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Emotional McGwire Ducks Question on Steroids Use
On Capitol Hill instead of a baseball field, wearing business suits instead of uniforms, they walked into the room, stars all, forced by subpoena to testify before Congress about whether they cheated by using steroids.
Heads turned, strobes flashed and necks craned to get a glimpse of baseball's humbled heroes on a day of extraordinary theater.
Five current and former players, three of them among the 10 leading home run hitters in history, bemoaned steroids as a problem for their sport but denied the drugs are widely used.
Mark McGwire hemmed and hawed, his voice choked with emotion, his eyes nearly filled with tears. Time after time Thursday, he refused to answer the question everyone wanted to know: Did he take illegal steroids when he hit a then-record 70 home runs in 1998 or at any other time?
No matter how hard the congressmen tried, McGwire wouldn't say.
Jose Canseco - whose best-selling book, 'Juiced,' drew lawmakers' attention - said anew that he used performance-enhancing drugs as a player. Baltimore Orioles teammates Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro said they haven't.
McGwire in the past has denied using steroids but under oath repeatedly declined to respond directly. Peering at lawmakers over reading glasses, his goatee flecked with gray, McGwire was pressed to say whether he had taken performance-enhancing substances or whether he could provide details about use by other players. He responded repeatedly, "I'm not here to talk about the past."
Asked by Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., whether he was asserting his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself, McGwire said: "I'm not here to talk about the past. I'm here to be positive about this subject."
Asked whether use of steroids was cheating, McGwire said: "That's not for me to determine."
Earlier, he said he knew that steroid use could be dangerous and pledged to discourage young athletes from using them.
"There's no doubt in our minds that steroids killed our son."
-- Dr. Denise Garibaldi, mother of a University of Southern California baseball player who committed suicide in 2002.
All of the players offered condolences to the parents of two young baseball players who committed suicide after using steroids. The parents testified, too, along with medical experts who talked about the health risks of steroids.
"Players that are guilty of taking steroids are not only cheaters - you are cowards," said Donald Hooton of Plano, Texas, whose son, Taylor, was 17 when he hanged himself in July 2003.
During a hearing that lasted more than 11 hours, lawmakers questioned baseball's new drug-testing plan, including a provision allowing for fines instead of suspensions. A first offense could cost 10 days out of a six-month season, or perhaps a $10,000 fine.
"That's the best we could do in collective bargaining," commissioner Bud Selig said. "The penalties would be much tougher if I had my way."
He added that he would suspend anyone who fails a test, vowing: "There will be no exceptions."
Canseco's book included claims that he injected McGwire with steroids when they were teammates with the Oakland Athletics and that Palmeiro used the drugs. In a tense scene, they sat at the same table, never directly addressing each other. During a break, Canseco was left out while the other players huddled.
"Steroids were part of the game, and I don't think anybody really wanted to take a stance on it," Canseco said. "If Congress does nothing about this issue, it will go on forever."
Several congressmen gushed about the sport, recalling how as children they collected baseball cards and autographs and looked up to players. For the most part, members of the committee appeared deferential and unwilling to press the players, saving their harshest criticism for baseball officials.
"Why should we believe that the baseball commissioner and the baseball union will want to do something when we have a 30-year record of them not responding to this problem?" asked Rep. Henry Waxman of California, the committee's ranking Democrat.
The paneled hearing room was full when the players appeared, with camera crews lining the walls and clogging the aisles. Much of the crowd cleared out when the players left, leaving empty seats for Selig's testimony.
He said the extent of steroids in baseball had been blown out of proportion.
"Did we have a major problem? No," Selig said. "Let me say this to you: There is no concrete evidence of that, there is no testing evidence, there is no other kind of evidence."
While boosting strength, steroids also can lead to dramatic mood swings, heart disease, cancer, sterility and depression; using most steroids without a doctor's prescription for medical purposes has been illegal since 1991.
Baseball banned steroids in September 2002 and began testing for them with penalties in 2004. Several congressmen pointed out that other major U.S. sports leagues have stricter policies and suggested legislation might be needed to make the testing uniform.
Questions about steroids in baseball have intensified as home runs have increased. McGwire and Sosa were widely credited with helping restore baseball's popularity in 1998 when they chased Roger Maris' season record of 61 homers. McGwire ended up with 70, a mark that lasted only three seasons before Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants hit 73.
Bonds and Jason Giambi of the New York Yankees were not called to the hearing. They testified in 2003 to a San Francisco grand jury investigating a steroid-distribution ring, and there were concerns if they spoke to Congress it could hinder the probe.
