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MLB hands down questionable punishment to Phillies' J.C. Romero
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J.C. Romero suspended for 50 days (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
People everywhere are fully aware of the embarrassment Major League Baseball has endured due to the huge performance-enhancing drug fiasco. Today’s MLB wants the world to know that they are no longer going to look aside if players are found to have any banned substances in their system. So, what happens when there’s a gray area? Will the players always be punished in order for MLB to maintain the shiny halo above its head?
Today, Major League Baseball will announce that Philadelphia Phillies middle reliever J.C. Romero will be receiving a 50-game suspension for violating the league’s substance policy. He has been found guilty of “negligence” and will start serving the suspension at the beginning of the 2009 season.
No biggie? Well, ESPN’s Peter Gammons brought up some good points that makes this suspension seem unfair.
Romero went to a GNC in Cherry Hill, NJ and purchased over-the-counter supplements. The MLBPA informed MLB players that over-the-counter supplements were acceptable and would not contain anything that would cause the players to fail a drug test. He checked with numerous sources to make sure in did not contain any banned substances. He received the thumbs-up and that was that.
One of the people he consulted with, Phillies strength coach Dong Lien, sent in a sample to MLB. He received the results that revealed there was a substance that may show up on a drug test. Unfortunately, no one told Romero about those results.
He tested positive on Aug. 26 and Sept. 19. Once Romero found out about the first positive drug test (Sep. 23), he stopped using the supplements. On Oct. 1st, he was tested again and the test showed no banned substances in his system.
Days later, MLB offered to give Romero a reduced suspension of 25 days as long as he admitted his guilt. He refused, proclaiming his innocence. On Oct. 12, the second positive set of results came in and MLB again offered a 25-day suspension that was to be effective immediately. Staying true to himself, Romero again refused, stating his innocence. In addition, the immediate suspension would have caused him to miss his first World Series.
Last month, the players’ association notified Romero that the arbitrator had a “change of heart” and found him guilty, hence the suspension. The reliever looks to lose $1.25 million in the process.
J.C. Romero is receiving the brunt of this punishment although it looks like there were many people involved. This wasn’t a case of a player knowingly inserting banned substances in his body. The pitcher checked with trusted sources to ensure the supplement was acceptable.
Was he the only one “negligent” in this case? If the punishment is any indication, then the answer is “yes.” Was he truly negligent? No, he wasn’t.
Through this whole situation, Romero has maintained his innocence.
"One thing I'm going to say, I'm a man and I'm accountable for my actions," Romero said in an interview with the Philadelphia Inquirer. "If I'm guilty of something, you know what? I will face it. But I'm not guilty, and I'm not letting people that don't really know me judge me over something and accuse me of something that I didn't do."
Patrick Gallen, Philadelphia Phillies Examiner
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