I was very relieved when I saw that the steroid baseball players did not make it into the Hall of Fame. They cheated the game, the fans, other players, and the old timers from long ago. They chose to do this, they got caught, and they must pay the price.
Many of you don't agree with me and that's fine. I've heard all the arguments. They didn't test positive, they were Hall of Famers before they did it, everyone did it, and on and on.
What I am tired of is when we excuse players for their sins just because they are great. Think back to high school. Remember when the star athlete broke the same rule you did but wasn't punished because it would affect the outcome of the game? As an educator, I have seen it countless times, even at my high school. It happened when I was a student teacher at Orland, California. Our star quarterback got into a fight on campus the day of our playoff game. For anyone else, it was an automatic suspension. He played in the game and I honestly don't remember if we won or not. All I remember was the lesson it taught all of us at the school: It showed us a "W" is more important than integrity, morals, honor, and doing what is right.
And oh-by-the-way, integrity and honesty are listed in the guidelines for the Hall of Fame in baseball. So please explain to me why some voters want to wave these requirements for Bonds and Clemens. And if you don't believe they did PED's, than you probably think OJ Simpson is innocent.
Nobody forced these players to cheat. They did it knowing full well that it was against the rules and could cost them immortality in the Hall of Fame, but they did it anyway. Do the crime, pay the time. If you are speeding and you get pulled over, you expect a ticket. It's not the cops fault or anyone else. It's yours. Plain and simple.
I continue to hope and pray those cheaters never get in the Hall because they will be on the ballot for 14 more years. It's time we stopped excusing people just because they were great. It's time we stopped looking the other way for the star athletes. It's time we stood for all the "little guys". Yeah, those guys like you and me that had the rules enforced on them. After all, when we got caught, we accepted our punishment. It's time for Bonds, Clemens, and the rest of the cheaters to look in the mirror and say, yeah we did it, got caught, and blew it. They should have thought about the consequences more than they did. Just ask Lance Armstrong if it was worth it.
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