Tweet
Mitchell report: Baseball slow to react to players' steroid use
Roger Clemens turned out be Exhibit A in the long-awaited Mitchell report, an All-Star roster of players linked to steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs that put a question mark -- if not an asterisk -- next to some of baseball's biggest moments.
Barry Bonds, already under indictment on charges of lying to a federal grand jury about steroids, Miguel Tejada and Andy Pettitte also showed up Thursday in the game's most infamous lineup since the Black Sox scandal.
The report culminated a 20-month investigation by former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, hired by commissioner Bud Selig to examine the Steroids Era.
"The illegal use of performance-enhancing substances poses a serious threat to the integrity of the game," the report said. "Widespread use by players of such substances unfairly disadvantages the honest athletes who refuse to use them and raises questions about the validity of baseball records."
Seven MVPs showed up and in all, 80-some players were fingered, enough to put an All-Star at every position.
No one was hit harder than Clemens. The seven-time Cy Young Award winner was singled out in nearly nine pages, 82 references by name. Much of the information on Clemens came from former New York Yankees major league strength and conditioning coach Brian McNamee.
Through his attorney, Rusty Hardin, Clemens denied he used performance-enhancing drugs and expressed outrage that his name was included in the report.
"I have great respect for Senator Mitchell. I think an overall look at this problem in baseball was an excellent idea," Hardin said in a statement. "But I respectfully suggest it is very unfair to include Roger's name in this report. He is left with no meaningful way to combat what he strongly contends are totally false allegations. He has not been charged with anything, he will not be charged with anything and yet he is being tried in the court of public opinion with no recourse. That is totally wrong.
"There has never been one shred of tangible evidence that he ever used these substances and yet he is being slandered today,'' said Hardin, who called McNamee a "troubled man."
While the records will surely stand, several stars could pay the price in Cooperstown, much the way Mark McGwire was kept out of the Hall of Fame this year merely because of steroids suspicion.
"If there were problems, I wanted them revealed," Selig said. "If there were individuals who engaged in wrongdoing, I wanted those facts to come to light. If there were recommendations that would improve our drug testing program, I wanted to hear them.
"His report is a call to action. And I will act."
Mitchell said the problems didn't develop overnight and there was plenty of blame to go around.
"Everyone involved in baseball over the past two decades -- commissioners, club officials, the players' association and players -- shares to some extent the responsibility for the Steroids Era," Mitchell said. "There was a collective failure to recognize the problem as it emerged and to deal with it early on."
Mitchell recommended that the drug-testing program be made independent, that a list of the substances players test positive for be listed periodically and that the timing of testing be more unpredictable.
MLB Players Association officials will discuss the report's findings at a 6 p.m. news conference.
When reached by ESPN.com after the report's release, a high-ranked union official said, "Based on the press conference and not having read the report, the anti-climatic theory is stronger than it was three hours ago. [Mitchell] made a strong pitch for amnesty."
Meanwhile, two hearings will be held on Capitol Hill to examine the report. Tthe House Government Oversight Committee will invite Selig, MLB Players Association executive director Don Fehr and Mitchell to appear at a hearing on Tuesday, and a subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee has called for hearings beginning Jan. 23.
Former Cy Young winner Eric Gagne, 2000 AL MVP Jason Giambi, Troy Glaus, Gary Matthews Jr., Jose Guillen, Brian Roberts, Paul Lo Duca and Rick Ankiel were among other current players named in the report -- in fact, there's an All-Star at every position. Some were linked to human growth hormone, others to steroids.
Mitchell and his investigative staff interviewed former New York Mets clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomski on four occasions. Radomski identified a number of former and current players he said he sold steroid and human growth hormone to. Checks and money orders, mailing receipts or shipments, and statements of other witnesses were used to back up Radomski's allegations. Much of this was found in Radomski's seized telephone records.
Radomski pleaded guilty earlier this year to charges that he dealt steroids to players for a decade. He then retreated to his auto-detailing business on Long Island while cooperating with Mitchell. Radomski worked for the Mets as a batboy and then clubhouse attendant for a decade beginning in 1985. He later used the contacts he made while with the Mets to go into business selling steroids and other drugs to ballplayers.
