Steroid possession without prescription is illegal in America. You can go to jail for doing that. But until 2004, Major League baseball didn't even ban steroid use. So some big name players indulged.
In the summer of 2000, I was on the air with Joe Buck and Tim McCarver at Fox Sports at Wrigley field in Chicago. And I told those guys if Mark McGwire, the St. Louis home run guy, had ruined his body with that junk. Buck and McCarver just stared at me, but everybody knew some players were juiced, including the league. Yet little was done to stop it.
It's an obvious reason why the players juiced up. They're being paid millions of dollars. And if they play better, they make even more money. In essence, it is a deal with the devil.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm here to make you a proposition. Not only would you like to see Washington win a pennant, but your secret yearning all your life has been to be a baseball player yourself.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who told you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you like to be the greatest baseball player in all history?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Big joke.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No joke. You can be a great ball player.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
And that, of course, was the devil. Now that scene from the classic film "Damn Yankees" says it all. Now what should be done?
Great players like Barry Bonds, McGwire, Roger Clemens, Jason Giambi, Gary Sheffield, Miguel Tejada, and so on brought millions of fans into the ballparks, earning Major League baseball millions in profit. So everybody got paid because these guys cheated by using steroids. And that's the big issue here, cheating.
America has become so focused on success that an ethical apathy has developed in the country. The media often glorifies successful people, regardless of how they've achieved their position. And in that climate, cheating has become acceptable.
A recent study by the Joseph Institute says 60 percent of American students admit to cheating and many are unrepentant. After all, everyone does it. Just look at all those high paid athletes.
There's no question that we as a society have lost our way. The secular-progressive community condemns most judgments about behavior. And that attitude has caught on to some extent. So the steroid report today is really no surprise. Many of these players will be back on the field next spring with a spring in their step. If everyone cheats, who can judge?
And that's the Memo.
Pinheads and Patriots
The USO has announced a Christmas program for our troops overseas, finally, and among those going, Robin Williams, Lance Armstrong, Lewis Black, and Kid Rock. So we salute all those guys as patriots and everybody else who goes over.
On the pinhead front, here are the pictures of the nine Congresspeople who voted against honoring the Christmas tradition in America. There they are. We asked all of them to appear this evening, but there must have been a pinhead party or something, because they were not available.
— You can catch Bill O'Reilly's "Talking Points Memo" and "Pinheads and Patriots" weeknights at 8 and 11 p.m. ET on the FOX News Channel and any time on foxnews.com/oreilly. Send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com
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