It doesn't matter.
Let Alex Rodriguez inject himself with steroids. Let Barry Bonds keep his records. Let Mark McGwire claim innocence.
Instead, let's worry about what really matters, something that goes above the score of a game. Think of a 10-year-old boy with his Rodriguez jersey sitting in his living room and watching his idol admit to making a horrible mistake.
That's why UF athletes are so important to the Gainesville community - especially the baseball team. They don't have a choice anymore. While hung heads on the TV express shame, these guys can show hope and promise to the youth of Gainesville.
"It's something that any athlete at the University of Florida, when they come in, they have to realize that this is a college town," Gators senior infielder Brandon McArthur said. "This isn't a big city. The football players, the basketball players, the golfers, the swimmers, the gymnastics team, everyone looks up to (us)."
He's right.
It can't be denied: Children have these questions. Do you need steroids to be the next great baseball hero? If Rodriguez did it, why shouldn't I? Isn't taking this shortcut easier?
If they want to know why they shouldn't do it, ask players like McArthur. Behind the inflated stats are the increased risks of heart disease and, well, not having some male body parts be as big as they once were. You really don't want to explain that one to your wife, fellas.
The 32 baseball players who will wear orange and blue this season won't ever receive half the acclaim one of the aforementioned professional players have. However, when a group of high school - or even younger - ball players come to Gainesville for a camp, the Gators have an opportunity. They have a chance to be a different kind of role model and, perhaps, set a more positive course.
"We get a lot of kids out here, and you want to give them the right image of how to play the game," junior center fielder Matt den Dekker said. "Doing the right things off the field. … If (talks about illegal substances) would arise, I would definitely tell them that's not the way to play. It puts a negative image on the game. When you see things like that happening, you don't want to give kids the wrong image of how to play the game."
Baseball is not a dirty sport, nor is it a game that requires enhancing substances to be successful.
And, obviously, UF baseball players don't like to talk outright about steroids. I don't blame them. Truthfully, I wish we could leave all this talk behind us. Completely forget about it. Wash it from our minds. The players can do that. The kids and young players, however, can not. They're the ones with the questions.
"A lot of people look up to us, and guys shouldn't get on cloud nine about that," McArthur said. "They should just realize how to handle themselves."
What these athletes have to realize now is when it is time to "handle" something. That's an action. It's not something they can hide from. There will be questions, maybe even doubts, from the outside. That's when it's their turn to show how to be different.
The corrupt are already damaged goods. Let's not put the next generation in their same shoes. Hopefully, UF's athletes realize that - for everyone's sake.
