It’s too bad Hank Steinbrenner has already been deemed an idiot for life by the entire baseball world (fans and media included) because he should actually be commended for his recent comments on steroids in baseball.

“I don’t like baseball being singled out,” the New York Yankees senior vice president said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press on Monday night.
“Everybody that knows sports knows football is tailor-made for performance-enhancing drugs. I don’t know how they managed to skate by. It irritates me. Don’t tell me it’s not more prevalent. The number in football is at least twice as many. Look at the speed and size of those players.”

He’s got a really good point here. Does anyone actually believe that the meat factory known as the NFL doesn’t have rampant steroid and drug use? Don’t we all look at the before and after photos of Barry Bonds and say, “Why didn’t I assume he was juicing? It seems so obvious now.”

Well, take a good at your average 350 lb. lineman that can run a 100 yard dash as fast as the wide receivers of yesteryear. You think that’s just from training hard, taking vitamins and saying their prayers?

“A lot of baseball people thought that baseball would be the last sport that it would be a problem in and probably just ignored it too long,” Steinbrenner said. “But the fact is it’s been in football a long time and it’s been in basketball, I’m sure. Why baseball is being singled out, I don’t know. I don’t know. I know all the excuses — `Well, it’s America’s game and it’s the statistics.’
“That’s not an excuse. If a sport is riddled with it, it’s riddled with it. Why aren’t they looking at the NFL?” he said.

I really credit Steinbrenner for coming out and saying this because most owners (although he’s technically just the VP) won’t touch the steroid issue. Why? Because it made them a lot of money. Go try to get a real opinion about steroids from Giants owner Peter Mcgowan or commissioner Bud Selig.

And how about Steinbrenner’s question? Why doesn’t the NFL come under more scrutiny? It would appear people have come to some kind of agreed fallacy about steroids in the NFL. Players are caught and suspended, but it’s never enough to indict the NFL as a whole. It’s portrayed as an isolated incident.

HGH is arguably not even a steroid. It’s primarily used to make the body heal faster, yet, it’s judged alongside steroids — one of THE two problems. Fair enough, but how many other non-steroid substances are being used in the NFL? Does anyone think amphetamines aren’t copious in the league?

I’m not playing a conspiracy card here. I think Bonds home run chase had a lot to do with the steroid issue becoming what it is today. It was all fun and smiles until baseball’s biggest record went down because of it. Is that what it would take for the media to finally turn it’s watchful eye on football? Maybe a college-level scandal would do it.