| Classifieds: | | | | | | |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
By Mike Dodd, USA TODAY
The selection of former senator George Mitchell to head Major League Baseball's investigation of steroid use by players drew a mixed response Thursday, with his close ties to baseball raising questions about the independence of the probe.
"I don't think it's good for the game. He's involved in baseball; he's not independent," said John Dowd, the former federal prosecutor who investigated Pete Rose for MLB in 1989. "I think it's designed to put the clamps on Congress. I don't think you entrust an investigation like this to a (former) U.S. senator or a politician." Mitchell, who retired from the Senate in 1995, is on the board of directors of the Boston Red Sox. He is also chairman of the board of the Walt Disney Co., parent of ESPN, which has an eight-year, $2.4 billion contract to televise MLB games and is currently producing a reality show with Barry Bonds, one of the focuses of the probe. "I side with those who would think it's questionable," said professor Deborah L. Rhode, director of the Stanford Center on Ethics at Stanford University, adding it's important to avoid even the appearance of conflict of interest in investigations of this nature. "Is this somebody that has sufficient distance from individuals and the institution being investigated? Can we count on him to lead an impartial investigation?" she said. "The more ties, the harder that becomes." Mitchell said he will remain impartial. "I don't think there's any conflict," he told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "I'm going to be independent, have complete independent authority and will act. "I've assured the Red Sox owners that should any matter arise, anybody affiliated with the Red Sox will be treated exactly as will anyone else." Dowd acknowledged he has differences with Mitchell over the former Senate Democratic leader's handling of the "Keating Five" inquiry in 1990. Dowd represented Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who received a mild rebuke from the Senate Ethics Committee, which probed whether there was connection between political donations from banker Charles H. Keating Jr. and lawmakers' intervention with banking regulators on his behalf. The former prosecutor said the conflict of interest questions would be a "burden" for Mitchell. "I don't think it's healthy. Everything you do is not going to be trusted." Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., a baseball Hall of Famer, also questioned the appointment. "While George Mitchell is certainly a man of great integrity, I believe that baseball would have been wiser to pick someone who is not as close to the game and may be able to take a more objective look into the facts," Bunning told the Associated Press. Former baseball commissioner Fay Vincent said Mitchell's selection was "not perfect" but he thinks he'll do a good job. "A conflict that's a major problem is what's not disclosed," he said.
The larger problem is the size of the investigation, if it goes beyond BALCO. "This is so daunting. It's almost unfathomable, it's so complex," he said, adding that Commissioner Bud Selig would be making a mistake to limit the inquiry to Bonds. Punishment for violations in the past isn't nearly as important as getting all the facts out, Vincent added. "It's very important baseball recapture the high moral position." Dick Pound, IOC member from Canada who heads the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), said it will be interesting to see the amount of access, freedom and resources Mitchell is given. Pound headed the IOC investigation of the Salt Lake City bribery scandal that led to the resignation or expulsion of 10 IOC members and warnings for several others. Mitchell headed a U.S. Olympic Committee inquiry, launched after the IOC and Salt Lake Organizing Committee probes. It covered little new ground, placing the blame squarely on the IOC and recommending changes for future U.S. bids. The USOC "was looking for some way to exculpate itself from any involvement in a process that was seriously flawed and in which it had a serious part," Pound said. The inquiry panel, he added, "didn't do much independent investigation. As far as I can tell, most of it was simply reading newspapers." *** Contributing: The Associated Press |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||