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'YR £ . . PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, October 4, 1988 -- 7 'REIN THR « - 5 ni "% a Viewpoint by John B. McClelland As | write this, it has been almost four days since the news broke that Ben Johnson tested positive for steroids and had his gold medal taken away by the Intemational Olympic Commission. In those four days, the newspapers have been filled with stories about the affair, radio phone-in shows have been swamped with calls, the live TV coverage of the Olympic Games has devoted much time to the Johnson story.' What has bothered me greatly over the last three or four days is that the central figure in this story has not been heard from publicly. Possibly b the time this column appears in print, Johnson will have issued a statement, | don't know. But if Johnson is indeed innocent as his coach has claimed, or the vicitm of some terrible conspira- cy (his water bottle was spiked with the drug; there was tampering with the urine sample he gave imme- diately following the 100 metre victory) | would have liked to hear Johnson proclaim loud and clear that he is innocent and that he does not take steroids or any other chemical substance. He should have gone public before he left Ko- rea, called a press conference and made a strong statement to the world. Instead, he skipped out of Seoul and came back to Toronto via New York, hounded at the airports by the press. He wants to talk to his advisors before issuing any public statement, and that just adds to the con- fusion. Granted, Johnson must have been deves- tated when the medal was taken away, and I'm sure the last thing in the world he wanted to do was face the mikes and TV cameras of the world's press. Difficult as it may have been, he should have faced it and proclaimed his innocence. If that is the claim he eventually is going to make, his credibility would have increased had hedone so immediately. Like | said, as | write this, there has been noth- ing but silence from Johnson over the last 72hours or So. Many people are asking questions about how he could test positive, how he could use drugs knowing full well that he would be tested at the ames. : The longer he waits before saying anything, the more suspicious things begin to look. It has been a tough year to be a sports fan in Canada. The Johnson saga follows on the heels of the Wayne Gretzky trade to Los Angeles. It is inter- esting In both cases Canadians reacted in some- what similar fashion, SDITSIN) 4 sense of extreme disappointment, a feeling of betrayal that some- thing wonderful has been taken away from us. The trading of Wayne Gretzky does not have the tragic proportions of what has happened to Ben Johnson, of course. Gretzky will play hockey this season and probably for many more to come. He'll retire an extremely wealthy man. Johnson may nev- er run again, and with his commercial sponsors dropping away, he may have trouble making a living outside of sport. But there is an analogy to be made between the Gretzky trade and the Johnson tumble from grace. Both open our eyes to the real world out there. Sport is a business, the motivating factors are mon- ey, nothing more, nothing less. More than any oth- er in recent years, these two stories dispel once and for all any romantic notions we may have har- boured about athletics. Canadians, like any other people on this earth, love a hero, especially one around which there is considerable romantic mythology. Wayne Gretzky and Ben Johnson fit that category, or at least they id. : Gretzky learned the game on the back-yard rink built by his Dad. He left home at an early age to play professional hockey, struggled against the critics who said he "too small," and eventually became the best at his game. Johnson, born poor in Jamaica, arrived in Cana- da at a young age with his mother and several brothers and sister. A humble man, a trusting man, "he worked and worked and finally became the fast- est human on the planet. He dedicated the gold medal to his Mom, for gosh sakes. Sure, he owned six cars and made millions from endorsements. So did Gretzky. But we as Canadi- ans didn't begrudge them their rewards. As long as they draped the Canadian flag around themselves, they were national treasures to be admired, re- spected, and held up as shining examples for every child who ever dreamed of winning a Stanely Cup or an Olympic gold medal. It hurt our national psyche when Gretzky was pushed or jumped to southern California for busi- ness reasons. And it sure as hell hurt when Ben Johnson tested positive for steroids. After all, Gretzky is not the first hockey player to be traded, and Johnson not the first athlete to test positive for (Turn to page 8) Yesterday's Memories 70 YEARS AGO Thursday, September 26, 1918 A leading Optometrist and Optician, F.E. Luke will be at Davis. Drug Store on Thursday of each week. A Milk prices will be raised to 11c. per quart starting October 1s Mr. Wright Crosier bought the McClintock Farm at Manchester. At the Blackstock fair this year a Baby Show was held with an entry of five babies. The honours went to the child of Mr. and Mrs. Oscar McQuaid. 