Just a little while ago, Alex Rodriguez came out and confirmed Sports Illustrated report that he tested positive for steroids back in 2003.
Speaking to ESPN’s Peter Gammons from his home in Miami, A-Rod said called himself “young and stupid” and admitted he used from 2001-03.
“When I arrived in Texas in 2001, I felt an enormous amount of pressure,” he said. “I felt like I had all the weight of the world on top of me, and I needed to perform, and perform at a high level every day.
“Back then it was a different culture. It was very loose. 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.
“And I did take a banned substance. 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, um . . . I’m just sorry. I’m sorry for that time, I’m sorry to my fans, I’m sorry for my friends 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.”
He also said he didn’t know what he was taking at the time. “It was such a loosey-goosey era that I’m guilty for a lot of things,” he said. “I’m guilty for being negligent, guilty for being naive, not asking all the right questions. And to be quite honest I don’t know exactly what substance I was guilty of using.”
It’s not know how this act of contrition will help his now tarnished legacy, but this is a first step in the right direction.
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