Baseball: congress talks to players about Palmeiro

congress is talking with players who were team mates or knew Raphael Palmeiro as to wether he took steroids before the hearings where he denied he used them, one of the players who trained with him was suspended earlier this year

it is sad to think that the only honest man in that hearing room was Jose Canseco

sports.yahoo.com...;_ylt=Ar1OGTfS98Ed4hR_DR09j.U5nYcB?slug=ap-congress-palmeiro-drugs&prov=ap&type=lgns

that is sad, before this whole palmiero thing, everyone was like, canseco is a liar, and they never did steroids...now...who knows

have you ever wondered why no one that was mentioned in Canseco's book has ever sued him for libel? i know that if he had named me and i was innocent i would run to the nearest lawyer

have you ever wondered why no one that was mentioned in Canseco's book has ever sued him for libel? i know that if he had named me and i was innocent i would run to the nearest lawyer

Canseco looks like a saint right now. He actually told the truth. Whatever that guy says there is no reason for me not to believe him.

With the Libel stuff because these guys would be considered public figures they would have to show Malice in the case. A total disregard of the truth. A total disregard for the truth means the person making the comments had to have seen the truth before the comments are made. It is harder to prove than you would think. Especially for a past event. It would just be Conseco's word versus Palmeiro's. That is why most celebrities just blow it off when people bash them. Now if Palmeiro had hard evidence and there was proof that Canseco had seen hard evidence that Palmeiro did not take steriods then you have a case.

Now as we all know it doesn't matter because Palmeiro sucks. And he is a liar and a cheat.

Lawmakers: Not enough evidence for Palmeiro perjury charges

Baseball star Rafael Palmeiro will not be prosecuted on perjury charges after lawmakers said Thursday there isn't enough evidence to prove he lied when he told Congress under oath that he had "never used steroids" -- six weeks before failing a steroid test.

The investigation did not conclude whether the former Baltimore Orioles slugger had actually ever used performance-enhancing substances prior to his testimony before the House Government Reform Committee.

"We couldn't find any evidence of steroid use prior to his testimony," Chairman Tom Davis, R-Va., said in releasing a 44-page report. "That's not a finding of innocence, but it's a finding that we could not substantiate perjury."

source

CBS Sportsline

Hey, WAIT A MINUTE!!! What are you guys saying about Palmeiro?!?!? He only tested positive for that steroid because of a Vitamin B-12 injection, remember?

Speaking as the lawyer--or, more likely, one of the lawyers--of this group, I agree with y'all completely. TRUTH is an absolute and complete defense to any action for defamation (i.e., either slander or libel). Say whatever you want to about me, or Palmeiro, and if it's true, you are not liable for defamation.

That, I'm sure, is exactly why nobody has sued Canseco. The guy may be a sleazeball and is obviously a caveman to women, which I find abhorrent. Also, he has erased the notion Dave Kingman's 442 HR's are the most anyone will hit without getting enshrined in the Hall (as has Palmeiro). But it does indeed appear he was the only honest and forthcoming player in that Congressional room.

McGwire was "honest" only in the sense he wouldn't open his mouth and instead stood there, looking pitiful and tarnishing his legacy irreparably. Schilling looked even worse, in my opinion, backtracking at about 200 m.p.h. from his previous remarks to S.I. about seeing obvious steroid freaks in the locker room, with all their unnatural musles. And, of course, Palmeiro....

OK, so Canseco broke the age-old "code of silence" among baseball players. Good for him. There is obviously a point beyond which the "code of silence" must give way to a "code of decency." If a team had two pedophiles on it, and they were trading illicit and indecent videotapes in the locker room, should the "code of silence" cause their teammates to keep quiet? I sure as hell hope not. If I were a teammate, I'd call the F.B.I., and if that made me a pariah among baseball players, so be it.

Now, of course using steroids and/or H.G.H. isn't as repulsive as being a pedophile, but it's actually far worse in terms of its effects on the integrity of the game. And so, just like the 1919 Series scandal (which took almost a full year to break), why the hell shouldn't players speak up about this--unless they, too, are juicing? (And while I'm on that subject: Gee, Curt, you were 15 games over .500 for your career until 2001, when you were 34. How is it you went 22-6, 23-7 and 21-6 in 3 of the next 4 years?)

Another user of this forum reminded me that Babe Ruth once used a corked bat (which is true), that Mantle used greenies (which is true), that Mays also did so (which is false, as far as I know), and that many pitchers have used every available means to screw with the ball (which, as to many pitchers, including some great ones, is true). But chemically altering yourself into a physical master-species is qualitatively different from these other things.

The only person I can compare it to is Gaylord Perry, who cheated in varying degrees whenever he pitched, then had the continental temerity to solicit an advertising contract from Vaseline. They had the character to turn him down. For some inexplicable reason, Cooperstown didn't. I sure hope they show more character when this generation of pill-and-injection-made stars, other than Bonds, become eligible for induction.

B.H.N.

Free-agent first baseman Rafael Palmeiro still isn't sure why he tested positive for steroids, he told The New York Times for a story published Wednesday.

The 41-year-old Palmeiro was suspended in August for 10 days by Major League Baseball. His steroid test in May came up positive - just six weeks after he testified in Congress that he had never taken the performance-enhancing drugs.

MSNBC