Picking Splinters by Mike Hume

Steroid Hearing Simply Keeping Up Appearances

In Washington appearances are everything. So it is no surprise that as the congressional steroid inquiry into Major League Baseball draws closer to Thursday’s hearing, the simple appearance of safe guarding our youth is the only thing the committee hopes to achieve.

“It’s for the kids.”

That’s what members of the House Government Reform Committee headed by Rep. Tom Davis (R - Va.) and Rep. Henry Waxman (D – Calif.) want Americans to know about these hearings. They are concerned about steroids and the nation’s children. They’re so concerned about these dangerous and illegal substances, in fact, that they are willing to hold a hearing with some of the biggest names in baseball to tell the nation that ... wait for it ... these substances are dangerous and illegal. That is the appearance that they are trying to project. The appearance they are actually projecting is one of sheer ineptitude as they try to veil a media circus of their own devising with a cloak of moral righteousness.

It might not be so bad for Congress if it appeared that the members of this committee had a clue of what they hoped to accomplish. As it is Rep. Davis and his peers have seemed completely off guard when asked about their goals. They have appeared similarly disoriented when asked why they are conducting this investigation now, or how they arrived at the witness list that includes seven top current and former players, and yet excludes the name most frequently mentioned over the past two years — Barry Bonds.

The committee officially used two excuses to explain away Bonds’ absence. The first, was when Rep. Davis lamely tried to say that they didn’t want to create a media circus. The second excuse they fell back on was Bonds’ involvement in the ongoing federal investigation into the BALCO case, even though Jason Giambi was initially subpoenaed despite also being involved in the BALCO case.

Of course Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R – Ga.) seemed completely unaware of that reasoning when interviewed by CNN’s Wolf Blitzer Wednesday afternoon. Rep. Westmoreland told Blitzer to ask Rep. Davis why Bonds and Giambi had been excused and that he (Westmoreland) only knew the pair was involved in “some kind of investigation.”

The committee members have attempted to deflect any criticism that they seem completely ignorant of the situation and grossly unprepared for this hearing by saying the situation is “fluid.” Just about every member of the committee interviewed in the past week has used that term. Aren’t these guys the government? Shouldn’t they be the ones controlling the fluidity? Don’t they hold all the cards on immunity? Why don’t these learned and astute men know what’s going on?

When Blitzer asked Rep. Elijah Cummings (D – Md.) what questions he hoped to ask the players he rattled off three: “What is the extent of steroid use in the sport? What policies are in place to handle it? And how are the penalties to be enforced?” The latter two questions can be answered by simply reading Major League Baseball’s recently reformed drug policy. The first question is moot since this season is barely underway, thus making current use hard to gauge. And of course, if the players aren’t given immunity, which they haven’t attained as of this column’s submission, they can plead the fifth.

All of this confusion, the ignorance of the issue, etc., makes it appear, to me at least, that the committee has no business conducting a hearing at this time. If the committee can’t get its act together, why did they schedule the hearing for this Thursday?

The answer that comes immediately to mind is that the committee is seeking to capitalize on the buzz generated by Canseco’s book, “Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant ’Roids, Smash Hits and How Baseball Got Big.” Should you really base a congressional inquiry off a book written by a man who once offered fans the chance to “Spend the afternoon with Jose” for a mere $2,500 while he under house arrest? Talk about bad appearances.

The timing is perhaps the most suspicious element of all this, but it is just one of many hiccups visible during the countdown to Thursday.

The steroid controversy is nothing new to the sport. Senator John McCain (R – Ariz.) browbeat baseball players union rep Donald Fehr just last year to reopen the 2002 collective bargaining agreement in order to change the drug testing policy. The changes were made. The issue is being addressed and nothing … not one thing … has changed since the start of baseball’s off-season. So why investigate now? Why start asking questions when the new system hasn’t even been tested yet? Why call star players out of pre-season preparation so they can answer questions that are readily available at the league offices? Why subpoena a witness in Rafael Palmeiro who had never been linked to the issue prior to the release of a book that contains at least two egregious factual errors, including recollections of “Game Six” of the 2000 World Series, a series that the Yankees won in five games?

These hearings should be the last piece of the investigation, not the first. Just ask any reporter. Research first, then conduct your interview.

The sad part is that the committee is right that steroids are a problem and baseball has played a large role in popularizing them among the nation’s youth. There could be valuable information learned in such a hearing. But the questions that the committee should be asking are not those pointless three that Rep. Cummings offered up. Instead they should be probing for the drugs distributors, asking how the players first came in contact with the drug and asking their opinion on what would root out its use among kids.
Steroids are a problem. According to a recent report, one in 16 male high school athletes have used steroids. But by all appearances, this sideshow of a buildup to today’s hearing has given me no indication that anything beneficial will come from it.

Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe the committee will gain some valuable insight into this issue on Thursday that will greatly help the country. Maybe they will prove that appearance isn’t everything. As of right now however, I wouldn’t bet on it.

Mike Hume may be emailed here.