"That guy is clean."

"He never tested positive, so he's innocent."

"PEDs don't help - you still gotta hit the ball."

"The so-called steroid era is ... clearly a thing of the past."

The last thought was courtesy of Commissioner Bud Selig in January 2011 after Mark McGwire announced he was returning from hibernation and joining the Cardinals as a batting coach.

They're all myths. We should all know by now that the steroid era remains in full swing and, sadly, passing drug tests doesn't automatically mean a player is a non-user.

If baseball's latest scandal - seven players linked to performance-enhancing drugs at a Florida anti-aging clinic - taught us anything, it's that we need to stop dismissing the truth, and the truth is that certain players continue to value their numbers and contracts more than their future health and legacies (including the Hall of Fame), that they're OK risking it all for millions of dollars.

And if making millions of dollars requires juicing up, then juicing up it'll be - and never mind the consequences: the embarrassment, harassment and shame of getting outed.