Time Well Wasted

Mark McGwire was recently hired as the hitting coach for his old team, the St. Louis Cardinals. Mark McGwire, a prolific home run hitting during his playing days, has recently had his career tainted with allegations of steroid use. During the 90's, McGwire along with Chicago Cubs outfielder Sammy Sosa were credited with helping to revive baseball with their home run record chase. Now, both of these former ball player's careers are tainted by these allegations. Congress decided to step in and get information about players using steroids in baseball, creating a committee to interview suspected steroid users. After all the testimony, congress decided that two athletes, Barry Binds and Roger Clemens, had lied to them so they brought Perjury charges against them in 2007.

Today, two years later, these cases are still being fought in court, using up the time, money, and resources of the Federal Courts. Should the government gotten involved in this controversy? This is a sport, not a pressing social matter, but a sport. Government resources could be spent towards a need that the public would benefit from. Who benefits from putting Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens in jail? Of course, lying to a congressional committee is against the law and people have been convicted of perjury before. The government should not have gone this far into investigating matters like steroid use in baseball. Senators wanting to get face time on ESPN shouldn't waste their time pursuing cheating athletes instead of crime bosses.