Jim Taylor’s Weblog

Question: What do torturers, baseball players, and a disgraced pathologist have in common?
Answer: A philosophy.
        They wouldn\’t call it a philosophy, of course. In fact, I doubt very much if the military staff at Abu Ghraib prison, Charles Smith, and Barry Bonds think they have any connection with each other.
        But they do. It\’s the conviction that the ends justify the means.
        Over the last two months, the work of Dr. Charles Smith has been dissected more thoroughly than any of his cadavers, by Ontario\’s Inquiry into Pediatric Forensic Pathology. The inquiry believes that Smith erred in 20 child death investigations between 1992 and 2002.
        As a result of those errors, parents and caregivers were convicted, charged, or implicated in the deaths of children. Some spent time in prison. Some had their own children removed from their custody.
        This week, Smith told the inquiry, “When I went to court… I honestly believed it was my role to support the crown attorney. I was there to make a case look good.”
        He explained that it took him years to recognize that a pathologist\’s job was not to support the prosecution but to be “much more impartial.”
        Getting a conviction mattered; getting the evidence right didn\’t. The end justified the means.

Winning at any cost
        So too with Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, and more than 90 other baseball stars named by former U.S. senator George Mitchell\’s inquiry into drug use. Getting the wins – the home runs, the records, the salaries – mattered. The legality, the ethics, the deception, didn\’t.
        Admittedly, the charges may not all stick. Roger Clemens, described by the Philadelphia Daily News as “the best pitcher of the last 25 years,” has strongly denied the allegations. Clemens personal trainer, Brian McNamee, claims he injected Clemens at least 16 times with steroids and human growth hormone while both belonged to the Toronto Blue Jays.
        Clemens has sued McNamee for defamation of character.
        If Clemens is cleared, he\’ll be part of a very small minority. The on-line encyclopedia Wikipedia lists more than 600 athletes who admitted using drugs to enhance their performance, or who tested positive for banned substances.
        By contrast, the list of those cleared of such charges holds only 25 names. And it includes Marion Jones, who later turned in five Olympic medals after admitting drug use.
        Canadian Ben Johnson won the 100-metre sprint at the Seoul Olympics in 1988 – a blistering 9.79 seconds.
        I remember the sheer thrill of watching that race, played and replayed from every angle as Johnson stormed down the track, crossing the finish line with one arm held high in victory.
        Three days later, I was devastated to hear that Johnson had failed his drug tests and had been stripped of his world record.
        As a commentator (I no longer who, but I still recall his insight) asked, “How could we have missed it? Those rippling muscles – they just don\’t happen to sprinters!”
        Johnson claimed, in his defence, that at least 40 per cent of athletes also used drugs. During the Dubin inquiry, his claim was supported by coaches and trainers testifying under oath.