On Schilling, or Me pretending to be a Sports Columnist

I certainly admire Curt Schilling's performance on the field. Between the bloody sock mythological heroics or the time when he came back as a closer because there just wasn't anyone else and proceeded to stink (mostly), there's a lot to like in his portfolio as a pitcher and a future Hall of Famer. What I don't like about Schilling is his purported voice as a moral compass for the rest of the baseball world, specifically because, while he certainly has a point, his suggestions seem more like providing a voice for Joe Message Board grumbler than that of someone who, whether he likes it or not, is one vindicative clubhouse attendant away from some accusation himself. I don't like the idea that people "cheated" to succeed in baseball, though I'm not repulsed by it at all either. People do bad things to get ahead in life, and the pressures to succeed are strong. That's not an excuse, it's just a thought process. But, while Schilling's right to be ticked about losing out on Cy Young's or all-star votes to people sporting a chemical advantage, what he's not right about is his assertion that Roger Clemens--accused of being a steroid user by a clubhouse employee--must prove his innocence or lose the hardware. "The numbers should go away if he cannot refute the accusations," Schilling says in his blog according to ESPN.com, and certainly, I stress, I understand the chip weighing down his mighty right shoulder. But Schilling, as any politically active mind should realize, misunderstands the burden's placement: since there are no canceled checks in the Mitchell Report featuring the Rocket's John Hancock, Clemens need not "prove" his innocence. The burden is to prove his guilt, not vice versa; while the court of public opinion wields a gavel without restriction, it remains a fact that one is legally presumed innocent until proven guilty. Like it or not, then, Schilling's mistaken in claiming that Clemens needs to prove himself. Besides, how exactly can Clemens prove that he DIDN'T do any of those things, other than issuing sketchy statements? Drop his drawers and showcase a hide without holes?