My Suggestions for PED Punishment

Whenever news comes out about players being found guilty of using a Performance Enhancing Drug, I usually have mixed feelings.  On one hand, I am disappointed in that it is another black eye for the game and in a sport that has had it's fair share throughout history.   But, on the hand, I glad to see it because I know MLB is trying to get rid of PEDs and make sure the sport clean.
If you haven't heard the latest, a Miami clinic has been named from an investigation by MLB and the federal government in supplying PEDs to current MLB players as recently as this past season.  Some of the players named are no big surprises such as Alex Rodriguez and Melky Cabrera. But there is a couple new names mentioned with PEDs, Texas Rangers' Nelson Cruz and Washington Nationals' Gio Gonzalez.  Rodriguez is named the most among the findings. Here is a link to the complete article: http://www.miaminewtimes.com/2013-01-31/news/a-rod-and-doping-a-miami-clinic-supplies-drugs-to-sports-biggest-names/


Now is the time for MLB to make a stand and implement a new punishment system for those who have been found guilty of using PEDs.  Obviously the current punishment of 50 games after the first positive test, 100 games after 2nd and lifetime ban after the third is not strict enough.  I suggest something much harsher. I don't think a season long suspension after one positive test and a lifetime ban after the second is a big enough deterrent. If these individual players chose to set themselves apart from their team, they should be punished with suspensions/bans in terms of games and with individual glory and accolades.
If they decided use PEDs in order to have a longer career and make more money, that is all they should get out of the game. They should not be rewarded for any individual honors.  Hall of Fame? not a chance. I would not stop there.  The guilty should no longer to be allowed to win any seasonal honors too.  Cy Young, MVP, Gold Glove and Silver Slugger - all forbidden.  I am not talking about the one season they are caught, be ineligible for any individual honor for the rest of their careers.  All Star game?  If we are celebrating the game's best and a player has cheated his way there, he shouldn't be celebrated.

2012 Topps Update

We, as fans, can have a say in this too.  If we really want the game to be clean, we should never vote for a player to the All Star game who previously been found guilty of using.  Melky Cabrera should not get one vote next year for the game.  We can do more. We should not buy any more their jerseys or other memorabilia.  Just force them to become footnotes of the game and mostly forgotten after years.

2012 Topps

As for Alex Rodriguez, if these latest allegations are true, has proven to be a habitual user and liar and should be punished accordingly.  Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis made an example of Shoeless Joe Jackson and the seven others after the Black Sox Scandal and A. Bartlett Giamatti with Pete Rose in 1989.  It is time for Bud Selig to do the same with Alex Rodriguez, a lifetime ban.   Set an example and say no matter how big of a star a player is, no one is above the game.  The players' association will likely fight it as it will set precedence for future bans, but doubt the New York Yankees will do much. I am guessing there is people in Yankee front office is trying to find an out in his contract and this could be it. Rodriguez has five more well paid years left and is no longer the player he once was, or at least what we thought was and Yankees don't want that burden anymore.  They will be a better team without him or his contract around.

Commissioner Bud Selig could leave a lasting legacy on the game in implementing a very strict PED punishment system. He would also set a new standard for all sports in terms of punishment, so any future player would have to think long and hard about using.