As a country we are extremely proud of our heritage and that pride is shown each day as our flag waves all around the country. As American this pride leaks into our communities and homes always trying to be the best for our family and friends.  We have traditions and values that all set us apart from one another but there is one thing in America that brings us together and that is our American pastime; baseball. However in the recent years baseball has been getting a lot of grief from certain players around the league that have been “juicing up” or taking a form of performance enhancing drugs. These players have headlined newspapers and been the main topic of discussion in the media for as long as I have been alive. This is an investigation into their testimony’s looking beyond the facts and down to the reasons for steroid use as professional baseball players.

When I was twelve years old playing little league the player most admired in MLB at the time was Mark McGwire who broke the single homerun recorded in 1998 by hitting a whopping 70 homeruns in a single season. At the same time McGwire was in the league during the so called steroid era which unfortunately tainted his career and changed his life. McGwire released this testimony to congress during the 2005 trial “Mr. MARK McGWIRE (Former Player, St. Louis Cardinals): Well, sir, I'm not here to talk about the past. I'm here to talk about the positive and not the negative about this issue.” McGwire continued to deny that he had any involvement in any type of performance enhancing drug use however he was not able to keep his secret safe forever. In the same year his old teammate Jose Canseco wrote a book called “Juiced” in which he admitted to taking steroids with Mark McGwire. As you can imagine this plus the undeniable evidence put McGwire in the shadows of baseball but my findings shed light on McGwire’s decision to use steroids.

In the early 1990’s McGwire was at the top of his game and the league leaders however he was battered with injuries. In my initial research of steroids I found that steroids were made for medical purposes and not for the athletic community. This statement released by McGwire himself tells why he may have moved towards the use of performance enhancing drugs. "In '93 and '94 it was brought to my attention I could use steroid and human growth hormone to speed up my recovery from injuries and to make my body feel normal," McGwire said. "My body was wearing down. I elected to go down the road of using." Although steroids were still a banned substance at the time McGwire chose to take and use them to not only heal his career but come back stronger than ever. Personally if America had been in McGwire’s shoes I believe they would have chose to use steroids to fight his injuries instead of just giving up. McGwire used steroids for the exact reason they were made and that is medicinal purposes his use after his injury however shows how increase in strength and power can be addictive and how McGwire’s career became dependent on the substance.

Directly after the steroid cases with Mark McGwire Major League baseball decided to change their policy of steroid testing around the league. “Major League Baseball and the Players Association agreed to current testing policy in 2006. The policy carries a 50-game suspension for a first offense.” In the past year Mark McGwire has decided to totally and 100% come clean to America and himself of his prolonged steroid use in his career. He claims it was the hardest thing he had to ever do in his life which is amazing seeing that he played major league baseball for over 10 years but telling the truth was more of a challenge. Mark not only spoke about his use of performance enhancing drugs in the league but also gave his views on the new steroid testing in baseball. "Hopefully some can understand that was the era I played in," McGwire said. "I wholeheartedly wish that there was drug testing back in the day I played. I commend Commissioner Selig and the Players Association for cracking down on this and having a tough drug policy. It distracts people from even thinking about it." I personally believe McGwire was wrong to lie about his steroid use in his professional career however when he first started to use he was using them for the reasons they were made upon and that is to help strengthen the body when injured. Many athletes are using and not admitting to using steroids while taking them when they are in perfectly good health. After McGwire came clean he was then offered a job with his old team the Cardinals as a hitting coach. This is what McGwire’s manager has to say after everything has been said and done, "No one on the teams I've managed worked harder or better than Mark," said La Russa in a statement released by the team. "And now, his willingness to admit mistakes, express his regret and explain the circumstances that led him to use steroids add to my respect for him. I've defended Mark because I observed him develop his unique power hitting skill through a rigorous physical and fundamental workout program. He has a lot to offer our team as our hitting coach." McGwire left his mark on baseball and history with dignity and honor. The truth will always prevail and McGwire realized that and came clean about his steroid involvement.

On the complete other spectrum of things Barry Bonds has been watched very closely by media the past couple months and is still battling is Grand Jury case on his steroid case. Bonds testimony which was not released to the public states that “federal judge on Friday unsealed grand jury testimony in which Barry Bonds insisted he had never knowingly used banned drugs even when confronted with documents indicating he had tested positive for steroids.” According to Bonds who tested positive for performance enhancing drugs under the MLB testing policy he unknowingly was taking steroids. He claims that he was given the steroids through cream by his trainer but had no idea there were steroids in the cream. “The unsealed transcript gives a detailed account of Bonds' Dec. 4, 2003, appearance before a grand jury that was investigating both BALCO officials and Bonds' personal trainer, Greg Anderson, on suspicion of distributing undetectable steroids called "the cream" and "the clear."” Barry Bonds goes on to tell the jury that his personal trainer told him that the cream contained flaxseed oil and rubbing balm for arthritis not any form of steroids.

 If this is not enough the jury then begins to bring up documented papers and receipts with not only his name on them but initials but bonds claims to have never seen the paperwork. “Prosecutors said the documents detailed Bonds' use of a long list of drugs: human growth hormone, Depo-Testosterone, "the cream" and "the clear," insulin and even Clomid, a female fertility drug. The documents, many with Bonds' name or initials on them, are dated from 2001 through 2003. Prosecutors queried Bonds closely about them, but he denied using the drugs and said he had never seen the documents before.” I’m really not too sure what else the grand jury needed to hear because documents ordering steroids with his name on them would convict any normal person.  In the end Bonds will ultimately learn his lesson and do his time which he needs to own up to. After the court was adjourned the government reported this under their files for the overall of the case. “"Bonds denied that he ever knowingly took steroids provided by Anderson," but trial evidence will show that is a lie, the government wrote in a recent filing.” Both Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire took steroids and increased their overall play in the major leagues. The problem that America should recognize is that even with blatant evidence of Bonds taking steroids he will still deny the whole ordeal. On the other hand McGwire has owned up for his actions and is now willing to tell the truth. These stories show just how far people will go to be competitive and the best at what they do. “What I care about are high school athletes who are tempted to use steroids because they think that’s the only way they can make it in the major leagues.” This quote was said by the Senate Commerce chairman, John McCain and I believe he is right on the money. Adults will use steroids and be caught but it’s our youth that we as Americans need to protect. They need to be educated about steroids to understand the dangers that follow them and understand that although they hear about people in professional sports using them not all of the athletes are. The majority of athletes gain success through hard work and practice which got them to the point they are today.