Who enjoys a drink after work?

Show of hands.

Who enjoys a drink after work? Whether it be a cold beer, a cocktail, wine, or some kind of cooler, a drink after a hard day of work feels good and relaxing.

Thus, I find it amazing that people are calling for Major League Baseball to ban alcohol in the locker rooms. One player, who had a drinking problem to begin with, get into a tragic accident and right away everyone wants to blame the team for having cold beer in the locker room? In this case, the Cardinals knew he had a problem. Whether they chose to get him help or not, I do not know. And let me say, I don't blame the Cards. Seriously, they play at Busch stadium. You can't get drunk off that water they call beer.

I find that to be absolutely ridiculous. These athletes are adults and in most cases of legal drinking age. They should be treated like adults and be expected to act like adults. They should know their limits, the law, and how to act responsibly. We expect that out of everyone in society, why not them as well? Let's enforce personal responsibility. Is that too much to ask for? Hell, I can go to a bar, drink for a period and stop. I know my limitations, especially if I will be driving. If I drink too much, I hand my keys over to a friend. I don't believe that is out of line, to believe others would use sound judgement to do the same.

They want to say that MLB should not encourage drinking by having alcohol available after the games. Well, I have been in the Brewers locker room at Miller Park. Granted, it is during the off season. But I do not recall a full bar in there. I don't remember seeing beer taps on the wall. I believe they may have a cooler where they would place any beer along side the sports drinks and water. Players have a choice on what to drink. I say if they want a beer, let them have it. What are we to do, replace the beer with juice boxes?

Plus, it can be argued that having beer available in the locker room may prevent a player from going on a bender after a game. If the locker room, he may enjoy a beer with his teammates and then go home when no one else cares to go out after. Rather than drink alone, he may realize his friends are correct and getting some rest for tomorrow's game is the right thing to do.

Even stupider about banning beer from locker rooms is the argument that baseball is going after steroids when alcohol is a bigger problem. They say that no one has died from 'roids but as we have seen, players die from drinking and driving. Dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb. Steroids are illegal. Alcohol is not. Confusing an illegal activity with a legal one is stupid. Plus, steroid use fouls the integrity of the game.

Let's face it. Athletes are just like you and I. They may play a game for a living and make more money. But they also want to get out and socialize as well. We need to stop placing these guys on a pedestal. If they can't hold their liquor and make bad decisions (like some people I know), there is little we can do to stop them. Having a beer in the locker room is not the root of this made up evil. Let's treat these people like adults. If they have a drinking problem, let's hope their teammates or coaches can recognize the issue and get them some help.

Otherwise, they might as well strap baby monitors on them and track them via GPS.