Of Congress, Steroids, and Anticommunism: Preserving the American Way of Life

Cameras flash, and reporters crowd around the celebrities summoned before a Congressional committee. The politicians assert that hearings are necessary in order to protect the youth of the nation from the alleged misdeeds of the witnesses. On the other hand, critics of the congressional inquiry argue that the celebrity status of those testifying may simply provide the representatives with media exposure and serve their reelection bids. Some dignitaries are reluctant participants, dragged before the committee against their will and determined to avoid self-incrimination. Others are friendly witnesses, who are eager, whether for financial gain or sincere concern about subversion among their colleagues, to cooperate with the Congressional inquiry.

Although usually accustomed to the glare of publicity, the witnesses are clearly uncomfortable in this circus-like atmosphere. The chairman bangs the gavel, and the hearings begin. The discomfort of those giving testimony is most apparent when they must respond to the dreaded question: “Are you now or have you ever been a user of steroids?”

Yes, the baseball hearings before the House Government Reform Committee are strangely reminiscent of the investigations by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) into allegations of communist subversion in Hollywood during the late 1940s and early 1950s. Playing the role of the Hollywood Ten we have retired home run king Mark McGwire and current players such as Frank Thomas, Sammy Sosa, and Rafael Palmiero—who is perhaps best known to the general public as a spokesperson for Viagra. While not denying the right of the committee to ask questions regarding performance-enhancing substances, Thomas, Sosa, and Palmiero vehemently insisted that they have never used such drugs. Other players, such as Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi, prominently linked to steroid usage were not called before Congress as they are part of a federal criminal probe into operations of the Balco Corporation. On the other hand, McGwire came close to taking the fifth amendment against self-incrimination; a strategy employed by many Hollywood writers and performers before HUAC. Responding to a question from Representative Elijah Cummings, a Democrat from Maryland, McGwire asserted, “I’m not here to talk about the past.” As in the HUAC Hollywood hearings, any effort to use constitutional provisions against self-incrimination were interpreted as an admission of guilt, and many sportswriters seem posed to deny McGwire admission to Cooperstown when he becomes eligible in 2007.

Allegations of widespread steroid abuse in baseball were made by former player Jose Conseco. Unlike radicals from the 1930s who appeared before Congress to recant past associations with the Communist Party and name names, Conseco does not really denounce the use of steroids. Instead, he asserts that the drugs were necessary in order for him to successfully compete in the high pressure world of Major League Baseball. But Conseco was hardly shy about naming former teammates, such as McGwire, with whom he allegedly engaged in steroid use as the two sluggers injected one another with human growth hormones. Conseco’s public accusations are certainly well-timed to support sales of his autobiography, Juiced. In offending the baseball establishment, Conseco has apparently given up any illusions that he will be selected for induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown.

Like Hollywood executives in the early post World War II period, baseball officialdom initially rallied in defense of the players; although this could change if public opinion hardens against the athletes. Curt Schilling of the Red Sox, noted for his courageous pitching performance on an injured ankle in the 2004 World Series as well as for his conservative political principles, testified that Conseco was a liar, exaggerating his claims of steroid abuse for personal profit and gain. Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig defended the sport’s new drug testing policy, and Donald Fehr, Executive Director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, maintained that the players were cooperative in dealing with substance abuse within their ranks. In fact, one of the major differences between the congressional investigations into baseball and previous anticommunist hearings is the presence of a strong union to defend the players. During HUAC’s investigations into Hollywood, the president of the Screen Actors Guild, Ronald Reagan, proclaimed his willingness to cooperate with the congressional inquiry, which many critics perceived as a witch hunt.

The most emotional testimony before the House Government Reform Committee, however, did not come from those directly associated with the baseball establishment. David Hooton of Plano, Texas testified about his seventeen-year old son Taylor, a young steroid user who committed suicide. An angry Hooton attacked the baseball representatives, proclaiming, “You hide behind the skirts of your union, and with the help of management and your lawyers, you’ve made every effort to resist facing the public today.”

But does the public really care about steroids? Despite concerns about young athletes emulating their professional heroes and the tragic death of former National League Most Valuable Player Ken Caminetti, the general population does not appear as outraged by steroid usage as are sportswriters. There is not the same fear about steroids as the 1950s paranoia that the Communist Party constituted a criminal conspiracy to destroy the American way of life. America’s drug-laden culture and the political clout of pharmaceutical firms foster a climate in which all of our problems may be solved through popping the proper capsule. In addition, sports play a significant role in the global capitalist economy, and taking a substance to maintain a competitive advantage over one’s adversary is hardly shocking. While clichés abound regarding fair play, sports remain big business.

These attitudes do not fit into easy conventional political labels, for California Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has never recanted use of steroids during his career as a body builder. Schwarzenegger implies that the steroids issue should focus upon abuse of such substances and not their simple use as part of a carefully orchestrated training regime.

As far as professional baseball is concerned, the agreement between the players’ union and the owners is perceived by many fans as an overly generous policy. A player could test positive as many as five times before being banned from the game. Seeking a scapegoat for baseball’s drug embarrassment, the sportswriters have castigated Mark McGwire. Meanwhile, Barry Bonds is recovering from a second knee surgery, and the San Francisco star is expressing some reservations about returning to the game this year in pursuit of Hank Aaron’s lifetime home run mark. Most fans, however, do not seem to view the Bonds assault upon the sport’s slugging records as tainted. The Giants are sold out as spectators want to watch Bonds swing the bat. The era of steroids contributes to record attendance, but these figures may decrease if Bonds does sit the season out.

Despite apparent fan indifference to steroids, a case may be made that the current congressional investigation has more merit than those of HUAC during the Second Red Scare. While Soviet espionage was a clear and present danger to the United States, the rather tame scripts submitted by screen writers working through the studio system hardly constituted a threat to national security. For adhering to the philosophical principles of communism does not negate the free speech guarantees of the first amendment. And as far as legal sanctions are concerned, the users of illegal steroids, as opposed to the suppliers of these substances, are not guilty of committing felonies. Professional athletes may claim that they know what they are doing, but these lessons of apparent restraint may be lost upon such high school athletes as Taylor Hooton. The politicians may enjoy the publicity of questioning professional baseball players, but the issue of steroids, just as the anticommunist investigations of the 1950s, raises some troubling questions about American values and culture.