ROID RAGE

As I follow the reportings regarding the revelations in the Mitchell Report I'm reminded of another great Steroid debate that NO ONE is officially aware of. Apparently the NFL has been accused of not providing proper health benefits to retired players and the accusations have been a public relations nightmare. BUT has anyone given consideration to the idea that the NFL doesn't want to pay medical bills for all of these retirees because they suspect that many of the health problems these ex-players are facing stem from the possible reality that many of these ex-players were on steroids during their careers.

The NFL doesn't want to accuse the players of having abused steroids during their playing days because it makes both the NFL and the ex-players look bad. The accusation by the NFL would be a revelation of the NFL's awareness. The ex-players are seeking to reap some of the benefits for having "made" the NFL what it is today by building the league up through their past participation. Although, in my opinion they really didn't build or make anything; the NFL is very popular today because of the TV contracts and the investments that the owners have put into marketing the National Football League. I could line up 22 monkeys and send them out there to play football but that doesn't mean people will pay to see it. It is not the monkeys, it is the promotion of the monkeys that draws the crowd. If the OLD players made the game what it is today, then the NFL should be paying royalties to the descendants of Roman gladiators also but that's an argument for another day.

Professional football players have been using steroids and other performance enhancing drugs long before baseball accepted such actions as part of its culture. The former football players are now paying the price for the poor choices that they made many years ago and although the NFL won't say it publicly, the NFL is refusing to be held entirely accountable for the health risks that came along with the many poor decisions to engage in the use of steroids.