APNewsBreak: McGwire admits using steroids

[jaxvid]

McGwire comes clean

Finally. He skulked around the last few years in hiding like a criminal because he couldn't take the guilt. This is a good example of the different moral behavior of white and black people. McGwire had used steroids and the guilt of hiding it ate away at him. He never did deny that he used them but still it effected him to the point of changing his life. Guys like Bonds and Sheffield never batted an eyelash, lying the whole time and not giving a damn what people thought.

I think McGwire played this wrong and it cost him. He probably feels better about coming clean but if experience is any indicator his apology will only be seen as a sign of weakness by his enemies.

 

[whiteathlete33]

I always liked Big Mac. I like him even more now that he came clean. At least he's honest and will admit it unlike bums like Bonds.

 

[DixieDestroyer]

I think most folks fully expected he was sauced up on the PEDs. He should have came clean earlier...but, at least he did (unlike "afrolete" Bonds).

 

[whiteathlete33]

The difference between Bonds and McGwire is night and day. Bonds is an a--hole and always has been. He's a racist who once said he doesn't sign autographs for white people. McGwire is a family man and good human being. I don't condone his use of steroids but at least he's a man about it.

 

[Don Wassall]

He was injured a lot in the mid-90s, which makes his explanation credible. The thing about McGwire is that he burst into the bigs with 49 homers as a rookie, still the all-time record. He was always extremely strong, unlike Bonds, Palmiero, Sosa, Sheffield and the others,and would have hit lots of homers in the juiced up late '90s even without using steroids, but not to the extent he did -- 52, 58, 70, 65 from '96 through '99.

And yeah he's always been a class act and genuinely feels remorse, even though he played in the era when the powers that be in baseball winked at steroids use because they were all about more and more home runs to build interest and attendance. I'm glad to see his confession is finally out of the way, as it needed to be ever since he joined the Cardinals as a coach. I'd like to see him be rehabilitated enough to get into the Hall of Fame someday, but that appears very unlikely at this point.Edited by: Don Wassall

 

[whiteathlete33]

I obviously don't know an exact amount but I am willing to bet a very big chunk of MLB players have used steroids at one point during their careers. I'm a bit confused on the McGwire situation though. I know he admitted using androstene which was legal up until 2004 when Bush signed a bill making it a controlled substance. You could buy it at GNC and it was a pro-hormone which is different from a steroid as it's only a precursor. A lot of people said that androstene didn't even work anyways. From reading the article I am guessing he used injectable steroids as well.

 

[OldSchoolBoy75]

When using steroids is akin to physically committing a crime, like killing a person, you can see how f'ed up our society is. Personally, seeing behomoths in both baseball and football is a turnoff. If "bigger, bigger, bigger" is the mantra of today's sport, then how do you explain the prowess of players in previous generations who didn't have to use them for strength? Sometimes I begin to wonder if the powers that be are only fixated on appearance than natural talent so that's why they encourage enhancers of whatever ingredient, even steorids.

 

[white is right]

He was injured a lot in the mid-90s, which makes his explanation credible.  The thing about McGwire is that he burst into the bigs with 49 homers as a rookie, still the all-time record.  He was always extremely strong, unlike Bonds, Palmiero, Sosa, Sheffield and the others, and would have hit lots of homers in the juiced up late '90s even without using steroids, but not to the extent he did -- 52, 58, 70, 65 from '96 through '99.
<div> </div>
<div>And yeah he's always been a class act and genuinely feels remorse, even though he played in the era when the powers that be in baseball winked at steroids use because they were all about more and more home runs to build interest and attendance.  I'm glad to see his confession is finally out of the way, as it needed to be ever since he joined the Cardinals as a coach.  I'd like to see him be rehabilitated enough to get into the Hall of Fame someday, but that appears very unlikely at this point.</div>

McGwire was raw big boned kind of guy. I don't think he juiced until near the end of his run with Oakland. Being an ex-hardcore lifter I knew he was juicing from at least the last season in Oakland when he hit 52 homeruns and only played 130 games. The two faced nature of "Bud Light" and other power brokers in baseball is what irks me here. I listened to WFAN today and Francesa has already called a McGwire a 200 homerun without roids, but Bonds was a hall of famer with out roids....

