McGwire return no excuse to lift Rose ban

I'm getting sick and tired of the argument that Mark McGwire's return to baseball after he publicly admitted using performance-enhancing drugs should pave the way for Pete Rose to once again be accepted by the fraternity.

Rose agreed to a lifetime ban in 1989 after he was accused of betting on baseball, yet it still took him 15 years to admit that he did. In fact, he publicly denied it to anyone who would listen.

Both Rose and McGwire did irreparable damage to the game of baseball. But McGwire's sin in many ways is much worse because he and fellow steroid cheats made hitting those massive longballs glamorous. How many young kids saw what McGwire did and wanted to emulate him in every way, including using steroids and other drugs? How many of those kids died?

I do agree that Bud Selig is being a bit hypocritical by welcoming McGwire back, but that doesn't mean he should automatically give Rose the same consideration. I would rather have seen Selig come down hard on McGwire and other steroid users for soiling the game.

I'm not thrilled about McGwire's return to baseball, just as I wouldn't ever want to see Rose back in the game. But McGwire will be subject to the minimum level of punishment that I believe all steroid and human growth hormone cheats should have to suffer: denied entrance into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Rose deserves to continue to suffer the same fate.

Thanks to Kjunstorm via Wikipedia for the photo.