At Radomski's shop Thursday, an athletic-looking man in a black jacket who identified himself as Radomski said he had no comment. "Talk to my lawyer," he said. "This is private property. Please leave."
McNamee, who worked with teammates Clemens and Pettitte, was interviewed three times by Mitchell, with a personal lawyer and federal law enforcement officials in the room.
Clemens, whose Hall of Fame credentials include 350 victories, seven Cy Young Awards and the 1986 AL MVP award, was singled out in nearly nine pages, 82 references by name, with much of the information on him provided by McNamee.
Page 169 of the report reads, "According to McNamee, from the time that McNamee injected Clemens with Winstrol through the end of the 1998 season, Clemens' performance showed remarkable improvement. "During this period of improved performance, Clemens told McNamee that the steroids 'had a pretty good effect' on him.''
McNamee also told investigators that "during the middle of the 2000 season, Clemens made it clear that he was ready to use steroids again. During the latter part of the regular season, McNamee injected Clemens in the buttocks four to six times with testosterone from a bottle labeled either Sustanon 250 or Deca-Durabolin."
The report also says Pettitte, during his stay on the disabled list from April 21 to June 14, 2002 because of elbow tendonitis, "wanted to speed his recovery and help his team." The report says "McNamee traveled to Tampa at Pettitte's request and spent about 10 days assisting Pettitte with his rehabilitation. McNamee recalled that he injected Pettitte with human growth hormone that McNamee obtained from Radomski on two to four occasions. Pettitte paid McNamee for the trip and his expenses; there was no separate payment for the human growth hormone."
It continued: "According to McNamee, around the time in 2003 that the BALCO searches became public, Pettitte asked what he should say if a reporter asked Pettitte whether he ever used performance enhancing substances. McNamee told him he was free to say what he wanted, but that he should not go out of his way to bring it up. McNamee also asked Pettitte not to mention his name. McNamee never discussed these substances with Pettitte again.
"After the 2001 season, Pettitte, like Clemens, continued to use McNamee's services and to serve as a source of income after McNamee was dismissed by the Yankees. In a 2006 article, Pettitte 'acknowledged an ongoing relationship' with McNamee. Pettitte was quoted as having said that he still talked to McNamee about once a week. ' "
Clemens and Pettitte are from the Houston area and spent three seasons together with their hometown Astros. Tejada was traded to Houston from Baltimore on Wednesday.
"I have advised Andy that as an active player, he should refrain from commenting until we have had an opportunity to speak with his union and other advisors," Pettitte's agent, Randy Hendricks, said in a statement. "At the appropriate time, he will have something to say."
Through a spokesman, the Yankees said they are reviewing the report and would not have any comment.
Jose Canseco, who created a firestorm with his 2005 book which detailed his steroid use and accused several former teammates of using them, too, was denied entrance to Mitchell's news conference.
Several former MLB players and strength and conditioning coaches were also interviewed by Mitchell's team. Each player named was invited to meet with him if his name came up in his investigation. Mitchell said almost all current players refused to meet with him. He also said:
Response to the problem from both baseball and its players was slow to develop and was initially ineffective.
There is evidence the problem wasn't isolated to one club. Many players were involved. Each club has had at least one player involved.
The investigation found that some players were given a heads-up to drug tests.
In his report, Mitchell wrote he was against Selig disciplining players -- those named in the report or not -- for past violations of baseball's rules against using performance-enhancing substances "except in those cases where he determines that the conduct is so serious that discipline is necessary to maintain the integrity of the game. I make this recommendation fully aware that there are valid arguments both for and against it."
Several stars named in the report could pay the price in Cooperstown, much the way Mark McGwire was kept out of the Hall of Fame this year merely because of steroids suspicion.
Selig said discipline will be determined in case by case basis, and actions will be taken "swiftly."
Rafael Palmeiro, who tested positive for steroids, was among the former players named. So were Kevin Brown, Benito Santiago, Lenny Dykstra, Chuck Knoblauch, David Justice, Mo Vaughn, Todd Hundley and Fernando Vina.
