McGwire Receives Benefit of Doubt

Michael Josephson isn’t necessarily into heroes, for they come and go, as fleetingly as fame.

But role models are something else. As a nationally renowned ethicist based in Marina del Rey, Josephson is in the role model business, and Mark McGwire, who hit his 54th home run Wednesday against Florida, is good for business.

And reports of McGwire using the muscle-enhancer androstenedione as a part of his workout regimen are bad for it.

“I’m a fan in the sense that . . . as a man who runs character programs, I am so desperate to find really quality people to show to young kids,” Josephson said Wednesday.

“I look for people who know how to deal with their fame and how to deal with their skills. We get so tired of the Michael Irvins and the [Latrell] Sprewells and the stories. When you have an athlete and you can say, ‘This guy’s classy, I’ve watched him. I’ve heard him talk about his kids. I like this guy. I’d like to have more kids hear this guy talk.’ ”

Talk about androstenedione?

The revelation that McGwire takes the testosterone-producing pill has made him the object of severe media criticism, even though major league baseball has determined the substance is not illegal. In that, the game has ruled differently from the International Olympic Committee, the NCAA and NFL, and on Wednesday, Commissioner Bud Selig and Donald Fehr, head of the Major League Baseball Players’ Assn., asked doctors to gather information about the players’ use of such pills.

“Obviously, the health of our players is of vital concern for all of us, and we want to take every precaution to assure they receive the most accurate medical and scientific information,” Selig said.

Call when you have the information, Josephson said.

“There are only two things that are potentially wrong with these kinds of drugs. One is that it might be illegal, hence it’s cheating. Anybody who’s cheating is a cheater, and if his league says this is illegal, even if I thought they were perfectly fine, then I’d say he’s a cheater. He shouldn’t do it because he has an unfair advantage over his colleagues. Clearly that’s not the case here.

“So where else do ethics come in? . . . If we were encouraging people to sacrifice their health and kids to mimic them. . . . So, are the substances he’s taking unhealthy? I think we need expert opinion on that, but the little I’ve read indicates that there is no indication that there are side effects of unhealthiness.”

Research is sketchy and incomplete, though skeptics say the substance could have dangerous side effects similar to those of steroids, such as liver damage and heart problems.

Come back when you can draw the conclusions, Josephson said.

“If it turns out that we find that this is unhealthy, I would bet that Mark McGwire will be one of the first to tell kids not to take it and ‘I’m going to stop.’

“My position is that unless or until we are shown information that this is illegal, which we know it’s not, or it’s unhealthy, which we have not been shown, I see nothing wrong with what he’s done. I see this nit-picking and backbiting about it to be negative and destructive. And I see it as unfair.”

The fairness of the reportage has bothered Josephson, and not just because it has had the effect of besmirching a role model in his eyes.

The operative word here is hypocrisy.

“I think it’s a one-story report, because I think it’s an interesting and worthwhile thing,” he said. “I don’t think I object to that. It’s interesting, but when it becomes this multi-day, looking-into-it-every-day. . . . Even this interview is more than the normal thing.

“If I owned that company, I would be so excited right now. My God, the publicity they’re getting now. I see pictures of the bottle in the paper. . . . You have done more to tout it than Mark McGwire could have done in a lifetime. You as the newspaper have made the worst come true, if it really is a bad thing.

“If it’s dangerous, the worst offenders in this have been the media.”

The danger is in tearing down our role models, said Josephson, painting McGwire as a victim.

“Is there something about the guy I don’t know? If not, why are we so cynical? The guy might be a first-rate guy. They exist. That doesn’t mean he’s flawless. He’s a cut above average, we’re lucky to have him, lucky us.”

And the effect could linger.

“The sad thing about this is that this thing has the potential to distract him from setting the home run record,” Josephson said. “I hope he’s strong enough that it won’t. I think he’s strong enough that it won’t.

“But here’s as guy who’s doing his best. He’s having a great year, he’s keeping his head on straight and now he has to answer all the questions about this chemical. Do we really not think this is a factor? We talk about an artificial substance. False and unfair criticism is an unfair substance that can affect performance.”

Until there is evidence to the contrary, McGwire remains a person Josephson can lecture about and hold up as an example.

And the evidence hasn’t been shown.

“This is a man that by everything that I have seen, would never knowingly let people down,” he said. “So if we know that, leave him alone on this issue and just praise him on his achievements.

“I don’t know him. I’d love to see him succeed. I’m glad he’s around, and I want more Mark McGwires and I want more kids to be like him. Not necessarily hitting home runs like him, but dealing with their lives like him. Dealing with their successes.”

Apparently, that’s what’s happening.

“He’s still my favorite,” said Joe Franceschini, an infielder for the Toms River, N.J., team in the Little League World Series this week at Williamsport, Pa.

Teammate R.J. Johansen agreed, though he added “I think he’s strong enough already, so I don’t think he should be getting any extra help.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.