I'm Tired Of Baseball and Steroids

Since the Barry Bonds Revelation dropped a few weeks ago steroids in baseball have been a pretty hot topic. The consensus of sportswriters and fans alike is that Bonds is guilty, guilty as hell. But lately I've been seeing a very odd argument in defense of Bonds. Namely, that although the unprescribed use of steroids is a federal crime they've never been banned by MLB; ergo, as far as baseball is concerned steroids are, and what Bonds did is, just fine.

This, sirs and madams, is asinine. Is MLB required to add every state and federal law into their rules and regulations? No, because it is pretty much common sense. MLB should be able to strike Bonds and his records from the books because he was committing a federal crime for several years that was directly accountable for his statistics and play. Imagine if Bonds' home runs occurred because every time he got a hit he just pulled out a gun and shot the opposing team's players as he ran around the bases. I'm fairly certain that pulling out a gun and shooting people isn't in the MLB by-laws, but I think his records probably wouldn't last - call it a hunch.

There are a lot of things that aren't explicitly written down as rules. You do not kick the umpire in the sack. You cannot take a dump on second base. You should not sexually molest the Philly Phanatic. But these things are still wrong, either legally (in a don't-drop-the-soap sense of the word, not the MLB sense) or morally. Bonds shouldn't be excused because of a glitch in the system. He shouldn't be let off the hook because what he did was, technically (again, in the eyes of MLB only), legal.

This will make it simple. Arrest Bonds, McGwire, and Sosa on steroid and tax-evasion charges. I think everyone can agree that although what they did was okay with baseball, it isn't with the federal government. Then, as they sit out their prison sentences and re-enact scenes from Oz we can decide whether or not they are worthy of records and recognition by baseball and its fans. That should help to uncloud our judgement on the matter.