Will Mcgwire be forgiven now?

[Jeff D]

But if it was not banned by baseball, who are we to judge him or his records.

I don't know why this is such a popular misconception, but PED's and steroids were most certainly banned by baseball.
Fay Vincent banned all such substances in 1991, shortly after they were declared controlled substances, and illegal.

Because the "ban" had no teeth...

Whether or not MLB did an adequate job of enforcing the ban is irrelevant to the comment I was replying.
The fact remains that he was cheating (and breaking the law). So if people want to judge him and his records, they have reason to do so, contrary to what was stated above.

I've never understood why MLB (and Selig) have shouldered so much of the blame for the actions of grown men.
The competitive nature of athletes and "weak" or "toothless" enforcement of a well-known rule hardly seems to be adequate justification for cheating.

People in real-life don't get off like that. Would a cashier at a fast-food restaurant be excused when stealing from the register if they were poor and there were no cameras constantly taping them? They had the motivation and the opportunity, who can blame them?

 

[brianga26]

Jeff,

You being an attorney, I have a couple of questions. Since Mac didn't exactly answer the "question" posed by Congress and thus didn't commit perjury, then he could not be prosecuted by the Feds. Also, don't you have to have these two things to constitute a crime motivation and the opportunity,, and of course the actual act?

 

[ManOfSteal]

There is already one member of the HOF who was accused of taking roids, Rickey Henderson. Canseco called him out from their A's days, and Canseco has been right all along anyway. I personnaly think Mac, Bonds, Palmeiro, Arod, and Manny get in. But they will have to work on it.

The statement about Rickey is not actually true. Canseco later clarified his remarks, indicating that he was not referring to Rickey (the press all initially assumed that he was), and that he had no knowledge of Rickey ever taking steroids. That article can be found here: http://blogs.usatoday.com/gameon/2009/07/canseco-says-cooperstown-includes-a-doper.html.

 

[Big Mac McGwire]

mcgwire wanted full immuinity from prosecution when he met with his lawyers and the congress the day before the big day at capital hill. The statute of limitations to prosecute him for steroid use was 5 years. he had only been retired 4. They would not grant him full immuinity for his testimony therefore he did answer questions. He would have sung if they gave him full immuinity.

 

[uniquebaseballcards]

Since the statute has run, can't he sing now?

mcgwire wanted full immuinity from prosecution when he met with his lawyers and the congress the day before the big day at capital hill. The statute of limitations to prosecute him for steroid use was 5 years. he had only been retired 4. They would not grant him full immuinity for his testimony therefore he did answer questions. He would have sung if they gave him full immuinity.

 

[Big Mac McGwire]

Since the statute has run, can't he sing now?

mcgwire wanted full immuinity from prosecution when he met with his lawyers and the congress the day before the big day at capital hill. The statute of limitations to prosecute him for steroid use was 5 years. he had only been retired 4. They would not grant him full immuinity for his testimony therefore he did answer questions. He would have sung if they gave him full immuinity.

yup. he can talk now. Will he? That is the million dollar question....He will not be forgiven by the national public until he does some talkin. It doesnt matter to me but for the average fan , he has some explaining to do.

 

[RL24]

There is already one member of the HOF who was accused of taking roids, Rickey Henderson. Canseco called him out from their A's days, and Canseco has been right all along anyway. I personnaly think Mac, Bonds, Palmeiro, Arod, and Manny get in. But they will have to work on it.

The statement about Rickey is not actually true. Canseco later clarified his remarks, indicating that he was not referring to Rickey (the press all initially assumed that he was), and that he had no knowledge of Rickey ever taking steroids. That article can be found here: http://blogs.usatoday.com/gameon/2009/07/canseco-says-cooperstown-includes-a-doper.html.

At least he got part of it right, Canseco has been right all along. Which is great news for Rickey, since Jose said Rickey never used steroids. It's a shame that some people didn't get the memo, and somehow think that Jose said that Rickey used steroids. ::facepalm:: That's the opposite of what he said... where's the confusion?

 

[championMan]

I have no ill will towards McGwire or anyone who took steroids. I could really careless. What bothers me is that they lie about it. If McGwire would just admit he took them, I think a weight would be lifted off his shoulders and people will start embracing him again. I really believe that.

Perfectly said. The public do want to forgive BigMac since he was one of the good guy in baseball. But I can't vote for him in the HOF. His stat without the HR is not good enough for the Hall. He prolonged his career by using PED and if this was the Olympics all of his 1998 HR record would have been taken away.

 

[onionring9]

There are two types of people that have not forgiven McGwire.

Those that will never forgive him, no matter what he says/does.
Those that will not forgive him unless he admits guilt whether he did it or not.

I don't know if he did it or not, nor do I care. I do believe though that his only way into the HOF is to admit guilt whether he did it or not.

 

[abncollectsautos]

There is already one member of the HOF who was accused of taking roids, Rickey Henderson. Canseco called him out from their A's days, and Canseco has been right all along anyway. I personnaly think Mac, Bonds, Palmeiro, Arod, and Manny get in. But they will have to work on it.

The statement about Rickey is not actually true. Canseco later clarified his remarks, indicating that he was not referring to Rickey (the press all initially assumed that he was), and that he had no knowledge of Rickey ever taking steroids. That article can be found here: http://blogs.usatoday.com/gameon/2009/07/canseco-says-cooperstown-includes-a-doper.html.

Very interesting, I did not know. I do stand corrected. If he was not juicing, he was on something good because his thighs and arms were bigger than most players'.

 

[hofautos]

As mentioned, it's really tough to forgive someone if they don't apologize, or even admit doing something wrong.

It may be tough, but we should always forgive...it's not even though he needs our forgiveness, and I am also certain he will ask for it.
He was in a very awkward position, he didn't lie, which in my mind, was an admission of guilt, and probably the wisest thing he could have done under his circumstances. I don't think there are many people "better" than Mark imho....who is without fault?