Letter to Editor

Dear Editor,

I am writing today because of the problems between baseball and football fans and critics. I do not understand why it is ok to be angry with baseball for “excessive” steroid use when only a few men have been caught and proven to be using them. While on the other hand, football players have been using steroids from high school on, and I know that is a fact because I had many high school football friends. I guess I am just a little upset being a baseball pitcher myself in college. I wish that people would stop being so harsh on only baseball and move to other sports as well. I would just like to know when people will be a crackdown on football as well as baseball and do something about it. Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing an answer if at all possible.

In my letter to the editor, I am confused about the way people are acting towards professional baseball players. They are saying that there is a steroid problem in baseball and are “cracking” down on the players, while in football I would bet that many players are abusing steroids to be big and strong in order to keep their roster spot. I am not just saying this because I don’t like football but I knew many kids who played high school football and the majority of them were using steroids in high school. They all went to big Division 1 programs and are starting as freshmen and sophomores. I have not met a person yet playing baseball who has used steroids and I have been playing my entire life. This is the whole reason I am confused about why everyone is going after baseball and not “dropping the hammer” on football.

I understand that people enjoy watching the monster hits that happen each year in football but at some point we need to think of the players’ health and begin to wither the use of steroids to a bear minimum because I have learned through numerous articles and research that it is impossible to stop the use in a sport completely. I know that steroids in baseball are a problem and that there is no need to use them, but just like football, athletes think they need something to enhance their performance so they don’t lose their starting spot in the lineup. I know the competition to stay in the roster I am a college baseball player. However, I have never seen the need to use and abuse steroids to make myself better because I care about my body too much. I just don’t see the need to use enhancers in either sport and I definitely don’t understand why baseball is being picked on over football. I may be biased because I play baseball myself, but I have evidence of friends using steroids to play high school football and get recruited to play college. The day I meet a baseball player who uses steroids then I will stay in the middle.

Football is a sport built on huge athletes. I can honestly say that there are not that many “genetic freaks” in the world today to fill every football team roster. The “only” way to keep a leg up on the competition is to use enhancements so that is what they will do. I am not saying to completely stop the investigation and testing of steroids in baseball I just think that it would be smart to do it in ever sport and treat it all the same. Shawne Merriman was caught for using steroids and was only suspended for four games; on the other hand, many baseball players have been caught and suspended for thirty games and fined tens of thousands of dollars. This should be the same for football not just a messily suspension. I love watching football, but I cannot stand it when I hear about the scandal in baseball and they are doing nothing about football.

The reason that I wrote the letter was not to be angry and complain about how unfair sports are and how mean it is for critics and fans to be mad at baseball for using steroids while they are watching football and cheering about the hits made by steroid freaks in football. I was only writing because I had a question why we don’t bring into perspective that baseball isn’t the only major sport that is using steroids. I just want everyone to appreciate sports the same and treat all steroid users with the same punishment and I promise that users will dwindle quickly as they fear they will be kicked out of their sport forever. The question that I would wish to be answered in the next magazine will probably get looked over because I am taking baseball’s side and people will think that I am not smart because I am looking out for the health of all athletes and I just believe that the punishment should be the same for everyone since they all use the same drugs to make themselves better and more competitive. Baseball and football are both on T.V. for the entertainment of fans and I just can’t find entertainment anymore knowing that football is getting treated like nothing is wrong while baseball is having men suspended and kicked out of baseball because they are using steroids.