A round-up of politicians’ platitudes regarding steroids in baseball and The Mitchell Report. The first three quotes come courtesy CNN.com video.
Presidential candidate John McCain (R – Arizona):
I hope as a result of this that the Major League Baseball Players Association will come to the table seriously, and not continue to drag their feet and to delay serious action on this significant information that Senator Mitchell will be revealing about use of perfomance enhancing substances, which is unfair to other players in the game that don’t do it, and unfair to the fans, and unfair to record holders. …
I would strongly urge the Major League Players Association to sit down with the owners and restore confidence back in the game, and to the performance of those players.
Rep. Elijah Cummings (D – Maryland):
Now, we’ve got to remember why we started the investigations here in Congress. It was mainly because children, young athletes, were trying to emulate their role models. And so that problem still remains. But we’ve got to look at this report, and try to figure out everything that Senator Mitchell is recommending, also look at the things that maybe he was not able to get to — some questions that still may be out there — bring Bud Selig before the Congress. Also, we’re going to have to have players union representatives come in to, because I think they have some responsibliity in all of this too, and find out what they are going to do from here. And then, if it does not seem pleasing to our ears, then we may have to take some action.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi:
It seems quite stunning — the regard I have for Senator Mitchell is enormous, so I respect the product of his work, so I look forward to seeing it — but I think it speaks to the fact that what we are talking about here is far more pervasive than I think most people thought. …
The use of steroids and the example it sets for our young people in the country is an issue that must be addressed. Again, its all about young people — they love this sport — it is the national pastime, and it attracts young people to it, and we want them to see good examples, good models of athletic performance.
Presidential candidate Chris Dodd (D – Connecticut):
Some want us to just forget about it and move on here. This is not the first time. We’ve been through these periods in our past with scandals associated with sports. This is one that clearly, by getting in front of, identifying it for what it is and doing everything we can to discourage this kind of usage, not only among athletes today who are professionals, but among young people, is going to help.
And so I applaud what George Mitchell and Bud Selig are doing .
Statement from Henry Waxman (D – California) and Tom Davis (R – Virginia):
This is a sad day for Major League Baseball but a good day for integrity in sports. It?s an important step towards the goal of eliminating the use of performance enhancing substances.
The Mitchell report is sobering. It shows the use of steroids and human growth hormone has been and is a significant problem in Major League Baseball. And it shows that everyone involved in Major League Baseball bears some responsibility for this scandal.
We are going to ask Senator George Mitchell, Commissioner Bud Selig, and the President of the Major League Players Association, Don Fehr, to testify at a House Oversight and Government Reform hearing on Tuesday, December 18. We look forward to their testimony on whether the Mitchell report?s recommendations will be adopted and whether additional measures are needed.
We want to commend Commissioner Selig for authorizing this investigation and thank Senator Mitchell for his dedication to this effort.