45 YEARS AGO Thursday, September 30, 1948 Rev. F.G. Vesey, B.A, formerly of Parkdale Presbyterian Church was the speaker for the Re-Dedication of St. John's Presbyterian. At the 1st Port Perry Troop of Boy Scouts meeting, A.P.L. Jack Whitmore was appointed Troop Leader and Stuart Lane was promoted to assistant Patrol Leader. Sgt. Laura Roger is spending her furlough with her parents at Epsom. 35 YEARS AGO Thursday, October 8, 1953 The Recreation Centre Committee have signed Wren Blair, president of the Oshawa Truckers Team as Director and Manager for the coming year. The Port Perry Yacht Club will hold the Canadian Cham- pionship Regatta at Port Perry on October 12, sponsored by the Port Perry Lions Club. At the annual Red & White Show, Mr. Albert Cooper, Brooklin won the Grand Champion with his yearling bull and Allan Crosier, Saintfield had the Grand Champion cow. : 30 YEARS AGO Thursday, October 2, 1958 Port Perry Merchants won a 1-0 victory in Mount Hope to even up the OASA championship semi-final series in Inter. "B" layoffs. d Mrs. M.B. Dymond gave a commentary on her privilege of being presented to Princess Margaret at the Government recep- tion to the Guide and Brownie mothers of Port Perry. Miss E. Spence, Prince Albert has had a sale of furniture and is planning on moving to Toronto. 20 YEARS AGO Thursday, October 3, 1968 Mr. and Mrs. Edward Conlin, , received friends and relatives on Saturday, September 28th on the occasion of their 60th Wedding Anniversary. Port Perry Ballard Lumber Softball Club won the OASA -- (Turn to page 8) Letters Ben not only one to make mistake To The Editor: We all make mistakes - '"'we're human," and that distinction alone gives us a license to try to do the best for ourselves in this life. Those of us who have come from a state of "poverty or op- pression" strive to break free of these boundaries. We'll do almost - anything to get to a more solvent, sheltered state. Our parents, our teachers, our political leaders, have taught us from day one to try and excel at something, anything, so that we as an individual can make a mark for ourselves in this world. Why then are we as a nation of in- dividuals so quick to condemn one of our own namely "Ben Johnson - the Worlds Fastest Man.' Why? Because he got caught on his way to the top, to his idea of "a better placein life," taking an 'illegal' avenue in the eyes of the Interna- tional Olympic Committee. Come on folks lets face it, short- cuts ars a way of life, in not only sports, but in many other realms in our lives. In baseball for in- stance we have had legendary pit- chers that could hurl an illegal pitch much to the joy of not only their ardent fans, but of manage- ment that recognized a need for that little extra to get the team in- to the pennant race. In our national sport, hockey, we have coaches sending illegal sticks into play. And in the most sacred of pastimes we have so called "Religious Leaders' that tell us that we can get to the ultimate sheltered state with belief, but a contribution "will let him" know you're down there. (Turn to page 8) Problem could have been avoided To The Editor: In response to Mr. Jim Rae's letter in the September 7th issue of the Star: Mr. Rae: As residents of Saintfield for the past three years, we have heard quite enough about the property of which you own or owned. Mrs. Christie advised you of the by-laws in this area and the pro- per zoning of your property, 'Saintfield Auto.' You suggest your misfortune in Saintfield is directly the fault of Mrs. Christie and the people who live in Saintfield. The problems you had could have been avoided and corrected if you had agreed to co-operate. You did not. Mrs. Christie was not: wrong. Your neighbours were not wrong. You brought this upon yourself. You could have comprised with your neighbours but you chose not to. Instead you showed a lack of TTT a respect for Saintfield and Mrs. Christie. The people who live in Saint- field are nice, quiet, clean people, who in their own right, chose to do something about the mess you made, and the by-laws you ig- nored. Mrs. Christie supported them. Next time Mr. Rae, before you blame anyone, ask yourself if your problem could have been corrected had you not been so ig- norant of the by-laws and the peo- ple who live in the area. Yours truly, Jeff Foote, Lorna Bienia, Peter Bienia, Jess Phillips. to the editor. While we enjoy receiving letters from our readers, we must con- tinue to insist on knowing the identity of the writer. Letters to the Editor ... our policy It has always been the policy of this newpspaper to encourage our readers to make use of the letters to the editor column. Our readers have a right to freely express their opinions and view- points on just about any subject, and we feel that a lively letters column helps make a better community newspaper. We insist, however, that a letter writer sign his or her name. On rare occasions, we will agree to with-hold publication of a letter writer's name, if we fee! there are very good reasons to do so. Under no circumstances will this paper print an.anonymous letter EET OT Ee iiErTeer Ee ee aw dT a _ EN a ----m--"_--m