The increased traffic lately (i.e. the last two days) is entirely attributable to one FP Santangelo. And sadly, this has really turned his “Cinderella” story into one with a very unhappy ending - see today’s story in the Ottawa Sun, I’m sure it won’t be the last. To his credit, he’s had the courage to “man-up” and admit what he’s done: Human growth hormone. And why: Fear.
This one is tough. Tough to accept at a personal level, and tough to explain to Zak (Neate’s point duly noted). The difficulty for me however is not that my son has built any of these guys up as heroes - far from it. He is impressed with their athleticism, their abilities, their physical talent. He’s met Howie Clark - spoken with him, participated in some practice drills with him. What he finds most difficult now is reconciling his feelings about these guys with the knowledge that some of them are “cheaters”. That sense of morality is self-imposed, just ask any teacher, coach or parent: The worst offense in the schoolyard, the most scarlet of letters is to be labelled a cheater. At ten years old, most boys don’t know much about genuine sportsmanship - helping a competitor to his feet, respecting - perhaps even admiring an adversary’s ability, accepting defeat gracefully. They do understand rules. And there’s no quarter given for cheats.
As an adult, I understand why guys might turn to drugs, steroids, hormones - I get it. Temptation, fear, money, ego - all of those things, perhaps none of those things. Kids on the other hand don’t get it - they shouldn’t get it, not yet anyway. Let’s not forget, the game is marketed towards them too - should I have given a pre-emptive word of caution that some of these guys were possibly taking drugs? Maybe. But I didn’t. I also didn’t tell him about Santa Claus, or the tooth fairy. I let him figure it out on his own.
But when the news came on Thursday night, I turned the channel; he still really loves this game and doesn’t need to be buried under a 479 page avalanche of reasons why he should reconsider.
*** UPDATE ***
Am I “hiding the truth” from my son? Hardly - in the age of cable, the internet and 24 hr. sports news, I got to shield him from it for about a day. But at least I had the chance to talk to him about it first.