Baseball fought attempts to compel players to testify, but Waxman and committee Chairman Tom Davis, R-Va., threatened to pursue contempt charges.
More than four hours after the hearing began, the players walked in one by one. Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, a vocal critic of steroid use, was the first to enter. He sat at one end of the witness table, with Canseco at the other. Palmeiro, Sosa and McGwire were in between.
Schilling took a shot at Canseco, saying claims in the former slugger's book "should be seen for what they are: an attempt to make money at the expense of others."
But Schilling also backtracked from his earlier claims of rampant steroid use, saying "the issue was grossly overstated by people, including myself." He estimated that only five to 10 of his teammates in the last 15 years used steroids but said he had never actually seen anyone take the drugs.
Source: AP
"There's no doubt in our minds that steroids killed our son."
-- Dr. Denise Garibaldi, mother of a University of Southern California baseball player who committed suicide in 2002.
All of the players offered condolences to the parents of two young baseball players who committed suicide after using steroids. The parents testified, too, along with medical experts who talked about the health risks of steroids.
"Players that are guilty of taking steroids are not only cheaters - you are cowards," said Donald Hooton of Plano, Texas, whose son, Taylor, was 17 when he hanged himself in July 2003.
During a hearing that lasted more than 11 hours, lawmakers questioned baseball's new drug-testing plan, including a provision allowing for fines instead of suspensions. A first offense could cost 10 days out of a six-month season, or perhaps a $10,000 fine.
"That's the best we could do in collective bargaining," commissioner Bud Selig said. "The penalties would be much tougher if I had my way."
He added that he would suspend anyone who fails a test, vowing: "There will be no exceptions."
Canseco's book included claims that he injected McGwire with steroids when they were teammates with the Oakland Athletics and that Palmeiro used the drugs. In a tense scene, they sat at the same table, never directly addressing each other. During a break, Canseco was left out while the other players huddled.
"Steroids were part of the game, and I don't think anybody really wanted to take a stance on it," Canseco said. "If Congress does nothing about this issue, it will go on forever."
Several congressmen gushed about the sport, recalling how as children they collected baseball cards and autographs and looked up to players. For the most part, members of the committee appeared deferential and unwilling to press the players, saving their harshest criticism for baseball officials.
"Why should we believe that the baseball commissioner and the baseball union will want to do something when we have a 30-year record of them not responding to this problem?" asked Rep. Henry Waxman of California, the committee's ranking Democrat.
The paneled hearing room was full when the players appeared, with camera crews lining the walls and clogging the aisles. Much of the crowd cleared out when the players left, leaving empty seats for Selig's testimony.
He said the extent of steroids in baseball had been blown out of proportion.
"Did we have a major problem? No," Selig said. "Let me say this to you: There is no concrete evidence of that, there is no testing evidence, there is no other kind of evidence."
While boosting strength, steroids also can lead to dramatic mood swings, heart disease, cancer, sterility and depression; using most steroids without a doctor's prescription for medical purposes has been illegal since 1991.
Baseball banned steroids in September 2002 and began testing for them with penalties in 2004. Several congressmen pointed out that other major U.S. sports leagues have stricter policies and suggested legislation might be needed to make the testing uniform.
Questions about steroids in baseball have intensified as home runs have increased. McGwire and Sosa were widely credited with helping restore baseball's popularity in 1998 when they chased Roger Maris' season record of 61 homers. McGwire ended up with 70, a mark that lasted only three seasons before Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants hit 73.
Bonds and Jason Giambi of the New York Yankees were not called to the hearing. They testified in 2003 to a San Francisco grand jury investigating a steroid-distribution ring, and there were concerns if they spoke to Congress it could hinder the probe.
Baseball fought attempts to compel players to testify, but Waxman and committee Chairman Tom Davis, R-Va., threatened to pursue contempt charges.
More than four hours after the hearing began, the players walked in one by one. Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, a vocal critic of steroid use, was the first to enter. He sat at one end of the witness table, with Canseco at the other. Palmeiro, Sosa and McGwire were in between.
Schilling took a shot at Canseco, saying claims in the former slugger's book "should be seen for what they are: an attempt to make money at the expense of others."
But Schilling also backtracked from his earlier claims of rampant steroid use, saying "the issue was grossly overstated by people, including myself." He estimated that only five to 10 of his teammates in the last 15 years used steroids but said he had never actually seen anyone take the drugs.
Source: AP
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