Live blog Congressional hearing: Rep Betty McCollum accuses baseball of conspiracy fraud

Still live blogging Congressional hearings in steroids in baseball.

(1 DC time) 1:15Rep Betty McCollum (D-Minn) just accused MLB players of 'fixing games' and of a massive conspiratorial fraud.  WOW! She accuses the MLB of a massive cheating fraud.  She points to the billions of dollars in baseball commerce.

However she refers to David Segui as 'Sec-kee"  She specifies the Baltimore Orioles as a seat of steroids use.  Asking if the Orioles knew of the PED use (?conspiracy)

Mitchell just dodged Reps Welch's questions about whether baseball records made by known steroids users should be abolished.

Comments

[keith]

I find these accusations interesting. It was greed that caused the baseball strike, it was greed that led to team owners and unions to look the other way as players used peds. Bottom line is money was made when people came to watch these players. Money will continue to be made off of baseball.I dont feel there was any conspiracy, just profit minded corporations.

What will these hearing accomplish? my question is what has the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 1990 done that is positive???? Americans as a whole are clueless to what Anabolic Steroids or HGH are, yet these hearings will lead to tougher legislation, long prison sentences but like other legistaltion there will be next to no education on these drugs, and the money will go to law enforcement, and a failed war on drugs that has lasted for decades.

For some reason Peds are a public obsession, when will our leaders come back to reality and deal with real issues? Our Congressional reps did not listen to the AMA or other doctors who stated in 1990 that these drugs should not have been made class III controlled substances, and again what have these draconian steroid laws got us???? nothing! are we protecting our kids? not really, the tobacco industry targed kids for years, as does the alcohol industry, but there is no conspiracy there is there congresswoman???? why? because lobbyist from these industries control Congress and I am sure they enjoy all the attention placed on subjects like steroids and not real health issues. What a shame.

[Steroidmedia]

I agree that athletes should not be denied treatment (including drugs) for documented medical conditions. But ultimately the problem is that the use of PEDs, whether for a legitimate medical condition or nontherapeutic purposes, stil have pronounced performance-enhancing effects. This is a problem for anti-doping.

[Steroidmedia]

Furthermore, sometimes the rigors and demands of the sport itself result in legitimate medical conditions. Specifically, ultra-endurance events like marathons and cycling severely depress endogenous testosterone levels to low normal and sometimes even below normal. If any "non-athlete" presented with these type of results, a doctor would likely have prescribed testosterone. But would anti-dopers consider this a permissible therapeutic use exemption when the very sport causes the medical condition? It is a complicated issue.

[Dump Betty McCollum]

I think we ought to dump my mom. Send me an email on your thoughts.

Katie McCollum
katiewhitneymccollum@yahoo.com