Thursday, November 17, 2011

Fallen heroes. Guilty. Or were they?

Maybe we should just do away with the entire legal system and let the "court of public opinion" rule the day.That seems to be what has been happening anyway.

Consider:

Barry Bonds went from a wiry outfielder hitting a lot of home runs to a muscle-bound guy, big head and all, hitting a ridiculous amount of home runs. Allegations of steroid use ran rampant. Many say his statistics should have an asterisk behind them because he cheated -- even though steroids were legal at that time. But, wait a minute. Despite all the power and resources of the federal government trying to prove he ever even TOOK them -- they could not. In the end, their case collapsed, and all they were able to obtain was some minor obstruction of justice conviction. Bottom line? Legally, Bonds is still innocent of the drug-related charges, but the court of public opinion has ruled he's guilty, and that's all that seems to matter.

Remember Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa dueling it out for the home-run championship one year back in that era? Eventually, both were summoned to testify before Congress when our trusty legislators, in their infinite wisdom, decided to jump into the steroid snafu and get to the bottom of it. End result? Lots of bluster-filled speeches, but no proof of any wrongdoing. Certainly no convictions. Yet, the court of public opinion ruled once again. Guilty. As an aside, if ANYBODY ever needed performance enhancing drugs, it's probably Congress, but that's another issue.

Surely you remember Rafael Palmeiro pointing into the camera and saying, "I have NEVER taken PEDs". He would test positive for the same a few months later. Congress was outraged and the COPO handed down another guilty verdict. But hang on. Can anyone say for sure that Palmeiro didn't start steroid use until AFTER that hearing? The honest answer is -- no, they can't. Bottom line? It looked bad and that's good enough for a conviction. I disagree. Appearances aren't sufficient evidence for me to send someone into purgatory somewhere. Show me proof.

Same with Roger Clemens. The Rocket's currently embroiled in a similar situation. He said this, another guy said that. This needle has traces of an illegal substance, but the one over there has traces of a B complex vitamin booster. Maybe either or both were once stuck in his butt, and the plunger pushed -- and maybe they weren't. What really happened? We don't know, and likely never will, but the COPO has spoken. Guilty. Nevermind that Clemens was an absolutely dominating pitcher long before PEDs ever came on the scene, and was known in his latter pitching years to be a work-out fanatic. Bottom line? Yours truly suspects the prosecutors already know they're chasing another loser, and this will fade away. But Clemens will be forever tainted by the allegations in the COPO. Perception, rather than facts, rules the day -- and it's not right, let alone fair.

There's other examples in the sports world of injustice inflicted by the COPO. Pete Rose and his gambling. Many came to believe that should somehow detract from the fact he's the all-time hit leader in the major leagues. a record that will likely never be surpassed. That's just wrong.

Many in the Hall of Fame were drunks and womanizers, most while married. Somehow the COPO doesn't want to be bothered by that.

Who was the ultimate offender that started all this? Perhaps Shoeless Joe Jackson of the infamous 1919 Chicago "Black Sox". For his part in allegedly throwing the World Series, baseball Commish Kennessee Mountain Landis barred him from baseball. "Say it ain't so, Joe", the fans pleaded.

Here's what you might not know. Landis didn't make that ruling until after the following year, 1920, a full season after the scandal was supposed to have occured. To his credit, maybe he wanted to wait until all the facts were in.

In the meantime, he was likely feeling a lot of heat from the COPO. They had already ruled again. Guilty. Shoeless Joe was given the permanent boot.

Turns out, Joe was acquitted by a judge of any wrongdoing. Years later his teammates would come forward and finally attest to his innocence. On top of that, Jackson racked up some very impressive statistics in that 1919 World Series, which would hardly seem to be the work of a man that wanted his team to lose. Joe professed his innocence until his dying day in 1951, but it didn't matter. The COPO was no longer interested and had moved on. He owns the third highest batting average off all time but, to this day, almost a century later, despite his innocence, he remains ineligible for the Hall of Fame. Current Commisioner Bud Selig was asked to reinstate him in 1998, and the motion was tabled. Nothing happened. 13 years later, Joe's still dead, but he hasn't received his rightful due. While the COPO stays busy wreaking more havoc on people and their reputations, before all the facts are known, it seems they have little interest in righting wrongs of their own doing. Those instances are always kept quiet and swept under the rug. For that, we should be ashamed.

As regards Bonds, etc., and others that will surely come along? Maybe we won't live long enough to ever know the full truth, but the COPO has been wrong before and will surely be wrong again. Let's just not start convicting people and sending them off to a dungeon somewhere, until we KNOW they're guilty. Is that too much to ask?

Currently, Jerry Sandusky, a former coach under Joe Paterno at Penn State, stands accused of engaging in sexual acts with young boys. The COPO has reared it's ugly head and said, "OMG, 40 charges? He must be guilty. What a monster. Life in prison is too good for him. Make him suffer".  

Did he do it? I don't know. Neither do you. Yours truly thinks the COPO is running amok again. Whether it's 40, 4000, or 4 million charges -- here's a weird idea. How about being patient, bringing in all the evidence and testimony, and convicting him on just ONE before we send him off to an execution chamber somewhere? 

Sandusky continues to maintain his innocence. Here's an even stranger idea. What happens if he's right? Amongst the rest of the witch hunt, Joe Paterno would have been fired for not talking enough about a crime that didn't happen? Can you imagine what the repercussions of that would be?

The COPO wouldn't care. They'd just move on. Let's face it. Americans always need someone to hate. Osama's gone, along with Gadaffi. Despite our provocations, those pesky North Koreans and Iranians seem intent on minding their own business. We're cool with Russia, looking to expand business with China, and when's the last time you heard of that evil Fidel down in Cuba? We just can't seem to find a bad guy.

Maybe we should bring back Lex Luthor of Superman fame. The Joker, Riddler and Penguin are possibilities. Odd Job? Dr. Moriarty? How about Star Trek's the Wrath of Khan, from whence this blog derives it's name? Dammit, we need somebody to hate.

The COPO will wither up and blow away without a dastardly villain to cast aspersion on, even if they have to invent one.

Perhaps I can save them the trouble. After all, he's been right in front of their faces all along dragging $100 bills through trailer parks to see what chases them -- and then exploiting those poor souls for his own advantage on national TV, no less. What could possibly be more sinister than that?

Hey COPO.

Check out the Jerry Springer show and get back to me.

The dude's got some serious Baggage you might want to look into too.

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