Vina, who played for five teams and worked as an ESPN baseball analyst in 2007, was mentioned in Mitchell's report as part of interviews with Radomski. According to the report, Radomski met Vina in 1993 while the latter was in the Mets' minor league system. Radomski told Mitchell's investigators that he sold anabolic steroids or HGH to Vina "six to eight times during 2000 to 2005" and that Radomski produced three checks from Vina reflecting purchases of HGH and steroids.
According to the report, Vina's name, with an address and two telephone numbers, was listed in the address book seized from Radomski's residence by federal agents. Mitchell said Vina did not respond to his invitation for "an opportunity to respond" to the allegations.
"We had no idea, but will talk to him about it," Josh Krulewitz, ESPN vice president of public relations, said of references to Vina in the report. "We aren't going to comment further at this time."
Mike Stanton, Scott Schoeneweis, Ron Villone and Jerry Hairston Jr. were among the other current players identified.
"We identify some of the players who were caught up in this drive to gain a competitive advantage," the report said. "Other investigations will no doubt turn up more names and fill in more details, but that is unlikely to significantly alter the description of baseball's 'steroids era' as set forth in this report."
"The illegal use in baseball of these substances also victimize the majority of players who don't use them. We heard from many former players who believe it was grossly unfair that the users were gaining an advantage," Mitchell said.
The report took issue with assertions that steroids were not banned before the 2002 collective bargaining agreement.
They had been covered, it said, since the 1971 drug policy prohibited using any prescription medication without a valid prescription, and were expressly included in the drug policy in 1991.
"Steroids have been listed as a prohibited substance under the Major League Baseball drug policy since then," the report said, although no player was disciplined for them until the 2002 labor agreement provided for testing.
Mitchell is a director of the Boston Red Sox, and some questioned whether that created a conflict.
"Judge me by my work," Mitchell said. "You will not find any evidence of bias, special treatment, for the Red Sox or anyone else. That had no effect on this investigation or this report, none whatsoever."
Giambi, under threat of discipline from Selig, was the only current player known to have cooperated with the Mitchell investigation.
"The players' union was largely uncooperative for reasons that I thought were largely understandable," Mitchell said.
Source: AP
Barry Bonds, already under indictment on charges of lying to a federal grand jury about steroids, Miguel Tejada and Andy Pettitte also showed up Thursday in the game's most infamous lineup since the Black Sox scandal.
The report culminated a 20-month investigation by former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, hired by commissioner Bud Selig to examine the Steroids Era.
"The illegal use of performance-enhancing substances poses a serious threat to the integrity of the game," the report said. "Widespread use by players of such substances unfairly disadvantages the honest athletes who refuse to use them and raises questions about the validity of baseball records."
Seven MVPs showed up and in all, 80-some players were fingered, enough to put an All-Star at every position.
No one was hit harder than Clemens. The seven-time Cy Young Award winner was singled out in nearly nine pages, 82 references by name. Much of the information on Clemens came from former New York Yankees major league strength and conditioning coach Brian McNamee.
Through his attorney, Rusty Hardin, Clemens denied he used performance-enhancing drugs and expressed outrage that his name was included in the report.
"I have great respect for Senator Mitchell. I think an overall look at this problem in baseball was an excellent idea," Hardin said in a statement. "But I respectfully suggest it is very unfair to include Roger's name in this report. He is left with no meaningful way to combat what he strongly contends are totally false allegations. He has not been charged with anything, he will not be charged with anything and yet he is being tried in the court of public opinion with no recourse. That is totally wrong.
"There has never been one shred of tangible evidence that he ever used these substances and yet he is being slandered today,'' said Hardin, who called McNamee a "troubled man."
While the records will surely stand, several stars could pay the price in Cooperstown, much the way Mark McGwire was kept out of the Hall of Fame this year merely because of steroids suspicion.
"If there were problems, I wanted them revealed," Selig said. "If there were individuals who engaged in wrongdoing, I wanted those facts to come to light. If there were recommendations that would improve our drug testing program, I wanted to hear them.
"His report is a call to action. And I will act."
