Another one bites the dust

Here we go again.
One more professional athlete is accused of doping, denies it to the point of saying “I bet my life on it” and then later admits to the act.
No fooling me, Ryan Braun.
I’m a ’90s kid, and the “steroid era” during the tail end of the decade was at a very crucial point of my sports-watching childhood.
I vividly remember the 1998 home run chase between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa. I used to tune in every night to SportsCenter or pick up the newspaper the next day to see if either player inched closer to Roger Maris’ record.
Sosa and McGwire were crushing baseballs, hitting tape measure shots with little effort.
It made baseball fun to watch.
But as I began to appreciate the little things — the fundamental aspect of the sport — I brushed off the “steroid era” moniker, even after McGwire admitted in 1998 to using androstenedione, an over-the-counter muscle enhancer that was not prohibited by Major League Baseball at the time.
When United States Sen. George Mitchell released his report to Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig detailing the use of steroids and human growth hormone in the game, I still didn’t feel it tarnished professional baseball.
In his report, some big-name athletes were alleged to have used performance enhancing drugs.
Andy Pettitte, Roger Clemens, Miguel Tejada and Barry Bonds were all listed in the 409-page document.
To me, the 89 current and former players (at the time of its release) in the report were a small sample compared to all players within the MLB during that time.
It was nothing but a wrinkle in the history of baseball, much like the 1919 Black Sox scandal and the strike of 1994.
As a baseball purist, I didn’t think much of it. Plus, no one on that report was my favorite player, so I was not very crushed or heartbroken by those alleged to have used PEDs.
As news broke in January of a link between MLB players and HGH obtained from the former Florida-based anti-aging clinic Biogenesis of America, my love for baseball and my belief that there are still good athletes out there stood firm.
In all, 35 players have been suspended for the use of PEDs since MLB announced its new drug policy in 2004. Eleven of those were former all-stars.
Manny Ramirez was suspended twice, once in 2009 for 50 games and again in 2011 for 100 games. Marlon Byrd, Melky Cabrera, Bartolo Colon and Carlos Ruiz were all suspended 50 games in 2012.
Braun is the most recent addition to the list after he was suspended for the remainder of the 2013 season Monday when he admitted his involvement with the Biogenesis clinic.
He is also the biggest name thus far to admit, and be suspended for, PED use.
But no matter what happens with Braun’s image, his future within the league and any other players who may be suspended for using PEDs, baseball will continue to be my favorite sport.
The amount of players who do not use PEDs far outweigh those who do, so in my eyes baseball will not be tarnished by these doping scandals.
At least I hope not.[[In-content Ad]]