Thoughts On Clemens

By request of the United States Congress, the Federal Bureau of Investigation to opened an investigation of star pitcher Roger Clemens for possibly lying to Congress about his use of steroids. I have read a few commentators who are asking why the FBI should even be involved in this case. Major League Baseball is, after all, not a government operation. However, I believe that the FBI should indeed investigate Clemens. Why? Becasue if he lied under oath, that is perjury- the very same crime committed by Bill Clinton that ended up losing him his law license and getting him impeached. Perjury is a federal crime and it is a rather major crime. One simply should not lie under oath, no matter how embarrassing the resulting testimony. And if Clemens did lie under oath, then he should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

However, I do have a problem wondering why Congress feels it should be involved in Major League Baseball's steroids issues. The government is a bloated, embarrassing creature already, and one that cannot even keep its own finances in order- that is why we have so many budget issues. Certainly the Commerce Clause was never intended to allow Congress to interfere in organizations such as Major League baseball. Congress needs to set their own house in order before they ought to worry about possible cheating in sports.

Professional sports should be able to police themselves- if they consistently fall short of the public's ideals, then their viewership and fan base will drop, as we have seen with baseball over the past couple of decades. Congress should have zero role in overseeing what is essentially a private concern. I understand the desire members of Congress have to be in the public limelight and this case certainly gives them an easy path to it while bringing virtually no accompanying risks. However, they would be better advised to do something about real concerns- like disloyal bureaucrats, deadly Muslim terrorists and the spiraling federal budget deficit due to their earmarks and other pork, before thinking about professional athletes possibly doing drugs in order to succeed in their chosen sports.