Palmeiro Redux
“I have never taken steroids. Ever!” Those are the words that Rafael Palmeiro said under oath to a Congressional committee earlier this year. This was said partially in response to the committees questions and partially as a rebuttal to Jose Canseco, who claimed in his book that he had personally injected steroids into Palmeiro while they were teammates in Texas.
That statement changed slightly yesterday as Palmeiro was suspended for 10 days for failing a test for banned substances. The statement is now “I have never intentionally taken steroids”. This new version of the statement is the most questioned statement in baseball today as everyone tries to figure out exactly what it means. Palmeiro himself has refused to explain it citing confidentiality rules in the collective bargaining agreement between the players association and the owners.
There are three ways to look at Palmeiro today:
1 – He’s a liar guilty of perjury for lying to Congress (most likely).
2 – He’s a liar but he didn’t start taking until after he spoke to Congress (not likely).
3 – This actually was an accident and he’s telling the truth when he says it wasn’t intentional (possible).
If Palmeiro is to be believed the third possibility is the truth. It sounds kind of odd but I can understand it. Perhaps he started using an over the counter supplement that, without him realizing it, contained the banned substance he tested positive for. It’s a definite possibility and I’d like it to be the truth.
But I know that Palmeiro is smarter than that. Earlier in the year I commented on how younger Latino players were saying that the rules were skewed against them since they can’t understand the labels due to a language barrier. They only speak Spanish but the agreement is in English so they can’t translate the rules when it comes time to buy their supplements. I commented that if someone is doing something to help themselves on the job they make it their business to know exactly what it is they are doing. When such an activity involves putting things inside your body you do everything you have to to understand. After all, anything that goes in your body can also affect your health. So I don’t really buy that these younger Latino players don’t understand. They have to make it their business to understand. And Palmeiro has been around long enough to know that.
Furthermore, the confidentiality agreement that Palmeiro is hiding behind was put in there to protect the players. If Palmeiro’s statement is the then he could break that confidentiality agreement without being penalized. Surely a player can talk about his own situation. The agreement is there to prevent the owners, doctors, etc. from talking. And to me that’s the biggest indicator that Palmeiro is lying. Did he perjure himself? That’s a disctinct possibility.
Another question being asked today regards Palmeiro’s hall of fame status. If Palmeiro is lying it’s obviously to protect his hall of fame chances. If it’s up to me (which it’s not) I would ban Palmeiro from the hall. I’d investigate the whole matter and would demand proof from Palmeiro that his statement is true. I’d want details. If he could prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that this was not intentional then, and only then, would I make him eligible for the hall of fame. Unless, of course, he was found guilty of perjury in which case I’d ban him for life.
Some may say that that’s calling Palmeiro guilty before being proven innocent (as opposed the the judicial tennet that everyone is innocent until proven guilty). But any other approach would be showing younger players and even children that not only is it alright to cheat by taking steroids but it’s also alright to lie about it. And that’s the real crime here.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.