The Clemens circus has concluded, and neither of biggest monkeys in the show came out looking particularly good.  If Congress’ goal was to embarrass both of these men, it did its job.
But that’s not what Congress is there to do.  It claims it wants to bring more attention to steroid use because of the influence professional athletes have on children.  It sounds like biship, but that’s because it’s coming from politicians.  Plus, you’ve got to be skeptical of anyone that claims he or she does anything for the children, considering that nobody can slam someone for trying to help children.  It’s like the Type O of excuses–the universal donor.  Works in almost any situation.
Well, here’s the thing…this hearing was important to children.  It was worth having for that very reason, even if it’s merely offered as a safe rhetorical technique.
Don’t believe me?  Check out that teenager in Nevada, Kevin Hart, that concocted a press conference to say he was signing with the University of Oregon to play football, even though they hadn’t heard of the kid.
Hart isn’t saying much, so all I can do is offer conjecture with regards to his intentions.  I can only imagine one thing that moved him to carry out such an elaborate scheme–he wanted to be a football player.
It’s not that he wanted to play football.  He could do that in the park any given autumn afternoon.  No, he wanted to be a football player.  Football players have press conferences to announce their intentions.  Football players bask in the ovations of crowded gymnasiums, the bleachers loaded with students that aren’t quite peers of football players, if you get my drift.  Football players–and athletes in general–are stars.  They’re beloved.  They’re respected.  And, for those reasons, they’re something people aspire to be from childhood.
If even one person wants to be an athlete so badly that he’ll go to those lengths to be an athlete for just one day, riding a scheme so hairbrained that he had to know this charade would only hold up long enough for him to enjoy that moment, then I’m OK with Congress taking time to put this issue on television, to bring attention to the drug use in baseball or any other sport.
Most that are dedicated to being athletes want more than just press conferences.  They want it all.  They want the cheers at games.  They want the girls that love athletes.  Oh, and they want the money that comes with it all.  Can’t get that from a few minutes worth of flash bulbs.
But you can get that by shooting physiological fertilizer in your behind.  You can get to those places by creating a body so strong that no opponent can stop you.  You get there by doing what it takes to stay on the field and excel once there.
If it’s just accepted that steroid use is part of the game, something that won’t be discussed and there’s nothing anyone can do about it, then there’s a serious problem that needs to be fixed.  If Congress decides it has to be the body to do it, I’m not upset.  Contrary to popular belief, chances are they didn’t have anything better to do today, anyway.  Most days on Capitol Hill is dedicated to a bunch of stuff most of us don’t know a thing about.
Is this really why Congress held these hearings?  I have no idea, though the cynic in me thinks not.  Either way, that doesn’t mean the reason so many politicians offer for hearings like these–save the children!–isn’t a legitimate one.  Young people want to be successful.  And if the juice is seen as the official ticket to the good life, then we will wind up with a lot more kids killing themselves and falling prey to self-destructive behavior because of their substance abuse (and let’s not forget the behavior that’s destructive to her people).
The worst thing about steroid use is that people don’t engage in it simply to get high.  They get into it to get to where they want to be.  Not where they want to be for an hour or two, but a lifetime.  You might be able to convince a kid that a head rush isn’t worth a heart attack, but can you tell him or her that the chance at millions of dollars, the chance to affirm whatever was lacking in his or her self-esteem, and the opportunity to fulfill a lifelong dream isn’t worth some risk?  That’s a much tougher road to hoe.
So don’t blast Congress too badly for this.  It’s on to something, whether it cares or not.