Alex Rodriguez has recently joined a group of select elite athletes. The clique’s members include Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Jose Canseco. Alex Rodriguez has held slugging, home run and stolen base records, but these are not what gained his admittance into the group. His admittance to the use of performance enhancing drugs opened the door for his membership in this squad. He is now part of a gang of baseball players whose records will forever be tainted and marked with an asterisk beside them.
On Monday, Rodriguez admitted to using steroids for three years. Rodriguez announced that between the years of 2001-2003, while a Texas Ranger, he knowingly juiced. His confession came to ESPN after they uncovered that he, along with 103 unknown players, tested positive in 2003.
The BALCO steroid scandal paved the way for the discovery of Rodriguez’s steroid abuse. Investigators in the case obtained testing results for over 100 dope charts along with the name of the sample’s donor.
Rodriguez said that he stopped using steroids after he got hurt in the 2003 pre-season. Rodriguez had his best averages during the three years he has admitted to doping. He averaged 161 games a season, along with 52 homers for the 2001-2003 seasons.
After playing with the Seattle Mariners from 1996-2000, Rodriguez inked the most lucrative deal in sports history. The contract he signed with the Texas Rangers was valued at $252 million dollars, for 10 years. Rodriguez claims that the pressure of impressing the fans and proving himself to the organization are the culprits behind his steroid use. “And I did take a banned substance and, you know, for that I’m very sorry and deeply regretful. And although it was the culture back then and Major League Baseball overall was very _ I just feel that _You know, I’m just sorry.”
I’m sorry for that time. I’m sorry to fans. I’m sorry for my fans in Texas. It wasn’t until then that I ever thought about substance of any kind, and since then I’ve proved to myself and to everyone that I don’t need any of that,” said Rodriguez, according to espn.com
Sports Illustrated reported that Rodriguez tested positive for two anabolic substances. Testosterone was detected in high levels, along with a designer steroid named Primobolan. Steroids are typically used by athletes to add lean muscle mass with little to no water retention. Being honest with the public should help Rodriguez in reestablishing credibility.
It has worked for many people exposed in the past. The fact that he contradicted his previous statements from 2007 may be the underlying factor in his forgiveness. He vehemently denied steroid use on CBS’s “60 Minutes”.
Aaron Drucker is a senior newspaper student from Miami. He can be reached at famuansports @gmail.com