, who knows? Perhaps baseball's makeover will inspire other sports and other nations to try it, too. True winners are used to challenges and obstacles. Their long climb to the top has been filled with them. They have already demonstrated their fortitude, dedication, single-mindedness, and love for the sport. They could put that collective, indomitable spirit to work solving this intractable problem. That would truly be a win-win for athletes, teams, fans and society as a whole. I say, go for it!
Joan Brunwasser is a co-founder of Citizens for Election Reform (CER) which exists for the sole purpose of raising the public awareness of the critical need for election reform. We aim to restore fair, accurate, transparent, secure elections where votes are cast in private and counted in public. Electronic (computerized) voting systems are simply antithetical to democratic principles.
CER set up a lending library to achieve the widespread distribution of the DVD Invisible Ballots: A temptation for electronic vote fraud. Within eighteen months, the project had distributed over 3200 copies across the country and beyond. CER now concentrates on group showings, OpEd pieces, articles, reviews, interviews, discussion sessions, networking, conferences, anything that promotes awareness of this critical problem. Joan has been Election Integrity Editor for OpEdNews since December, 2005.
cheating in sports goes back as far as stealing elections!
Joan,
Fascinating article! I had no idea cheating in sports has a history that goes back as far as, say, stealing elections!
My only suggestion: Spell out "Major League Baseball" instead of using the acronum MLB at the beginning for those of us who are not on familiar ground with the topic.
Happy New Year!!!
VK
by
Joan Brunwasser (164 articles, 3538 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 634 comments)
on Tuesday, January 1, 2008 at 8:48:05 PM
i fixed MLB to read Major League Baseball. I've been so immersed in this for the last few weeks, I lost track of the fact that there are those out there who wouldn't know what MLB was (like me, only a short time ago).
good analogy to the election cheating!
by
Joan Brunwasser (164 articles, 3538 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 634 comments)
on Tuesday, January 1, 2008 at 8:49:58 PM
This really is an example of the decline of civilization as we knew it in the 50's. lying, fraud and cheating and avarice in general have been part of societies forever, as you know, and now you know the main reason ,(albeit not the only reason), why I moved to the middle of nowhere. I just couldn't stand most people I came in contact with. But, that has given me more than enough material for my "great" novel.
I just wish that I had bought more than a single acre of land. my neighbors are still too close to satisfy me. I've called the police on two of my neighbors in the 7 months I've been here. One had their daughter crying on their front steps after coming home from school and nobody was home to let her in. The second neighbor call was due to a 10 minute yelling fight with threats to break down the door that I could hear from 200 feet away. Now the one neighbor is home when the child gets home from school and the the other neighbor has been totally quiet.
I've never run from a fight in my life, and although I didn't win them all, that's the metal I'm made of.
And, that's why I'm so proud of you, that you've taken up the good fight yourself.
Happy and Healthy New Year mb
by
Joan Brunwasser (164 articles, 3538 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 634 comments)
on Tuesday, January 1, 2008 at 8:54:32 PM
Dear Joan - thank you for your eye-opening article on doping. I think that every athlete found to be abusing drugs should be banned forever from competitive sports. What a difference that would make!
And - what is MLB?
DN
by
Joan Brunwasser (164 articles, 3538 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 634 comments)
on Thursday, January 3, 2008 at 6:22:23 AM
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