Alex Rodriguez's steroid use not surprising

I'm not at all surprised to learn that Alex Rodriguez used steroids. Not even a little bit.

What I am surprised about, though, is that so many are surprised about it.

I think sometimes we want to think that athletes, celebrities and those in a position of power have a strong ethical compass, and A-Rod certainly gave us no reason to think otherwise. He's never been much of a trouble maker off the field (unless you consider flings with Madonna trouble), and carries himself well in the spotlight. He plays the game the right way, and has never done anything to earn the reputation has a player that would do anything to get ahead. He seemed like he went about his baseball business in the right way.

As it turns out, it was all a facade. While I think we can lay a lot of blame on A-Rod for his actions, at some level we need to accept A-Rod as simply another player who had a price he was willing to pay for success. 

I think one factor played a big role in A-Rod's decision making process - the drive to succeed. Some are consumed with the need for success more than others, and because of the level of talent and commitment needed to play professional baseball, I believe that it tends to attract a disproportionately high amount of those who are consumed with the need to succeed as compared to the general population. When anyone with that type of disposition gets placed into an environment where, A) steroid use wasn't a punishable offense; and B) the competition had engaged in the activity, it's plausible to believe that a player with a high drive to succeed would check his ethical code at the door and participate in the activity.

Steroids can't win championships, apparently

A-Rod is who he is, and he became a victim of his environment. He's not unlike the CEOs of the major financial institutions that, despite receiving bailout money from the federal government AFTER flushing the savings of thousands of workers down the toilet, continued with their extravagant ways and poor management. Those CEOs got to where they were for a reason: they were smart and they would do what it takes to get to the top. They have no ethical code that drives them. Only their need to succeed drives them. Try teaching "soft skills" to a cohort of MBAs -- you'd be surprised how fast they'd tune you out. They know that they have to be willing to make decisions others are afraid to make to get ahead, and that means regard for what's right either goes out the door or changes substantially.

I'm not surprised A-Rod participated, and neither should you. In fact, I would not be surprised to see some of the biggest names in baseball on the sealed list of 104 perpetrators that Congress holds. The environment to support steroid use was in place; it was not illegal in that it did not merit punishment, and players were gaining a competitive advantage in terms of success and money.

What would be surprising is to see the game's biggest names not on the list.