Mitchell said the problems didn't develop overnight and there was plenty of blame to go around.
"Everyone involved in baseball over the past two decades -- commissioners, club officials, the players' association and players -- shares to some extent the responsibility for the Steroids Era," Mitchell said. "There was a collective failure to recognize the problem as it emerged and to deal with it early on."
Mitchell recommended that the drug-testing program be made independent, that a list of the substances players test positive for be listed periodically and that the timing of testing be more unpredictable.
MLB Players Association officials will discuss the report's findings at a 6 p.m. news conference.
When reached by ESPN.com after the report's release, a high-ranked union official said, "Based on the press conference and not having read the report, the anti-climatic theory is stronger than it was three hours ago. [Mitchell] made a strong pitch for amnesty."
Meanwhile, two hearings will be held on Capitol Hill to examine the report. Tthe House Government Oversight Committee will invite Selig, MLB Players Association executive director Don Fehr and Mitchell to appear at a hearing on Tuesday, and a subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee has called for hearings beginning Jan. 23.
Former Cy Young winner Eric Gagne, 2000 AL MVP Jason Giambi, Troy Glaus, Gary Matthews Jr., Jose Guillen, Brian Roberts, Paul Lo Duca and Rick Ankiel were among other current players named in the report -- in fact, there's an All-Star at every position. Some were linked to human growth hormone, others to steroids.
Mitchell and his investigative staff interviewed former New York Mets clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomski on four occasions. Radomski identified a number of former and current players he said he sold steroid and human growth hormone to. Checks and money orders, mailing receipts or shipments, and statements of other witnesses were used to back up Radomski's allegations. Much of this was found in Radomski's seized telephone records.
Radomski pleaded guilty earlier this year to charges that he dealt steroids to players for a decade. He then retreated to his auto-detailing business on Long Island while cooperating with Mitchell. Radomski worked for the Mets as a batboy and then clubhouse attendant for a decade beginning in 1985. He later used the contacts he made while with the Mets to go into business selling steroids and other drugs to ballplayers.
At Radomski's shop Thursday, an athletic-looking man in a black jacket who identified himself as Radomski said he had no comment. "Talk to my lawyer," he said. "This is private property. Please leave."
McNamee, who worked with teammates Clemens and Pettitte, was interviewed three times by Mitchell, with a personal lawyer and federal law enforcement officials in the room.
Clemens, whose Hall of Fame credentials include 350 victories, seven Cy Young Awards and the 1986 AL MVP award, was singled out in nearly nine pages, 82 references by name, with much of the information on him provided by McNamee.
Page 169 of the report reads, "According to McNamee, from the time that McNamee injected Clemens with Winstrol through the end of the 1998 season, Clemens' performance showed remarkable improvement. "During this period of improved performance, Clemens told McNamee that the steroids 'had a pretty good effect' on him.''
McNamee also told investigators that "during the middle of the 2000 season, Clemens made it clear that he was ready to use steroids again. During the latter part of the regular season, McNamee injected Clemens in the buttocks four to six times with testosterone from a bottle labeled either Sustanon 250 or Deca-Durabolin."
The report also says Pettitte, during his stay on the disabled list from April 21 to June 14, 2002 because of elbow tendonitis, "wanted to speed his recovery and help his team." The report says "McNamee traveled to Tampa at Pettitte's request and spent about 10 days assisting Pettitte with his rehabilitation. McNamee recalled that he injected Pettitte with human growth hormone that McNamee obtained from Radomski on two to four occasions. Pettitte paid McNamee for the trip and his expenses; there was no separate payment for the human growth hormone."
It continued: "According to McNamee, around the time in 2003 that the BALCO searches became public, Pettitte asked what he should say if a reporter asked Pettitte whether he ever used performance enhancing substances. McNamee told him he was free to say what he wanted, but that he should not go out of his way to bring it up. McNamee also asked Pettitte not to mention his name. McNamee never discussed these substances with Pettitte again.
