There Is No Absolution In An Asterisk

NEW YORK (TNA) -- Enough with the asterisks already.

The idea that you can fix scandal, determine record authenticity and level great acts of athleticism with a symbol is absurd. And it is cheapening the moments that make sports exciting.

Don Shula has become the most recent abuser of the asterisk. Shula, who coached the 1972-1973 Dolphins to the only undefeated season in NFL history, made a public comment that if this year's New England Patriots go undefeated, they should go in the record books with an asterisk due to their controversial cheating scandal.

The fact that the Patriots have continued to dominate means that they are earning their wins. Should they have an undefeated season, then they deserve to go into the record books alongside Shula’s Dolphins, with their accomplishment unmarred.

The asterisk also surfaced in the debate over what to do with the ball Barry Bonds hit to break the all-time home run record.

Mark Ecko, who purchased the ball for more than $750,000, has decided to brand the ball with an asterisk before turning it over to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Bonds has made it clear that if the ball is displayed with an asterisk, he will not support the Hall of Fame in any way.

While his steroids scandal has made him quite unlikable, Bonds is right. It is not the job of Ecko to decide whether the record is tainted. It is the job of Major League Baseball, and so far the league's position is that it is a valid record.

The asterisk epidemic has become the immediate reaction to dissatisfaction in sports today. In sports, an asterisk after a listed record means there is question as to the validity of the record and how it was obtained.

How can we possibly determine what may or may not have been? And who are we to question an accomplishment, forever tainting its value?

We celebrate records because of their elusiveness. Athletes chase them because of the esteem they bring. And the leagues monitor them because of their precision. Either a record exists, or it does not. There is no in between.

We cannot let the asterisk become a scapegoat for commissioners who refuse to take a stand. If a league decides that an athlete or team cheated to attain a record, then the record should not be credited to them. It is the commissioner's job to maintain order and see to it that league rules are being followed. If they aren't effectively leading their sport, then no symbol can fix that.

(Warning: adult content)