Topic Overview

In 1919 the White Sox baseball team made it all the way to the World Series. One of the team's star players was "Shoeless" Joe Jackson. During the World Series he was approached by gamblers with an offer of $10,000, if he would "throw" the game. The first two times he was asked, he said no, but was later convinced by a fellow teammate, to join in with the rest of his team. After he and his eight other teammates purposely lost the game, the authorities found out, and put Jackson and his teammates on trial. They were all acquitted. If found guilty they would all have been banned from baseball for life. The problem was commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis ignored the acquittal, and "Shoeless" Joe Jackson was banned from major league baseball for life.

If compared to today's baseball players and their use of steroids, it does not seem fair that even with his acquittal Jackson was thrown out of major league baseball. Current players such as Jason Giambi admitted to using steroids in front of the grand jury and he is still playing for the Yankees. At least Jackson possessed natural talent as opposed to Giambi who used illicit drugs in order to improve his athletic ability. Giambi admitted to using steroids in 2003,and five years later he is still playing for the New York Yankees. Where is the fairness in that? How is it that just for losing one game Joe Jackson was thrown out of baseball and 21st century baseball players are getting away with using growth hormones and illegal drugs?