“Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.” – Sir Walter Scott, Scottish author and novelist, 1771-1831.
“Do you smell it?” Steve Young to Ronnie Lott as they walked out for the coin toss at the Super Bowl, February 4, 2008.
Something stinks on Capital Hill. Forget the issue about whether our lawmakers should be spending their time trying to straighten out our national pastime, the testimony of Roger Clemens and Brian McNamee before Congress this morning with regards to Clemen’s alleged steroid use was good theatre.
“Let me be clear when I say that when I told Senator Mitchell that I injected Roger Clemens with performance enhancing drugs (steroids), I told the truth.” said Brian McNamee, former trainer of Roger Clemens to Congress, February 13, 2008.
I’ve never been a huge Clemen’s fan. His talent is indisputable, but so is his arrogance, his “hired gun” history and one small fact, he pitched for the Yankees. I grew up hating the Yankees. We were Mets fans and you couldn’t be both. In fact, so strong was our hatred of the Yankees that I am convinced that my parents (who were died in the wool Brooklyn Dodger fans) took an oath similar to the promise they made to raise their kids Catholic. Their children would not be Yankee fans. But alas, I digress.
“Andy Pettitte misremembered.” – Roger Clemens, pitcher, to Congress, February 13, 2008.
Somebody is lying. I’m putting my money on Clemens. After all, what reason does McNamee have to lie? His career is in ruins, he’s being sued by Clemens and his private, family life has been opened up for all to see thanks to the “despicable act” of the Clemen’s camp playing a secretly tape recorded conversation that Clemen’s had with McNamee. Wow. Interesting behavior from those who some view as heroes.
“Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Lord Acton
Ain’t that the truth. If this whole steroid scandal has shown us anything, it’s how difficult it is to choose the right path in the face of temptation. No wonder Eve handed Adam the apple. Will we do anything to get ahead? Is there no moral compass with which to guide our behavior? And then, when caught, what about standing up and admitting the truth. What about taking it as an opportunity to grow, to change, to learn?
"Mr. Clemens, what uniform do you plan to wear into the Hall of Fame." - The Honorable Rep. Clay, Democrat from the great state of Missouri.
Are you kidding me? Now those are our tax dollars at work.
Let's be clear. Cheating is not new behavior. Not in sports, not in politics, not in life. There will always be some who feel that they are above the law. But this goes beyond the laws of the land. This is about the laws of humanity. This is about honesty, decency and the truth. The bigger truth, not the legal truth. Truth with a capital “T”.
What a sad statement about the human condition.
