It's an amazing thing to observe how swiftly and stupidly a man can ruin his reputation and career. They took years to build, but they can be dismantled in a matter of minutes.
For Kobe Bryant, it was an encounter with a woman. For Mike Price, it was one drunken night. For Jayson Williams, it was a strange party. For Pete Rose, it was a lie. And now, for Mark McGwire, it was a few minutes in front of Congress.
Last week, McGwire was ordered to appear in front of Congress to testify about steroid use in baseball. A cocker spaniel would have been just as useful.
McGwire didn't say anything, and to almost any observer, he appeared to be taking the Fifth Amendment — he didn't want to incriminate himself.
McGwire acted a lot like a man who was guilty.
Baseball got called to the principal's office last week, and it didn't go well, especially for McGwire. A bigger-than-life, home-run hitting, broad-shouldered slugger, he stared down fastballs and Randy Johnson and the sort of record-pursuit pressure that once made Roger Maris' hair fall out. But he couldn't handle a few questions from aging men in suits. He couldn't tell the truth.
"My lawyers have advised me that I cannot answer these questions without jeopardizing my friends, my family or myself," he said.
When asked if he was taking the Fifth, McGwire said — now famously— "I'm not here to discuss the past. I'm here to be positive about this subject."
Huh?
McGwire repeatedly refused to answer questions. He had previously denied steroid use, but now, under oath, he was acting differently. "What I heard and saw was a confession," said Dick Pound, chairman of the World Anti-Doping Agency. Even McGwire's friend and former coach, Tony La Russa, thought it was bad form — "He's made a statement where he's denied it, and I thought it was a great time to make that same statement," La Russa said.
Missouri congressman William Lacy Clay called for the removal of McGwire's name from a stretch of Interstate 70 near St. Louis.
"I don't think he deserves a name on the highway if he can't be forthcoming about his involvement with this issue," Clay told the Associated Press in Washington. "He does not come clean. He's not forthcoming."
If McGwire had known the criticism he would face afterward for his lame performance, he might have chosen to say something more substantive and illuminating. Anything would have been better than what he did, even if it was an admission of guilt. At least then he would have been credited for having the courage to tell the truth and admit past mistakes. At least he would have been offering real help for understanding baseball's problems. Instead, he hid behind his lawyers and vague words.
By the way, we already know McGwire took performance-enhancing drugs anyway. Reporters spotted a vial of androstenedione in his locker at the height of his 1998 home run chase. "Andro" is one metabolic step away from being an anabolic steroid. Translation: It has the same effect as steroids.
Because baseball has never adequately addressed the drug issue, Congress took action last week, and it wasn't a pretty sight. Six players were called to testify, although, inexplicably, Barry Bonds wasn't one of them. The rats scrambled to save themselves as the ship went down. If you believe Jose Canseco and his tell-all book, "Juiced," then Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro are lying when they deny using steroids. If you believe the other players, then Canseco is lying.
No one came off as badly as McGwire, who was named as a steroid user in Canseco's book. He was one of the game's most respected and admired players, but after his performance in Congress his reputation is damaged. His 583 home runs are suspect. So is his 70 home run season. His Hall of Fame candidacy is jeopardized (he's eligible in 2007).
McGwire — and the others, for that matter — did nothing to shed light on the steroid problem. View their records with a healthy dose of cynicism. Roger Maris, Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth are still the home run kings. Put an asterisk by the new generation's records, and give baseball another failing grade for failing to address its drug problem seriously.
E-mail: drob@desnews.com