"After the 2001 season, Pettitte, like Clemens, continued to use McNamee's services and to serve as a source of income after McNamee was dismissed by the Yankees. In a 2006 article, Pettitte 'acknowledged an ongoing relationship' with McNamee. Pettitte was quoted as having said that he still talked to McNamee about once a week. ' "
Clemens and Pettitte are from the Houston area and spent three seasons together with their hometown Astros. Tejada was traded to Houston from Baltimore on Wednesday.
"I have advised Andy that as an active player, he should refrain from commenting until we have had an opportunity to speak with his union and other advisors," Pettitte's agent, Randy Hendricks, said in a statement. "At the appropriate time, he will have something to say."
Through a spokesman, the Yankees said they are reviewing the report and would not have any comment.
Jose Canseco, who created a firestorm with his 2005 book which detailed his steroid use and accused several former teammates of using them, too, was denied entrance to Mitchell's news conference.
Several former MLB players and strength and conditioning coaches were also interviewed by Mitchell's team. Each player named was invited to meet with him if his name came up in his investigation. Mitchell said almost all current players refused to meet with him. He also said:
Response to the problem from both baseball and its players was slow to develop and was initially ineffective.
There is evidence the problem wasn't isolated to one club. Many players were involved. Each club has had at least one player involved.
The investigation found that some players were given a heads-up to drug tests.
In his report, Mitchell wrote he was against Selig disciplining players -- those named in the report or not -- for past violations of baseball's rules against using performance-enhancing substances "except in those cases where he determines that the conduct is so serious that discipline is necessary to maintain the integrity of the game. I make this recommendation fully aware that there are valid arguments both for and against it."
Several stars named in the report could pay the price in Cooperstown, much the way Mark McGwire was kept out of the Hall of Fame this year merely because of steroids suspicion.
Selig said discipline will be determined in case by case basis, and actions will be taken "swiftly."
Rafael Palmeiro, who tested positive for steroids, was among the former players named. So were Kevin Brown, Benito Santiago, Lenny Dykstra, Chuck Knoblauch, David Justice, Mo Vaughn, Todd Hundley and Fernando Vina.
Vina, who played for five teams and worked as an ESPN baseball analyst in 2007, was mentioned in Mitchell's report as part of interviews with Radomski. According to the report, Radomski met Vina in 1993 while the latter was in the Mets' minor league system. Radomski told Mitchell's investigators that he sold anabolic steroids or HGH to Vina "six to eight times during 2000 to 2005" and that Radomski produced three checks from Vina reflecting purchases of HGH and steroids.
According to the report, Vina's name, with an address and two telephone numbers, was listed in the address book seized from Radomski's residence by federal agents. Mitchell said Vina did not respond to his invitation for "an opportunity to respond" to the allegations.
"We had no idea, but will talk to him about it," Josh Krulewitz, ESPN vice president of public relations, said of references to Vina in the report. "We aren't going to comment further at this time."
Mike Stanton, Scott Schoeneweis, Ron Villone and Jerry Hairston Jr. were among the other current players identified.
"We identify some of the players who were caught up in this drive to gain a competitive advantage," the report said. "Other investigations will no doubt turn up more names and fill in more details, but that is unlikely to significantly alter the description of baseball's 'steroids era' as set forth in this report."
"The illegal use in baseball of these substances also victimize the majority of players who don't use them. We heard from many former players who believe it was grossly unfair that the users were gaining an advantage," Mitchell said.
The report took issue with assertions that steroids were not banned before the 2002 collective bargaining agreement.
They had been covered, it said, since the 1971 drug policy prohibited using any prescription medication without a valid prescription, and were expressly included in the drug policy in 1991.
"Steroids have been listed as a prohibited substance under the Major League Baseball drug policy since then," the report said, although no player was disciplined for them until the 2002 labor agreement provided for testing.
Mitchell is a director of the Boston Red Sox, and some questioned whether that created a conflict.
"Judge me by my work," Mitchell said. "You will not find any evidence of bias, special treatment, for the Red Sox or anyone else. That had no effect on this investigation or this report, none whatsoever."
Giambi, under threat of discipline from Selig, was the only current player known to have cooperated with the Mitchell investigation.
"The players' union was largely uncooperative for reasons that I thought were largely understandable," Mitchell said.
Source: AP