Former Seattle Mariner Shane Monahan told ESPN.com’s Mike Fish that there was a clubhouse culture responsible for him turning to steroids and amphetamines in an attempt to extend his major league career. Monahan acknowledged that he was a player that nobody has ever heard of, and he wasn’t included in the Mitchell Report, but felt that kids in particular could learn from his story. He says he doesn’t want his son to take steroids or other drugs in order to compete in major league sports, and doesn’t want any kids to have to make the choice to use drugs.
On cue, former Mariner Jamie Moyer and current Mariner Raul Ibañez provided knee-jerk reactions to Monahan’s statements. Both guys went with the, “I’ve never seen guys take a steroid and don’t even know what one looks like” defense of their team and teammates. Moyer claimed that somehow Monahan was “throwing people under the bus,” despite the fact that Monahan didn’t name any names. The “I didn’t see it, I know nothing” nonsense is certainly one of the more intellectually lazy and dishonest arguments/positions that a person can use regardless of the topic.
Do Moyer and Ibañez think that guys engaged in using banned and illegal performance-enhancing drugs print up invites for the whole team, or are such dealings handled in whispers, winks and other forms of under-the-radar communications? Comments like those made by these two guys serve to paint them as part of the problem in Major League Baseball, not part of the solution. These hollow statements just add more bricks to the “Pinstripe Wall of Silence” that has helped to sully the reputation of baseball and of most of the guys who play it.
Article comments
1 - Tan The Man
It's also interesting how he singled out Dan Wilson as being the only guy not using, and not Griffey -- the one guy who NO ONE believes used.
2 - Hairynipples
Nice use of Sgt. Schultz and Monkey photos.