My allegiances will always be to the Boston Red Sox.

But, today, I am thankful for the honesty of a member of the hated New York Yankees.

If you missed it, Jason Giambi told the USA TODAY that baseball owes an apology to the public for the steroid era. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/al/yankee
s/2007-05-17-giambi-steroid-issue_N.htm

He even went so far as to say that he was "wrong for doing that stuff."

While we shouldn't applaud Giambi for using, it is refreshing that at least one baseball player admits that steroid use was a grave problem, and that he was a part of the problem.

If Barry Bonds would have said that baseball never tested for steroids and that they weren't technically illegal in the game until very recently, I think that public perception would be different.

If Rafael Palmeiro fessed up and stated that it was not Miguel Tejada's Vitamin B-12 injections that produced a positive test, but rather an old man trying to salvage his career, the public would have been more empathetic.

But what we have right now is a bunch of guys who make mistakes and then don't own up to them. That is more loathsome than the cheating itself.

Jason Giambi has the stones to say that he cheated, he was wrong, and that he owes everyone an apology. We can't possibly ask for any more than that from our professional athletes.

And if anyone compares Jose Canseco's tell-all tales to Giambi's confession, spare me.

Canseco wrote his "book" for three reasons:

1) He got blackballed from baseball and wanted to bring the game down;

2) He wanted money;

3) He missed being in the spotlight.

Jason Giambi has nothing to gain by apologizing to the fans. He has nothing to gain by admitting steroid use. He has never tested positive for anything.

Giambi should also be commended for his honesty in front of a federal grand jury. As far as I have seen, he is the only player who actually testified truthfully in those proceedings.

Grand juries are essential to the criminal justice system. Full candor to the tribunal is absolutely necessary if the system of American jurisprudence is to continue to be the envy of every other justice system.

But athletes not only made a mockery of the game of baseball... they made a mockery of grand jury proceedings... And Palmeiro and Sosa made a mockery of Congressional hearings...

Yes, Giambi should not have used.

And yes, using causes men's testicles to shrink...

But at least Giambi's are still big enough that he is man enough to tell the truth.