Why Not Just Tell The Truth?

Whenever the issue of steroids seems to surface in baseball, it always seems that the player has nothing to say to the media. In many cases the silence leads to denial and lying, which in turn leads to court appearances and possibly jail time. Has nobody learned that lying about steroids is not the route to go? Baseball has the harshest penalties over any major sport in the U.S. and when players lie about steroid use, a huge trial is sure to follow. Take a look at the players who admit to it and move on: Jason Giambi, Andy Pettitte, Paul Byrd, and now Alex Rodriguez are some big name players who have admitted to it and their careers move on. People might not look at them the same, but they will never be hated as much as players such as Rafael Palmeiro or Barry Bonds. The latest culprit in the steroid scandal: Miguel Tejada.

Although Tejada’s name has already surfaced in steroid talks, (he was listed in the Mitchell Report) it has been reported that he lied about issuing steroids to teammates and about buying some for himself. In August of 2005, just months after Palmeiro ratted out Tejada for giving him steroids, Tejada denied having used performance-enhancing drugs and said he was not aware of steroid use by others in baseball. The funny thing is, when the Mitchell Report came out in December of 2007, Tejada’s name was in the report. It claimed that former teammate to Tejada, Adam Piatt provided steroids, testosterone, and HGH to Tejada in 2003. So much for never using performance-enhancing drugs. If that wasn’t enough, Tejada was caught lying about his age. Ever since he came into the league, he claimed that he was born in 1976. Truth is, he is really born in 1974. He claimed that he wanted to seem like a younger prospect when he entered the league.

People lose a lot of credibility when a positive test comes back and the player tries to fight it. People lose a lot more credibility when their real age is revealed and they lie about it. So just imagine what happened after Tejada was listed in the Mitchell Report. It was big news for awhile, but because so many names were listed, the news was off the radar within a short period. It has resurfaced now because Tejada has been officially charged with lying to congressional investigators.

The maximum penalty that Tejada could face is one year in jail. The most likely scenario will be probation to six months in jail.

So all athletes, not just baseball players, should learn from this case. When your name turns up in a steroid scandal, don’t lie about it and make matters worse. Either way, guilty or innocent, your name is tarnished after the news is leaked. Fighting the inevitable can only darken your name even more. So if anything can be taken from the Tejada case it should be that athletes wise up and tell the truth regarding their actions. Nothing good can come from lying.