by Shane Tucker

Created on: June 14, 2009

I believe without a doubt that Barry Bonds should be stripped of his homerun title. The fact that he used performance enhancing drugs makes his record illegitimate in my opinion. Let's look at the reasons why Bonds should lose the title.

Rules were broken

Any time an athlete chooses to break the rules in their respective sport, they not only create an uneven playing field for all other athletes that refuse to break that rule, but the offender also compromises the integrity of the sport in the eyes of the fans. Rules are in place to ensure that all athletes have the same opportunities afforded to them. This in turn lets the fans cheer their favorite teams on with the confidence that their team has an equal chance to succeed. If the message is sent that rules can be broken, but no consequence will be dealt, it becomes disheartening to the fans because they are no longer certain that they are watching a fair competition.

Precedent has been set in other sports

All sports, to my knowledge, strip their champions of titles if it is discovered that they have used performance enhancing drugs. I look at a record stat as somewhat of a championship. Instead of being determined over a determined number of contests, it is built over a career. But it still has the same significance as a world championship or gold medal. It signifies that athlete as the best in the world. Numerous Olympic athletes have been stripped of their medals due to use of steroids. Boxers, mixed martial artists, weightlifters, and a host of athletes in many different sports have been sanctioned and stripped of accolades due to their decision to use drugs. Baseball allowing this the record to stand damages the integrity of the sport in a way.

It is an extremely difficult record to achieve

The homerun record is achieved over a lifetime, a career. It is not something that can be attained in a short amount of time. The other players that were chasing this record for their entire career have been slighted and treated unfairly. This is not something that one can simply say, I'll get it next year. This is an accomplishment that very few will even be able to ATTEMPT to achieve. It requires consistency, hard work, and a bit of luck over many years. For the record to be given to an athlete that cheated in order achieve it is disrespectful to all those who tried to reach the accomplishment fairly. Their efforts were in vain due to the fact that they decided to be honorable and fair.

In my opinion, there should not even be a question as to whether or not his record should stand. He achieved it by CHEATING. There should not be an asterisk. There should not be a footnote. There should be no mention of his name whatsoever in the record book. It is not a valid statistic. It was achieved through illegal means and to let it stand cheapens the game of baseball and encourages the use of performance enhancing drugs.

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