It looks like Alex Rodriguez has admitted his drug use according to ESPN, Sports Illustrated and ABC News. This is such a sordid topic to discuss; however, this topic is very much part of the game right now as cracker jacks and peanuts. He probably did the right thing doing his and moving on, but if the media is going to expose him — they might as well do it to everyone else on the 103-name list.
I’ll say this, the union and Major League Baseball hierarchy, up to and including Bud Selig have a lot of explaining to do.
From the Sporting News: New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez, talking to ESPN’s Peter Gammons, admitted Monday that he used performance-enhancing drugs.
Speaking at his home in Miami, Rodriguez said, “When I arrived at Texas in 2001 I felt an enormous amount of pressure to perform and perform at a high level every day. I was young. I was stupid. I was naive. And I wanted to prove to everyone that I was worth being one of the greatest players of all time. I did take a banned substance, and for that I am very sorry and deeply regretful.
“Before that time, I never thought about substances. Since then I’ve proved to myself that I don’t need any of that.”
Right now, I am hearing some of the excerpt from the Rodriguez/Gammons’ interview on 105.7 that will air on SportsCenter later on, and Alex sounds very contrite and pretty despondent. He sounds sorry — real, real sorry — almost to the point of tears.
Time will tell what happens as America is a very forgiving society; however, granted, Rodriguez is only sorry only because he got caught and his Hall of Fame candidacy has gone down the toilet; however, he did a smart thing by coming up front and discussing the issue. One can also fathom is that he knew exactly what he was taking.
The only thing I can add is that Rodriguez has time on his side, and the attitude toward drug use may change in the next 15-20 years and as some of the Hall of Fame voters pass on or the morality of fans and society change.
