For a good solid week, sides have formed between old-school writers who see Cushing's victory as a bad message to up-and-coming young athletes, and a young generation of fans who frankly couldn't care less.
Cushing's steroid test was an unneeded black eye for the NFL after an offseason that has already seen two rape charges(one from a Super Bowl winning quarterback, the other a Hall of Fame linebacker) by high profile athletes. That being said, it's unfair to make Cushing the face of steroids in the NFL. Lest we forget, former-Panther-turned-Bears DE Julius Peppers tested positive for steroids. So did Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman. Both were Defensive Rookies of the Year like Cushing. Neither had their award put up for a revote and neither got the battery of abuse Cushing has taken over the Internet and on talk radio over the last few days.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to paint Cushing as the victim here. He tested positive for hCG, which is a substance that the body produces naturally that is also used as a masking agent for steroid use. It's the same substance that got Manny Ramirez his 50-game ban last year. With Cushing already under PED suspicion dating back to his last years at USC, all it took was this failed test to set off a cavalcade of "I told you sos". To assume that somehow kids in the high school ranks will now suddenly look at Cushing's winning of the ROTY award as a sign they can get away with cheating is a bit overdramatic. Steroids has been the focal point of sports over the last decade. From Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa to Lance Armstrong to Barry Bonds to Merriman and Peppers to The Mitchell Report to A-Rod and Manny and now to Cushing. It's been as much a part of the sports culture over the last two decades as the Nike swoosh.
Awarding Cushing the ROTY even after he tested positive for steroids is a bit unfortunate but it should be noted that he was voted again by Cushing's media opposers' fellow writers. This wasn't a fan vote. If you're going to take issue with anyone, perhaps the finger should be pointed at the guys who saw a positive steroid test and thought nothing of it. Cushing isn't the NFL's first cheater to fill up his trophy case and he won't be the last. It's easy to get on the high horse and say "Well, what about the kids?", but Cushing's 23. He's not too far removed from being in the same high school ranks that purists are now fighting to preserve. Steroids and performance-enhancing drugs are a seed that was planted a long time ago. It was an issue that the media and fans turned a blind eye to for years until it became hip and lucrative to switch sides. I'm not saying guys like King are hypocrites, but to to play the "tainted children" card is a bit too late. Kids are going to juice up to get ahead regardless if Cushing was Rookie of the Year or the next Chris Claiborne. In a world where there are so few spots open for outstanding athletes, everyone's fighting to get ahead. That isn't Cushing's fault. Cushing is the latest in a long line of cheaters. His mistake is no different than Peppers' or Merriman's or even Manny's last year.
If you want to punish Cushing or you want to send a message to the youth that Cushing should be viewed as a cautionary tale instead of an overcomer of adversity, then slap an asterisk on him. It's what writers were all too ready to do to Bonds before home run # 756 even sailed past the outfield wall. The ship has sailed on trying to stop the steroid epidemic from infecting the youth. Writers, parents, and fans had their opportunity to nip this thing in the bud over the last twenty years. Instead, we all stood idle and watched guys with enlarged heads jack fastballs 500 feet into the upper decks and gazed at 300lb offensive tackles bench pressing 400lbs and running 4.8 40's. Cushing is less a sign of the apocalypse as he is the product of our own ignorance. He did everything he could to try and prove his innocence. He took a poly. He pleaded his case and, in the end, he managed to win over the same old-school beat writers that marveled at the evolution of the game while syringes filled with toxic chemicals were being pumped in athletes' veins and win back an award people will forget he won in six months, much like we do with Merriman and Peppers.
Brian Cushing's win today wasn't a triumph, it was a sign that some writers and fans alike have accepted their roles in the steroid epidemic and realize that there is no turning back from the monster they created over the past two decades. Don't blame Brian Cushing for your guilty conscience.
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