Character-clause? I dunno what makes a baseball writer qualified to determine someone's character. Last time I looked, no writer has walked on water, or taught a whole village to fish.
The NFL had this same b-llsh-t with Reggie White. IIRC, he said something like "I'm not apologizing to anybody", as the holy voters were waiting to hear his words before voting.
Heck, I don't think the Vatican is qualified to establish someone's character.
This character clause should be stricken from the rules. Was this added by Joe McCarthy or John Ashcroft? This witchhunt mentality says more about the character of the accuser than the accused.
Millions of fans love to see Barry Bonds... they pay to see him. And when he comes on the road, the opposing fans pay loads of money to see him. And they boo their own pitcher for not throwing him at least 1 strike.
Is he like a car wreck, where you have to stop and watch to see all the fuss, but still blame him for causing the accident?
And, pre-1998, Andro was banned by Health Canada, the IOC, and the NFL. Just because the FDA has rules that allow it to be circumventable doesn't make andro any less wrong than other steroids. McGwire has gotten off scott-free because he's a likeable person. Like Kirby Puckett.
Character-clause. Everyone wants to be omnipotent.
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20050207103833999