Allow me to explain:

If true, at some level, they knew. David Stern and Stu Jackson (and maybe Mark Cuban, from a different angle) knew. You’ll notice it was law enforcement that leaked the story, not the league. Meaning that for some period of time – while Donaghy was getting arrested for publicly-known temper tantrums and probably while the FBI was conducting its secret investigation – the NBA looked the other way. They knew.

In baseball, the unlikable Barry Bonds is about to become the owner of the most precious record in American sports. He is doing that, reportedly, on the strength of artificial strength. Steroids.

If true, at some level, they knew. Bud Selig and Tony LaRussa and Tom Hicks and George W. Bush and people who lived in the clubhouses knew. Bonds’ hatsize grew. Mark McGwire supersized himself. Home runs became cheap. And all along, MLB looked the other way. They knew.

In the NFL, quarterback Michael Vick is indicted for torturing dogs, and at the moment banned from training camp. Allegedly, he owns a house that is a compound for dog fighting. Allegedly, losing dogs were shot, drowned or electrocuted.

If true, at some level, they knew. New NFL commissioner Roger Goodell may be shocked by the story, and a large part of the American population may be, too. But in certain parts of the country, dog-fighting is a common pastime. Guys grow up doing it. They get to be adults, wealthy adults, they don’t necessarily change their nasty habits. The NFL knew this. They knew.

Are there steroids in golf? Is the Tour de France dirty again? Does anybody in NASCAR still beat his wife?

My initial reaction to the NBA scandal is unchanged: We might never look at our games quite the same way, always wondering if there is a boogeyman about to pounce. … or blow a whistle. It is bigger than Bonds, in a sense. Bonds is one man. History will remember him, quite possibly, as someone not on par with Aaron and Ruth. It is bigger than Vick, for sure. If his NFL career is over, history may not remember him at all.

The NBA thing looms largest because it is robs every fan of his trust. We want to be able to believe. And now. … can we?

Of course, that is where Donaghy/Bonds/Vick have left us this summer: We have to make judgments on which crimes are the most disgusting. Cheating baseball is bad. Electrocuting dogs is bad. Fixing games is bad.

And the worst thing about it is that everybody, in some way, knew.

Including us.

Which is why, despite my continuing belief that our games have been soiled, I think we’ll be back. Baseball’s attendance is at an all-time high. The NBA is one of the greatest international marketing success stories ever. And the NFL’s buzz rivals that of Coca-Cola, Levis and Elvis put together.

We cannot resist. We will accept that our leagues employ bad apples. We will even accept that our leagues knowingly employ bad apples. And we’ll be back.

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