FanNation - The Republic of Sport

The union will have to allow testing. It only makes sense, because if they do not - eventually people will get tired of the steroids/HGH issues....then they - the people - will want them made legal. It is only a game, that is a money maker for the owners - for sure it is an economic juggernaut that will likely never be stopped - even by corruption. Clemens needs to be made as an example of what happens when you lie to - everyone. He also must have lied to his mother. Fans like to watch baseball - plain and simple, but do they really care if their "favorites" have medical issues after they retire?

No, no "might", Mr. Fehr. Just do it. Your leadership of the players union has been a major reason PEDs and other certain drugs were rampant and are still, to some degree, found in the game of baseball at the major league level. You have failed all innocent and hard working players everywhere who have aspired to work at the major league level or are, indeed, major league players who refuse to use illegal drugs to promote their career. Stop your posturing, and begin to be part of the solution instead of part of the problem.

'Your leadership of the players union has been a major reason PEDs and other certain drugs were rampant and are still, to some degree, found in the game of baseball at the major league level. '

Certainly a reason...but the main reason, of course, are the players deciding to take Steroids, HGHs and the like...in the end, it's about personal integrity...

Hey Donald Fehr,

I'm sure you're supporting this because you're such a nice guy and you really have a heart of gold...

Try....he's doing this because Congress and the JD has a gun to his head...

Jim, while I agree personal integrity and personal repsonibility for your actions are excellent and primary reasons for avoiding wrong and immoral acts, i still hold to the thought that Fehr was a major reason for the continued use of all drugs in MLB due to his failure as a responsible leader of the players union. Unfortunatley while personal integrity and repsonsibilty are high ideals, many of us are human and fall prey to the golden calf of fame, glory and money. So some of us need that little kick in the arse to stay on the staight and narrow.
Fehr failed in providing that kick in the arse, when he had the chance t od othe right thing, because he wanted to make his bones early on in his career. I submit as exhibit A the following which is almost word for word taken from www.dailycamera.com and an article found there that is titled: "Cocaine or Steroids: Which Era Was Worse?" (an interesting and good read, btw). Please pay exteme attention to the very last paragraph.

In February of 1986, commissioner Peter Ueberroth suspended eight players for one year. The commissioner said his primary goal was to get the drugs out of baseball, not the players.
So ... The suspensions would be waived if the players agreed to turn over 10 percent of their salaries to community drug programs, submit to random testing and perform 100 hours of community service. A similar deal was given to four players suspended for 60 days.
Ueberroth thought he would come away from baseball's worst scandal since the 1919 Black Sox with a comprehensive drug-testing agreement and penalties with teeth. What could he have been thinking?
The players association, led by rookie executive director Don Fehr, came away with no testing. Nada. The toking light was lit for another generation of users and abusers.

Day late and 20 years short but I will take it. About time.

Clean up the game beacuse the people that you are hurting are the kids who follow their favorite players and do as they do. By useing drugs to help them to become better for a short time. But in the long run it only hurt them or kill them.

The devil will be in the fine print..Smoke and Mirrors.....

All we want is a level playing field. If everyone is clean then the long ball becomes more relevant. Just think how impressive Bond's record-breaking season would have been if we could verify that he was clean his entire career.

Mighty big of you Mr. Fehr. I'm sure this decision has nothing to do with losing players to the United States Penal System does it?

Why blame Fehr and give the owners a pass?

Fehr is bound by law to advocate for the players. What is good for baseball and good for baseball ownership does not by definition hew to that standard.

Ownership has always had avenues open to them in regard to PEDs. Possession and use of steroids, amphetimines and HGH without lawful prescription have been against the law for a very long time. When you have a police issue on your hands why blame the union for not fixing the trouble? If ownership had contacted law enforcement 20 years ago instead of looking at their financial statements and pricing yachts this problem may have gotten nipped in the bud at the very beginning.

ghost, one step at time. :)
They, the owners and the comissioner, indeed, are guilty, too, of at the very least, of taking a vow of silence and aiding and abetting and allowing the players to be led down the thorny path of stupidity by Herr Fehr. It is impossible for the owners and the comisisoners office to have not known that any of this travesty upon the game of baseball was occurring. They, too, must be held accoutable in some way and i have proposed before on various threads and a blog that the owners and MLB establish a major or super funding to create edcuational procedures for all empolyees of MLB and then to go to all other levels of baseball from the minors on down to the smallest town's Little League team, etc....
BUT, this in no way absolves the players from taking that personal responsibility for their own wrongs and lawbreaking, etc.... People need to be resposnible for what they do wrong and with no exuses. You did it, then admit it and fix it.

The best aspect to come from all this PED garbage is that the players union, especially Donald Fehr, will be under tremendous pressure from the fans (and Congress) to secure an even stricter drug testing policy.

There is absolutely no way the powerful union can side step this fact. Random blood tests will be part of the testing program very soon. When clean superstars such as Derek Jeter come out in support, the direction of testing will go in favor of ownership and especially the fans.

Might.
This is a key step, and stumbling block, in truly stopping peds in MLB. And that is giving the benefit of the doubt to ownership that they really want to act.

and I might add...

"to ownership that they really want to act, even though it is under duress"...

will everyone be okay with less and shorter home runs?

and younger players because the older ones might not be able to keep up anymore?...

I'm okay with that...you guys?

Bob, I am good with that and i welcome it.

And PS, Bob, yeah it was a tongue in cheek remark on that other thread. And my "liberalness" of my younger days has certainly become more tempered as I have gotten older and, hopefully, wiser. .

Bob,
second the OK with less and shorter home runs.

i'm definately OK with that.
While they are at it, raise the mound, contract a couple of teams...

I cant see how the Union would not want to pass this. The players will always have this image as steriod/HGH or what ever users. By taking steps to eliminate, their image get restored and any records broken wont be looked at suspiciously (i spelled that wrong)