In 1998, Mark McGwire was Time magazine’s Hero of the Year. He and Sammy Sosa revived baseball with their dramatic duel to break the single-season home run record. On Thursday, they became pathetic punching bags for a congressional panel looking into steroid abuse.

Were they cheating? Well, they sure acted like guilty parties to a practice that will forever sully contemporary achievements. Sosa had an attorney read his opening statement, even though he speaks English just fine. McGwire was trapped in a rundown between his conscience and desire to stay out of jail.

When McGwire was asked if he played with “honesty and integrity,” all he could muster was, “I’m not going to talk about the past.” And just like that, the superhero of 1998 was struck down.

Major League Baseball has belatedly succumbed to the wisdom that credible drug-testing for steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs is vital to the survival of the sport. Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig urged Congress to give its new drug-testing policy a chance, but it’s clear that the league does not intend to be tough on crime.

In the real world, it’s three strikes and you’re out. In Major League Baseball, it’s five strikes and you might get another chance. A draft of baseball’s new drug-testing policy states that after the first offense, a player could be suspended without pay for at least 15 days or could face a maximum fine of $10,000. After the fourth offense, a player could face a one-year suspension or a $100,000 fine. That’s sounds like a lot until you consider that many superstars make that much money in one day. Not even a fifth offense will trigger a lifetime ban. At that point, the punishment is left to the discretion of the commissioner.

Compare that with the Olympics, where the first violation merits a two-year suspension.

The saddest part of this scandal is the effect professional athletes have on children. Denise Garibaldi is convinced that steroids played a role in her 24-year-old son’s suicide.

“Mark McGwire was one of Rob’s heroes when he was growing up, and I felt like he let him down again,” she said, after listening to McGwire’s evasions.

Critics of the Thursday’s hearing are probably right when they say that Congress is more interested in grandstanding than providing actual solutions. No legislation on steroid abuse has been introduced.

But Congress did accomplish one significant feat, whether intentionally or not. It showed Americans that professional baseball has arrogant leaders and superstars with a dim sense of ethics. That’s something political leaders might want to keep in mind the next time a franchise wants tax dollars for a new stadium or ballpark. And it’s something children should remember as they look for heroes to emulate.