The Mitchell Report’s depiction of Major League Baseball’s performace-enhancing drug problem confirmed all our worst fears about the sport, its players, and their records. Not only have some of baseball’s best players turned out to be its worst role models, but some of the sport’s greatest records have been forever tarnished.

Baseball has been the scrutinized for years, much like professional cycling, but evidence of drug-related misconduct only came in smatterings. Jose Canseco, for example, the first professional baseball player to hit 40 home runs and steal 40 bases in a single season, confessed to using steroids years ago. And Mark McGuire has been similarly exposed in the light of his extremely productive later seasons as a home run hitter. But not until now have we had overwhelming proof that steroid use is endemic to the sport and its stars. In fact, some players named in the report have come clean after the fact, like Yankees star pitcher Andy Pettitte. Others, however, continue to deny use.

But quibbling about what types of drugs were used and when and by whom, is a distraction from the larger truth: professional baseball long ago ceased to be a contest of athleticism.

A large part of the appeal of following sports, professional or amateur, is predicated on the belief that they are fair contests. That the team with the most skill, the most practice, and even, sometimes, the most luck will prevail. Tilting the playing field further to include external, synthetic factors like steroids is damaging to the basic integrity of any athletic contest, which, like it or not, has far reaching repercussions for our culture in general. Baseball is known as “America’s pastime,” and as a result, its players serve as role models to children throughout the country and around the world. With the glitz and money of being a top athelete comes a certain social duty that cannot be shirked.

The Mitchell report suggests that the Major League Baseball Association should go easy on the players named in the report. This is unacceptable. Players should face the consequences of their actions, and do so on the public stage. The excuse that the use of these types of drugs was common is just not good enough. Furthermore, Hall of Fame voters should consider any accomplishments or records of players implicated in the Mitchell report suspect and tainted. Furthermore, Major League Baseball should work to enact the recommendations of the Mitchell report for tougher drug standards in the future.