Edited by: white is right

 

[jaxvid]

As I mentioned the criticism is coming. Tim Brown a sports writer for yahoo wrote a hate filled column that seems totally unjustified, but yeah McGwire's white so they can take their shots at him. I won't link to it because it's trash but I hope someday this guy and those like him get theirs.

 

[ToughJ.Riggins]

I found a good article that shows that McGwire wanted to tell the truth, but was worried about going to jail over it, so he simply wouldn't answer the question. I agree with the posts here. Guys like Bonds, Sheffield etc. didn't think twice about lying to protect their "legend". McGwire's Catholic faith is important to him supposedly and he simply refused to lie under oath. McGwire could have still been the guy to lead the league in home runs in many of those years- even without steroids- because his natural brute strength was better than most of the other roiders. It was a shame that baseball didn't test adequately for steroids in those years and loads of players used steroids and also a shame that McGwire had to get an unnatural edge by being one of them.

Congressman says McGwire wanted to tell truth

By HOWARD FENDRICH, AP Sports Writer 2 hours, 30 minutes ago

WASHINGTON (AP)â€"Mark McGwire's admission that he used steroids came as no surprise to the man who brought the slugger before Congress.

Former Rep. Tom Davis, a Virginia Republican, was the chairman of the House Government Reform Committee on March 17, 2005, when McGwire repeatedly testified that he would not "talk about the past"Â when lawmakers asked him about performance-enhancing drugs.

In a telephone interview Monday with The Associated Press, Davis said he met for three hours with McGwire behind closed doors the day before that hearing. During that private session, according to Davis, McGwire made clear he had used steroids and wanted to say so but was worried he would face legal trouble by admitting it then.
FILE - In this Aug. 30, 2006, file photo, then-House Government Reform Committee Chairman Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., presides over the final meeting of the Zero Tolerance Roundtable on steroid use by young people and professional athletes, in Washington. Mark McGwire's admission that he used steroids came as no surprise to the man who brought the slugger before Congress. In a telephone interview Monday, Jan. 11, 2010, with The Associated Press, Davis said he met for three hours with McGwire behind closed doors the day before a hearing in which McGwire repeatedly testified that he would not "talk about the past" when lawmakers asked him about performance-enhancing drugs. During that private session, according to Davis, McGwire made clear he had used steroids and wanted to say so but was worried he would face legal trouble by admitting it then.

"He would have been a nice head to put on somebody's mantel. So he basically took the Fifth (Amendment),"Â Davis said.

"It was very clear to everybody involved that he had taken steroids. Otherwise he would have gotten up there and denied it, but he couldn't. "¦ He looked ridiculous to most of the public, but he didn't have many good options. We put him in a pretty tight spot. He was candid and honest in our interrogation of him. He said: ‘Some day, I'll tell the story."Â'

Davis added that he was turned down when he asked then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez(notes) to grant McGwire immunity in exchange for honest testimony to Congress.

"I look back now, I wish I had got immunity,"Â McGwire told the AP earlier Monday.

One of his lawyers, Mark Bierbower, said: "He did make an effort to fully disclose the steroid issue and to do so, we sought immunity, but it wasn't granted. It goes without saying that he walked out of the hearing knowing he had damaged his name, his reputation. But he did it to protect himself and his family, and we're very pleased for Mark he can say now what he wanted to say then."Â

McGwireâ€"recently hired as hitting coach for one of his former teams, the St. Louis Cardinalsâ€"said Monday he used steroids and human growth hormone on and off for a decade, starting before the 1990 season and including the year he broke Roger Maris' single-season home run record by hitting 70 in 1998.

In 2005, Davis' congressional panel heard more than 10 hours of testimony from executives of baseball and its players' union; star players like McGwire, Sammy Sosa(notes), Rafael Palmeiro and Jose Canseco; and others, including Donald Hooton, whose son committed suicide after using steroids.

Hooton was among the people McGwire called Monday to discuss his admission

"I do think he can make a good spokesman on this topic,"Â Hooton said. "Who better to describe what it's like to go to the mountaintop and now to be at the depths of the deepest valley for a mistake you made several years ago?"Â

Hooton, like Davis and many people around baseball, figured McGwire would make this sort of admission soon, given that he's now employed by the Cardinals.

