Over the weekend, Sports Illustrated said that Alex Rodriguez had tested positive in 2003 for steroid use. Rodriguez had no comment throughout the weekend. Today, he admitted to ESPN that he did use performance enhancing drugs during the 2001-2003 seasons. It is sad, but another great slugger and arguably one of the greatest baseball players of our time has tainted his legacy.
Although, Rodriguez benefited from the performance enhancing drugs, he will enter the Hall of Fame on his first ballot. He now is part of the big name group of cheaters that includes Rafael Palmiero, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, and Roger Clemens, but he is still different than all of them and stands to lose more than any of the others.
What’s the difference between ARod and the others? He admitted to doing steroids. Palmiero, Sosa, and McGwire all lied in Congress about their use of performance enhancing drugs. No one likes to be lied to and when the truth comes out, like in Palmiero’s case, it only adds salt to the wound already created. Bonds is facing perjury charges for lying in court in relation to his steroid use. And Clemens is not too far behind.
Why does Rodriguez stand to lose more than the others? Alex Rodriguez is still in his prime and has many more years left in MLB. He took the chance and admitted to using drugs instead of lying about it. All of the others mentioned above were at the tail end of their careers when their own steroid scandals broke out. I don’t agree with what ARod did, but I admire his honestly even though he stands to lose a lot.
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