One of the most poignant and prescient lines in the Simon and Garfunkel song “Mrs. Robinson” refers to our nation bemoaning the absence of an athletic role model like Joe Dimaggio. “Jolting Joe has left and gone away,” they sang, and we are left with the likes of Barry Bonds as the new record holder as he just broke Hank Aaron’s record with his 756th homer in San Francisco. His feat, however, is tainted by his alleged steroid use, which many sports fans feel invalidates this achievement. As long as we’re asterisking and invalidating athletic records, why don’t we just strike all of them, both amateur and professional, because for the past 20 years so many of them stink to high heaven of cheating with enhancement drugs.

It’s been common knowledge that steroids are the mainstay of success in professional wrestling, body building and boxing, but the real shocker is how prevalent it is in high schools. My three sons, who all attended New York City private high schools, informed me recently that steroids were routinely used by the football players in their high schools and in some cases, the coaches turned a blind eye to their usage. Many of the assistant coaches were former players and may have been suppliers to the team as well. “Roid” rages and erratic behavior were typical signs of players who could be seen shooting needles between their toes and their rears. When I expressed incredulity, I was told this is going on in all the schools for years.

Is winning more important than the health of these youths? Aren’t they being warned about how destructive steroids are to the body? Parents of young football players need to monitor their sons carefully. They need to Google the biographies of former NFL stars Lyle Alzado and John Matuszak, who died premature deaths attributed to long term steroid abuse. Steroids are also the suspected cause of the murder/suicide of wrestler Chris Benoit and his family.

Above all, steroid use is cheating, but cheating in sports through the use of drugs has been ongoing for years with little punishment for offenders. The idea of steroids in golf sounds ridiculous, but veteran champion Gary Player exposed that possibility when he charged recently that he knows at least one player on the PGA tour takes the drug and urged testing for the tour. Guess who’s being crucified — Player.

New York Yankee Jason Giambi testified before a grand jury and admitted taking drugs, yet he’s still a Yankee. If the Yankees don’t care that they hired a cheater why on earth should I root for them anymore? That’s why this old diehard fan has moved on to the minor leagues. Here’s another song that perfectly describes my feeling about the Yankees today — “The thrill is gone.”

I’m writing this not as a sports commentator but as a fan who feels betrayed by the acceptance of cheating in major league sports today. When my daughter asked me what made me a Yankee fan all these years, I recalled going to my first game at Yankee stadium with my brother and father. Joe Dimaggio had already retired, but he was at the stadium that day standing near the dugout. Apparently, he was not averse to signing baseballs for free then, because my brother came home with an autographed one. I grew up cherishing the Yankees because they played as a team and would win the most amazing come-from-behind victories, but what are they now? High priced male divas more interested in their press clippings than the all-American pastime.

The next question she asked was whether there is any Yankee that I still respect. I’d have to answer Derek Jeter because he’s always played hard and he’s always been a Yankee. That should mean something to George Steinbrenner, who needs to come out to the Richmond County Stadium in Staten Island and watch the Baby Boomers play. This beautiful stadium is where he should be getting his future stars. Look how well former Staten Island Yankees Chien-Ming Wang and Robinson Cano are doing with the Bronx Bombers. Look how poorly Randy Johnson and other high profile acquisitions performed.

One of my favorite baseball movies is “The Scout”. It’s about a young phenomenon who is signed by the NY Yankees. He’s not huge. He doesn’t have a 19-inch neck. He’s a natural and perhaps that’s the saddest thing about all this cheating with steroids in the sports world. How on earth will we ever recognize a natural-born athlete again?