Alex Rodriguez stepped to the microphone and offered apologies and a somewhat uneven admission as he tried to put his past use of steroids behind him. While A-Rod admitted that he was injected with a substance two times a month for three years, he claims that he did not know that it was a steroid at the time.
"I didn't think they were steroids. That's part of being young and stupid. It was over the counter. It was pretty basic. It was amateur hour.... It was two guys doing a very amateur thing ... All these years I never thought I did something wrong."
He said he “knew he wasn’t taking tic tacs’” but also that he didn’t know what the affects of his usage would be. He said his cousin was the one who suggested using it and got it for him, but he refused to name his cousin. Here's his statement:
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Alex was clearer about a number of other things. He denied that he has ever used HGH and reiterated that his steroid use was only from 2001-2003 a period where he describes himself as “young and stupid”. He also recognized that he “screwed up big time”, but asked everyone to judge him from this day forward. And with that he left the stage after about 30 minutes of questions.
Will any of this help A-Rod’s reputation? His claims of being young and stupid and his laments that he didn’t know any better ring hollow, but perhaps it is the truth. He mentioned that he will work with the Taylor Hooten Foundation and they have issued a strong statement in support of him. Perhaps he has turned the corner, but he shouldn’t expect the questions to die down anytime soon. Especially since Selena Roberts, the reporter who co-wrote the story, has a book coming out on A-Rod in April.
