GREASY GRIMY GRIMSLEY AND THE HGH HYPOCRISY
I've been keeping up with the steroids taint surrounding baseball,
specifically Barry Bonds (as always) and Jason Grimsley (sterrorist of
the month), and the cockamamie malarkey that constitutes Major League
Baseball's drug policy.
Today, the MLB Commissioner's Office issued a 50 game suspension to
Jason Grimsley. Grimsley is the putz who was raided by 13 federal
agents after a season's worth of Human Growth Hormone was delivered to
his home. Apparently they'd happened upon his name while investigating
Barry Bonds, and so they went after Grimsley, to be a pawn in their
game---they had dirt on him, so it was one way or another. Save
yourself by dragging down others, the self-respecting way...
He'd cooperated with the FBI at first, then started to reject their
increasingly affectionate demands, which included wearing a wire. So
they popped him. But he'd already named names, admitted to using
steroids, HGH, and amphetamines, and in doing so, shamed his name to
the entire baseball player's union, however spoiled and corrupted they
may be. He'd requested a release from the Arizona Diamondbacks. He
already said he was effectively retired, a point reiterated by his
agent.
So what does MLB do? They suspend him. Todd Jones of the Detroit
Tigers had a great response: "It's kind of like giving a speeding
ticket to a guy that got killed in a car wreck."
And why did they suspend him? The sport has always been 40 years
behind every other organized sport league, they have always been
forced to take action, whether it be a lawsuit, a strike, or an act of
Congress. Their territorial-rights broadcast regulations are an
absolute crock. They have always taken a "wait and see, with our
thumbs up our rectal tracts" approach.
So why suspend Jason Grimsley? He hasn't failed a drug test since
2003, and that was before the current "Joint Drug Prevention and
Treatment Program" took effect. He admitted to using a substance that
isn't banned by MLB. There have been murmurs from the player's union
about a grievance being filed. Of course.
Ultimately, it's a moot point, unless Grimsley changes his mind and
decides to put his 39 year old body out there without any artificial
enhancements. But it gets weirder. Grimsley says he wants to get paid
the rest of his salary, and the Diamondbacks don't plan on granting
that request. Of course, indeed.
I don't know how I feel about this. Even though the guy is up shit
creek anyway with the Feds, MLB didn't really have a legitimate reason
to suspend him. And that shows how pathetic their drug policy really
is. Apparently there's not a test available right now that shows HGH
in the system, and he never actually failed a test under the current
guidelines. So was the commish correct in suspending him? Of course?
There's a great song by the Heptones, a reggae group, called
"Hypocrite":
Hypocrite, where will you run to now?
Hypocrite, you will get hurt somehow,
Hypocrite, I know that time will tell on you.
It's going to be very interesting to see how this plays out over the
next few months. I have a feeling that MLB, Congress, and the Player's
Union are going to be seeing each other in court more often than the
baseball field.
On a side note, hearing Jason Grimsley's name in the media so much
lately reminds me of another Grimsley who was a relief pitcher for the
Orioles and Expos. I distictly remember the first time I got his
baseball card in a pack of Topps cards from Osco in 1980: I thought he
was the weirdest looking guy I'd ever seen. Little would I know that
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