Albert Pujols Denial and Lawsuit is Same Old Song and Dance for Alleged PED Users

By Michael Moraitis--Featured Columnist (@MichaelMoraitis)

Albert Pujols is fighting back against former St. Louis Cardinal and now former radio personality, Jack Clark, after he made comments accusing Pujols of using PEDs in the past.

Of course, Pujols has denied such allegations and is now looking to file a lawsuit against Clark and his employer after his comments on the radio. Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times first reported Pujols' plans and why he intends to sue:

#Angels slugger Albert Pujols said he will take legal action vs. Jack Clark and his employer.
— Mike DiGiovanna (@MikeDiGiovanna) August 10, 2013

Pujols said it was "irresponsible and reckless for Jack Clark to falsely accuse me of using PEDs."
— Mike DiGiovanna (@MikeDiGiovanna) August 10, 2013

As a result of his accusations, Clark and his radio partner have been booted from the airwaves after just seven shows. Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has the latest on Clark's fate with the station and what the company itself said about the Clark's job:

Former Cardinals icon Albert Pujols said late Friday that he plans to sue former Cardinal Jack Clark, as well as those connected with the St. Louis radio station on which he appears, for Clark’s on-air steroids allegations about Pujols.

Then shortly after midnight Saturday morning, the company that has put Clark and co-host Kevin Slaten on the air abruptly announced they will not be returning — after just seven shows.

Here is what the company had to say, per the same report:

Early Saturday, insideSTL announced it “has terminated its relationship with Jack Clark and Kevin Slaten. As independent contractors, we want to make it clear that the opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the opinions of insideSTL. Also as independent contractors, insideSTL did not have editorial control over the show’s content.’’

It's no surprise that Clark is being alienated for his comments about Pujols. Granted, he didn't have any hard evidence pinning Pujols to his accusations, so it's only natural that people won't believe Clark in the matter.

But haven't we seen this before?

Didn't a man named Jose Canseco publish a book and accuse players both past and present of PED use only to be creamed by the national media and baseball fans as a whole for being a liar?

If I remember correctly looking back at that situation, despite his credibility issues, Canseco was spot-on about several players and Alex Rodriguez is now living proof that the former slugger was indeed telling the truth.

And like all alleged PED users before him who were eventually caught, Pujols has denied it up and down and now he has even brought God into the situation as if we believe his faith makes him incapable of cheating the game.

Pujols wouldn't be the first God-fearing man to cheat the sport (see: Andy Pettitte).

Now, I'm not sitting here and saying that Pujols is guilty by any stretch. It's just that we've seen this all before and most of the time the guy doing the accusing turns out to be right.

Am I to believe that Clark risked his radio career and credibility just to make up a fable about Pujols? Sure, he might have been looking for ratings, but was he willing to do it at the expense of his job and relationship with Pujols?

As far as we know, Clark considered Pujols a friend and had no vendetta against the Los Angeles Angels star, so that kind of motive isn't apparent just yet.

On top of that, Clark's incredible detail regarding his conversation with Pujols' former trainer, Chris Mihlfeld, doesn't sound like a guy who is making stuff up. At the very least, Clark's comments certainly warrant looking a bit deeper into Pujols' past of potential PED use.

Instead of just letting this go, Pujols plans on filing a lawsuit, which is a dangerous thing for him to do. Let's say for a second he did use PEDs. If he is to bring this to a court, there could be evidence out there that comes to light that further links Pujols to the banned substances.

It's a chance Pujols shouldn't take for his own sake. He's better off just letting it go and moving on. Most people who believe Clark likely won't ever change their minds anyway and Pujols' supporters will remain regardless of what he does.

With all the lying players do nowadays, Pujols' denials and lawsuits aren't going to make us believe him anymore. It may not be fair, but that's just the reality his colleagues have set up for him and the rest of the players in the MLB moving forward.

I contend Pujols won't file anything because if he knows deep down inside he's guilty, it's a risky bet to go to court for this. On the flip side, if he wants to put his money where his mouth is, Pujols will file the lawsuit and win it to shut a very small portion of the doubters up, if any at all.

No matter what he decides to do, Clark has already opened up pandora's box on Pujols and this could be just the beginning of a long inquiry and debate into the potential that the future Hall of Famer used PEDs in the past.