What is the biggest issue here? The fact that Sosa may have used PEDs? Or that the results from a federally administrated (and confidential) test which were contractually promised to remain anonymous were made public?
From Circling the Bases:
The greater wrong in my mind is the fact of the leaks themselves. I’m a lawyer by trade, and it shocks me that fellow officers of the court are divulging this sort of information to the media. This is evidence that was seized in an ongoing criminal case that is subject to court order putatively preventing its release. The act of leaking this stuff is, at the very least, a violation of that court order and a violation of legal ethics. Depending on the exact language of the order, it could be a criminal act. I don’t know about you, but that causes me far more concern than whether Sammy Sosa took steroids six years ago.
I know, I know, now that the truth is known, no one cares. No one is going to cry a river for poor Sammy Sosa. I donât have any sympathy for him myself. But the issue of anonymity during these tests are crucial. I still think itâs a slippery slope weâre sliding down.
These âanonymousâ tests are going to mean jack squat after a while and its use as a tool will lose its effectiveness.
I have no sympathy for Sosa, in fact I find that the timing is hilarious (just after the ridiculous comments Sosa gave). However, these leaks could cause serious problems for baseball. The next collective bargaining process between MLB and the players union occurs in two years, and these leaks of a supposedly anonymous test will not help. I think it may increase the distrust between the two groups, possibly leading to a standstill in which neither group trust (especially the players union) a word the other side says.