The Spark

the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist

“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx

Baseball:
Bulking Up Profits on Steroids

Dec 17, 2007

After former Senator George Mitchell released his report on the use of steroids in baseball, commissioner Bud Selig promised to clean up the sport, for the“integrity of the game” and the sake of the nation’s kids.

George Bush urged “those in the public spotlight, particularly athletes, to understand that when they violate their bodies, they’re sending a terrible signal to America’s young.”

Yes, the same signal team owners–who by the way included both Selig and Bush not so long ago–had sent to earlier generations of players. Bulk up or get out!

This is the league that would do anything to put fans in the seats, including juicing the ball to increase offensive production.

When bulked up players started belting out homers at a record pace no one said a word, even though everyone knew what was going on. No one uttered a peep even after a reporter found a bottle of the steroid androstenedione in Mark McGwire’s locker. And when Paul Lo Duca was traded by the Los Angeles Dodgers when he stopped using steroids, everyone knew why and said nothing.

The wrong message is being sent to America’s youth alright–by all those hypocrites who are uttering moralistic claptrap today.