A-Rod repeats his ‘young and stupid’ defense during news conference
This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.
Alex Rodriguez just finished a live news conference from the Yankees’ training facility in Tampa, Fla.
The Yankee star said that a cousin in the Dominican Republic had helped him to obtain and then inject an over-the-counter substance. The injections -- between one and three times a month -- continued during 2001, 2002 and 2003. Rodriguez repeated his earlier statement that he had stopped using the substance by 2004.
Rodriguez also said that his cousin, who he declined to name, had not supplied the substance to any other athletes.
‘We did everything we could to keep it between us,’ Rodriguez said. ‘I didn’t think they were steroids. Again, that’s part of being young and stupid. ... It was pretty basic, it was really amateur hour. Two guys doing a very amateurish and immature thing... [and] we probably didn’t even take it right.’
When asked by a reporter why he kept the process secret rather than seeking professional help to administer the substance, Rodriguez acknowledged that ‘I knew we weren’t taking Tic-Tacs. I knew it was potentially something that perhaps was wrong.’
When asked whether he would have come forward had the story not broken in Sports Illustrated, Rodriguez said that ‘I haven’t thought about that much...the fact is that it came out and I’m here to share my story.’
When asked if he had used other questionable substances, Rodriguez said that, earlier in his career, he also had ‘dabbled’ with an energy enhancer that ‘since has been banned from Major League Baseball and removed from the shelves of GNC.’
Rodriguez also backed off of harsh language he’d used earlier this month after Sports Illustrated reporter Selena Roberts broke the news that Rodriguez had tested positive for performance enhancing drugs.
‘I actually reached out to Selena last week and we had a very good conversation. After talking to the Miami Beach police, they wrote a police report that I thought was a citation. It was definitely a misunderstanding of the facts and we both decided to put it behind us.’
Rodriguez said that ‘I hope to put this behind me and start focusing on baseball ... the last 15 months have been very very tough. I’ve been through divorce, I’ve been through the tabloids. You name it. I miss playing baseball.’
Rodriguez had to stop speaking several times during the session to regain his composure. He was unable at one point to finish comments directed at fellow Yankee players who were in attendance.
For full coverage, go to latimes.com/sports.
-- Greg Johnson