Please, Put Down the Shovel.

If you're like me you probably would rather not ever hear one more word about Barry Bonds and steroids. That dead horse was beaten over and over this past year to the shagrin of most sports fans. It's not that we don't care, it's that there's really nothing left to say. We're all fed up with it.

Well, this brand new mess with Roger Clemens brings it all back to the surface. And I think it is very important for everyone to see the real issue at hand here. Yes, quite frankly it does matter whether or not professional athletes like Roger Clemens, Andy Pettite, Barry Bonds and others have made the enormous blunder of using these drugs. But what matters more is that grown men - who are being watched by millions who have placed them on an unwarranted pedestal - can't seem to simply tell the truth.

I'm not going to speak for anyone else, but I have a suspicion that if Barry Bonds had held a press conference a couple of years ago when this all started, confessed to the world that "Yes, several years ago I made the mistake and horrible choice of using performance enhancing drugs and I regret it. I can't go back and change it. But I can commit to you that it will never happen again", I think the American public would have been forgiving and possibly dumbfounded by the level of integrity and honesty. But that's not what happened. He lied. And on average, it takes at least 4 lies to cover up the first one. Someone get Barry a shovel! The hole is so deep he can't possibly see the top anymore.

Enter Roger Clemens. Of course I wanted to hear from Clemens that he had never taken steroids (HGH, Performance Enhancing Drugs, whatever!) but I only wanted to hear that if it was the truth. I think people want the truth. They want to know that you have integrity and that you don't think they're so stupid that they'll fall for any old bag of bologna you'll try and feed them. But sadly, here we are again.

I dread watching the uncomfortable chaos that will most likely play out over the next few days as the public eye watches these men scramble to see who can bluff longer and who can manage to worm their way through the labyrinth of lies. Please, do us all a favor - just tell the TRUTH! That's all we want. We're ready to say, "You're forgiven. Don't do it again." Give us the chance. The TRUTH will set you free. Put down the shovel. Stop digging this hole that, before you know it, will be swallowing up your whole life. Show your kids that the TRUTH is more important than covering your temporary reputation.

Please, put down the shovel. No one wants to watch this again.