Warning Track Apology

So, Mark McGwire finally decided to come clean about something we all had known for years now... Yes, he used steroids! Gee, thanks for clearing that up Mark.

But, even as he was coming clean and paying his penitence for his past sins, he refused to admit to the most insidious part of steroid use: That steroids enhance performance.

McGwire attempted to paint his steroid use soley as a means to overcoming injury. Okay, I can understand the frustration of being hurt and wanting to return to action. That makes sense. But, if that was the only purpose for using steroids, then why continue using them after the injuries were gone? What was the purpose for injecting yourself with illegal substances when the risk of getting caught, and the subsequent damage to your reputation, lie in the balance?

Well, there's only one reason why someone would risk so much... Steroids make you better.

Bonds won't admit to that, and now McGwire refuses to admit it. They like to use the illogical argument that if steroids made them better at hitting home runs, then why can't someone like Arnold Schwarzenegger hit home runs? After all, steroids are the reason for all their home runs, right?

Only someone deeply mired in denial could make such an argument. We all know what steroids can and can't do. Steroids can't give you the ability to hit a baseball, but they can help you hit it further. Steroids can't give you the ability to throw a baseball, but they can help you throw it faster. Steroids can't give you the god-given genes to excel at sports, but they can give a boost to those genes and give you an unnatural edge.

So, don't insult our intelligence with backwards analogies meant to absolve you from blame. We know why you used steroids, Mark. You used them because, while they may have helped you recover from injuries (which is a performance enhancement in and of itself), they also helped you hit balls further and with more ease.

Until you admit that, your apology continues to fall short of a home run.