Bottom Of The Barrel

MLB should come clean

The house of Kirk Radomski, a former New York Mets clubhouse worker, was raided in 2005 by federal investigators and this past April he plead guilty to two felony steroids distribution charges. This 2 year old story has not made many headlines, because of the ongoing steroid scandal that apparently continues to baffle Major League Baseball, but what is interesting is the search warrant that is now in the middle of a power struggle.

The warrant, which is a public document and is freely available for inspection, apparently contains the names of 23 professional baseball players but those names have been redacted from the public. The Albany Times Union and San Francisco Chronicle, both owned by the Hearst Corporation, made a motion in a Long Island federal court requested that the names be released since they appear on a public document and pose no threat to things like National Security or other federal intelligence. Tuesday A federal judge in Long Island, ruled that the MLB Players Association can formally join with the U.S. Department of Justice in opposing two newspapers' demands that the players' names be made public.

Federal prosecutors argued Monday that disclosing the names would jeopardize the ongoing probe into performance enhancing drug use among elite athletes, but the players' union is refuting the claim but is obviously concerned over the release of these names. Sure the players union is there to protect the players but from whom? Themselves? Radomski was obviously dealing steroids and it would seem the federal government has some indication it was to ball players so should they be protected because they play a game?

And who is the federal government protecting? They claim this information is being held back so that not to jeopardize the ongoing investigation into performance enhancement drugs in sports but after 2 plus years, MLB has still pretty much coming up empty so what's left? How about making the names known of all 23 players and let the public decide for themselves who they believe and who they don't.

At least this way Major League Baseball, the players union and the game will have a chance to come clean once and for all.

posted by TheWino @ 9:19 AM