As one can imagine, with recent allegations of performance-based steroid use among top athletes such as Barry Bonds, Chris Benoit, and Mark McGwire, the integrity of baseball and other professional sports faces increased scrutiny and their reputations are compromised.
Bonds, who currently plays for the San Francisco Giants, testified before a San Francisco grand jury on June 17, stating that he “unknowingly took steroids” from a BALCO agent in 2005.
If convicted, Bonds is subject to possible jail time and fines.
Benoit, a former performer with World Wrestling Entertainment, killed his 7-year old child and wife before hanging himself from a weight machine cord in the basement of his Georgia home on June 25.
According to official reports issued by WWE on August 30, Benoit had been receiving injections of the performance steroids known as nandrolone and anastrozole on a regular basis.
Typically, these steroids are taken to build muscle mass and increase strength.
Public reaction has been mixed, with many choosing to overlook the unacceptable behavior and actions of these overly glamorized athletic gods.
Instead of receiving the public humiliation and punishment that they are due, these “allegedly” drug-pumped heroes continue to be elevated to role model status while their paychecks and packages get fatter.
Although I have never been overly interested in sports or the athletic world, I do believe that the value of integrity and honesty is far more valuable than how far a player can throw or hit the ball or steal bases, or how quickly a popular wrestler can pin his opponent on the mat.
I have come to find that a person, regardless of how popular or “normal” they are, loses everything when they lose the trust of the public.
As a long time fan of WWE and Benoit, I was incredibly disappointed by his actions and how executives at WWE handled the public relations side of the issue.
In order to “save face,” WWE issued a press release stating that “they are deeply saddened by the death of Benoit and his family.”
This type of response is expected from an organization obsessed with making a profit. They even aired regularly scheduled programming on the day Mexican wrestler Eddie Guerrero died after experiencing cardiac arrest back in November 2005.
Instead of being hell-bent over protecting the image of their company, sports organizations should be concerned with eliminating steroid use among athletes not yet affected, while at the same time educating the public about the deadly effects of their use.
In a time of increased idolization among young people, the sports world should make every effort to protect young fans.
It appears that professional sports organizations and athletes are more concerned about their financial interests then they are about the public image they project.