Former slugger Frank Thomas said the latest PED scandal is embarrassing for baseball and he criticized current players for being money-driven.

Thomas said he has spoken with several Hall of Famers and they are in agreement that players linked to PEDs should not be in the Hall of Fame.

“I want the game to be where it’s supposed to be,” Thomas said, according to ESPN. “Guys have climbed that mountain for a reason, and that’s important to me. To hear the Hall of Famers talk, their legacy is important to them. I respect that. That’s why I had such feelings for Hank Aaron and those guys coming up, and I wanted to get to the level of the Hall of Fame. When guys take drugs like that, they’re not deserving of being on that level.”

Best known as a first baseman for the Chicago White Sox in the 1990s, Thomas is up for Hall consideration. He hit 521 career home runs.

Thomas said players are encouraged to use PEDs because of the amount of money being made in baseball. In turn, they are willing to risk damaging their legacies by getting suspended.

“When I played, guys all said, ’Let’s get to the Hall of Fame,’ ” Thomas said. “Now guys are like, ’Let’s do five years and make $150 million, and you’re set for life. Who cares?’ I think that’s the feeling among most of the guys now. It’s shameful, what’s happened over the last seven, eight years with this whole scandal, but guys continue to try it.”

Players with Hall of Fame credentials including Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens received low vote tallies in January when they were placed on Hall ballots.

“I played against Barry and Roger and I know they’re Hall of Famers, but what they did at the end of their careers is going to hurt them for life, I believe,” Thomas said. “It’s a sad thing, because I know how good those guys were. Barry could have been a 500-500 (home runs and steals) guy before he started doing this stuff. Really, was it necessary? He could have gone down as one of the greatest all-around players of all time, if not the greatest.”

Thomas believes the latest PED scandal involving the Biogenesis clinic in Florida will cause Major League Baseball to banish players linked to it.

“After this, it’s going to stop,” he said. “Enough is going to be enough. They’ll get to the point where they start banning guys, and that’s when it’s going to stop.”