Quote:
Originally Posted by dilanesp
1. I think cheating in a big race brings more shame to the industry and is more visible to the public. Plus there's more money at stake. So there are plenty of good reasons to hit a cheater in a big race harder.
2. Take your Bonds and Clemens example. Do you really think that if they caught a high school baseball player using steroids, that this is an equally big deal to catching Alex Rodriguez? Because I don't and I don't think baseball generally does.
3. It is irrelevant how others are punished and I am frankly sick of this argument. There are thousands of unsolved MURDERS in the United States. Thousands of them. All over the country. We still don't know who sent out that Anthrax in the months after 9/11. We never found out who killed the Black Dahlia.
And other murderers, such as OJ Simpson, beat the rap at jury trials.
So, we shouldn't prosecute murderers then? Some murderers aren't punished. They don't get the "standard penalty".
I cannot express the level of contempt I have for this argument. Here's a guy who cheats and administers dangerous drugs to a horse in the Kentucky Derby and people come out and say that he should just go on and keep doing what he is doing because we aren't good at catching people who do this? Really?
Would you accept this argument if someone committed a serious crime against you, or someone you love? Would you say "that's OK, the perpetrator should get away with it because other people get away with it"? Or would you, correctly, want them to throw the book at the person.
4. Baffert is (hopefully going to be) punished because he was caught cheating in the Kentucky Derby. When they caught Peter Fuller, a much lesser name in racing, cheating in the Kentucky Derby, they punished him too- indeed, they did it a lot faster than they have with Baffert. Your thesis that they are going after him because he is big is wrong.
|
You're missing a lot of points.
1. it shouldn't matter what race you're in. If you cheat you cheat and should be punished equally for the same violation.
2. I don't know why you brought high school baseball into the debate. They are not professionals playing for money whereas every horse race involves money. Pointless comparison.
3.You brought up unsolved murders, another pointless comparison. The authorities DON'T know who did it. In horse racing if a horse tests positive, we know who the trainer is.
4. I'm not saying Baffert shouldn't be punished. He should but I think it's excessive. He should be held to the same standard as others. If they ban Asmussen, Mcpeek and Romans Etc. I wouldn't have a problem with it.