"This is the right time. He knows he owes the baseball world an explanation," Davis said. "I think we all knew this. I don't think anybody's surprised by this. He was one of hundreds of players who used steroids during this time. "¦ This was so widespread. Had we not held these hearings and put the fear of God into baseball, it would still be going on."Â

McGwire himself noted Monday that the most recent image many people have of him is in a suit and tie, right hand raised to take an oath before Congress. Now he'll get the chance to be back in uniform as a coachâ€"and as he returns to baseball, many wonder whether McGwire will one day be elected to the Hall of Fame.

In four appearances on the ballot, McGwire has hovered below 25 percent, not close to 75 percent needed for election.

Some baseball writers who vote for the Hall of Fame and have not backed McGwire in the past said Monday they didn't think Monday's news would change their stances on his candidacyâ€"because they figured all along he had done steroids.

"That was a shocker, only in the fact he finally admitted it,"Â said Bob Sherwin, a former Mariners beat writer and longtime member of the Seattle chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. "I'm not sure this brings him any closer to the Hall's threshold, but it does end the speculation that did nothing but harm his eligibility."Â

AP Baseball Writers Fred Goodall, Joe Kay, Jon Krawczynski and Janie McCauley contributed to this report.
Full Article Here

Edited by: ToughJ.Riggins

 

[StarWars]

It is sad because his rookie year proves he never needed them. Oh, well. At least he's an honest man. So much talent.

 

[LabMan]

McGwire has been placed on a cross by the anti-white establishment,I question him allowing himself to appear on MLB channel,and even speaking to Bob Costas,this "sports outlet"gets worse daily as it panders to black and Hispanic players,it will not be long before it is ranked up there with espn,strike that,down there with espn!

 

[icsept]

McGwire is lying to himself and the public by saying the steroids were only to stay healthy and that they did not help him hit homeruns. Clearly, the steroids helped him build the muscle mass to hit the ball farther. I'm tired of these guys (A-Rod included) "coming clean" after they're caught, but still only telling half the truth. No props to McGwire.Edited by: icsept

 

[Westside]

I hope Big Mac, Bubble Head Barry and Sosa "I want to be Jacko" are barred by the HOF. All cheeters.

 

[Bear Backer]

Bud Selig and the corrupt players union are the real villains in all of this. If Bug Selig had one ounce of character he would have resigned in shame, but like all other crooks he has no conscience. The way to have handled the steroid era would have been for congress to simple remove Bud Selig as commissioner of baseball on the grounds of incompetency instead of the show hearings and Mitchell report which were actually designed to muddy the waters. If there is no way to prove his active participation, despite the fact that anyone with half a brain can see he turned a blind eye to the problem in order to boost attendance and ratings in lieu of the strike, he certainly stands as incompetent to the point of what I would consider willing stupidity in allowing the situation to escalate to the point it did. Big Mac was obviously a cheater, as I suspect were a majority of players who played during that era, but so far only a few have had the guts to actually stand up and say they did it, Big Mac now included. In my book, that puts him above the likes of Barroids and the crook Selig. The only bad side of course, is that the media now has their white player scapegoat which they have wanted all along. Big Mac has always been the one they really wanted to rake over the coals and I expect to see their vitriol only increase. Edited by: Bear Backer

 

[Don Wassall]

The mediahate Roger Clemens more than McGwire. The Rocket was never anywhere close to being humble enough for their taste.

 

[FootballDad]

I'm not surprised by McGwire's admission. He is currently gainfully employed by the Cardinals, and a favorite of manager LaRussa, but the steroid issue has be busy percolating in the background (make that the foreground) ever since his hire. Every talk show in St. Louis sports radio immediately gravitated toward the steroids issue when McGwire's name came up, and every interview immediately went that way as well. It's an attempt to "put it all behind him" and to "move forward". Best of luck to Big Mark.

 

[Bear Backer]

I'm not surprised by McGwire's admission.  He is currently gainfully employed by the Cardinals, and a favorite of manager LaRussa, but the steroid issue has be busy percolating in the background (make that the foreground) ever since his hire.  Every talk show in St. Louis sports radio immediately gravitated toward the steroids issue when McGwire's name came up, and every interview immediately went that way as well.  It's an attempt to "put it all behind him" and to "move forward".  Best of luck to Big Mark.

