A-Roids
NEW YORK — Alex Rodriguez's reputation is in tatters, his credibility shredded. Having admitted that he, too, cheated in baseball's steroids era, the New York Yankees star must go about rebuilding his image in the eyes of teammates, opponents and fans.
Following a weekend Sports Illustrated report that he flunked a drug test six years ago, baseball's highest-paid player told ESPN Monday he used banned substances while playing with the Texas Rangers from 2001-03 to justify his 10-year, $252 million contract.
"If you're a fan of major league baseball, I think it tarnishes an entire era, to some degree," President Barack Obama said during his first presidential news conference.
Rodriguez was apologetic but was not forthcoming with details. He sidestepped a question about how he obtained the banned drugs and said he didn't even know what substance he was guilty of using.
"Back then it was a different culture," Rodriguez said. "It was very loose. I was young. I was stupid. I was naive, and I wanted to prove to everyone that, you know, I was worth, you know — and being one of the greatest players of all time."
He does hope he will be forgiven by Yankees fans, already frustrated because Rodriguez has failed to lead the team into the World Series during his five seasons in New York.
"I think New Yorkers like honesty. I think they like people that say the truth. I also think they like great players that know how to win. And I think winning's the ultimate medicine we can take here," he said. "If we can win a championship, if we can play well, if we can play well down the stretch, I think New Yorkers love to forgive you."
Rodriguez said he used banned drugs only while with Texas, and that he was clean when he played for the Seattle Mariners from 1994-2000. He said he quit during spring training in 2003, before the first of three AL MVP seasons, because "I've proved to myself and to everyone that I don't need any of that."
He was traded to the Yankees before the 2004 season, and said he hasn't used since.
The admission came two days after Sports Illustrated reported on its Web site that Rodriguez was among 104 names on a list of players who tested positive for steroids in 2003, when testing was intended to determine the extent of steroids use in baseball. The results weren't subject to discipline and were supposed to remain anonymous, but were seized by the government in 2004 and remain under seal.
The Yankees said in a statement that "we urged Alex to be completely open, honest and forthcoming" and that "we take him at his word that he was."
"Although we are disappointed in the mistake he spoke to today, we realize that Alex — like all of us — is a human being not immune to fault," the team said. "We support Alex, and we will do everything we can to help him deal with this challenge."