Personally, being a Cardinals fan, I was a little bit perplexed by the hiring of Mark McGwire as the teams hitting coach. Granted, it is definitely an upgrade over Hal McCrae who's job description seemed to be "going to the park and doing nothing while collecting a paycheck", but McGwire was never a player who struck me as someone with an ideal swing. Sometimes he even looked downright funky. That in and of itself doesn't play a deciding role in determining the success of a hitting coach, but what worries me more is that McGwire is untested. He has never worked in an official capacity at even the minor league level as a full blown coach. He has had some praise working with individual players, but a whole roster is a little bit different thing. It is about identifying and helping to correct mechanics for everyone, according to their own individual situations and styles, not just one pet project. From what I understand Mac is not only a good people person, but knows how to mentally prepare, as well as knowing a thing or two about how to get a decent OBP, so that seems to me a definite positive. I just wonder if the distraction he could certainly bring is worth the risk?

 

[Don Wassall]

Wow, a White sportswriter who doesn't remain vindictive toward McGwire:


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<H1>It's time to forgive Mark McGwire</H1></TD></TR></T></TABLE>

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/joe_posnanski/01/12/posnanski.mcgwire/index.html?eref=sihp

 

[white lightning]

Mark could have done the same thing or better naturally. Look at a guy like Mike Schmidt. Mark McGwire was just as good. He could hit the ball a mile from the time he was a kid. What a shame that he fell into the same trap as the majority of baseball players over the last few decades.

 

[jaxvid]

Wow, a White sportswriter who doesn't remain vindictive toward McGwire:

That's a great column. Not a lot of sports writers with that guys class. What I would like to know is, if steroids made McGwire so great why didn't the other 1000 guys that used them put up the same numbers? And also why does the NFL suspend a guy for a few games for a positive steroid result on a test, but MLB acts as if they should be banished for life? In other words: why does the white guy sport get hit so hard by steroids scandals but the black sport gets a pass?

 

[whiteathlete33]

I think McGwire would have been almost as good without steroids. The guy was very powerful naturally and had a gift. A column I read today in my local paper said that his apology is worthless and that Big Mac should have admitted this years ago.

 

[Westside]

The roids have affected his brain, saying that the roids did not affect his performance in baseball. WTF up. The only person whose brain was more f'd up was Sammy "I want to look like Jacko" Sosa, for becoming a strange paleface with conked hair and green contact lens. My God this man is fool beyond reproach.

 

[texasheat]

That's a great column. Not a lot of sports writers with that guys class. What I would like to know is, if steroids made McGwire so great why didn't the other 1000 guys that used them put up the same numbers? And also why does the NFL suspend a guy for a few games for a positive steroid result on a test, but MLB acts as if they should be banished for life? In other words: why does the white guy sport get hit so hard by steroids scandals but the black sport gets a pass?

Jaxvid -- That's a good question. I'll give you my .02 cents. It is ALL about the record book. I love baseball & I love baseball history. It is the one sport where records really matter. I know Emmitt Smith is the all-time rushing leader but I have no idea how many yards he ended up with -- and I'm a Cowboy fan and should know this! However, when someone says .406 or 56 or 2632 we all know what they are talking about. Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio and Cal Ripken respectively.

It has always been that way. It SHOULD have always been that way. We should still be able to argue about who had more power, McGwire or Mantle, who was the better pitcher, Clemens or Carlton. Baseball was a unique sport in that regard. Unfortunately, the Steroid Era took that away. It made the records not as important.

The NFL has always been a more "in the now" sport & less about individual records. THAT'S why baseball doesn't get a free pass from me or most people. To me, it has nothing to do with it being more of a "white sport". Baseball needs to continue to clean up the sport & make it as drug-intolerant as possible. Clemens & Bonds need to go down with the "steroid ship" to get some closure here. They are both pitiful liars.

On a related note, it should just help white atheletes anyway. Most of the players flunking baseball steroid tests come from Latin America -- with more strigent testing their numbers are most likely going to go down.Edited by: texasheat

 

[jaxvid]

You make some good points, that's for sure. It's really hard to draw the line though. How can you ever know how much steroid use altered records? How will you ever know who really took them and how much? I think that unfortunately the steroid era will have to be treated like the pre-1900 era or the spit ball era or somesuch, a time when the typical results of players was altered. I think this is done anyway, I mean how can you compare the guys who played in the 1960's to the 1930's the conditions were so much different. When comparing those era's certain fudge factors are used. The same thing will have to be done for the steroid era.