McGwire Refuses to Say if He Used Steroids

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By HOWARD FENDRICH and RONALD BLUM, AP Sports Writers

 

WASHINGTON - Lined up shoulder to shoulder, some of baseball's biggest stars told Congress Thursday that steroids are a problem for the sport but denied there is widespread use. Mark McGwire, choking back tears at times, repeatedly refused to say if he took the drugs when he was helping fuel a surge in the sport's popularity with his prodigious home runs.

 

On a day of extraordinary theater, House Government Reform Committee (news - web sites) members professed their love of baseball before attacking the sport's new drug policy and warning Congress could get involved if stronger steps aren't taken. Except for admitted steroid user Jose Canseco, the five players repeatedly ducked pointed questions. Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig watched from a few feet away, waiting more than eight hours for his chance to respond.

 

Canseco — whose best-selling book, "Juiced," drew lawmakers' attention — said anew that he used performance-enhancing drugs as a player. Baltimore Orioles (news) 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, saying his lawyers advised him not to answer certain questions.

 

McGwire, peering at lawmakers over reading glasses and his goatee now flecked with gray, 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 (news, bio, voting record), 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, choking back tears, he said he knew that steroid use could be dangerous and pledged to discourage young athletes from using them.

 

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.

 

Canseco's book included claims that he injected McGwire with steroids when they were teammates with the Oakland Athletics (news) 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. With rare exceptions, 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 (news, bio, voting record) of California, the committee's ranking Democrat.

 

The wood-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.

 

Lawmakers questioned baseball's new 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.

 

But Selig said he would suspend anyone who fails a test, adding: "There will be no exceptions."

 

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.

 

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 (news) hit 73.

 

Bonds and Jason Giambi of the New York Yankees (news) 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 (news) 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.

 

I just don't get it, why would anyone want shrunk balls, high blood pressure, and emotion problems their entire lives? I can just guarentee you guys they won't even go past 60 years of age.

[Z-Neo]

Not to mention the stigma of suspicion, considering the lack of answers given by McGwire and some of the others. It's a short-term success, with a long term dark cloud over (most) of them for the rest of their lives. And like you said, Gamecop, they probably shortened their lives considerably by doing so. Remember Lyle Alzado of the Oakland Raiders? Even though he died of cancer, if I remember right, his use of steroids most likely played heavily into his quick health decline. He looked nothing like the hulking figure in the black and silver of the 70s and 80s.

[Gryph]

It's amazing he's still trying to deny it.

[Madi]

dont forget man boobs.......something about chyna freaks me out * inside joke*

 

basically its like taking sex change pills!

[Bob Jahovic]

Don't forget loss of bone mass

 

You gain muscle, but your bones are weakening

 

I don't get why McGwire is denying the charges, everyone knows that he did it. At least Canseco had the guts to admit that he did steroids.

[Weirdy]

it's sooo obvious

[Inky]

I dun care. they are just a bunch of idiots who get payed millions of dollars to play games kids play for free. I'd rather watch a good collage game then any MLB, NBA, or NFL game.

if these guys didn't take 'roids to keep up with pro sports then they'd be washing windows, or installing car stereos. scraping by like the rest of us.

Edited March 18, 2005 by garageink

[BoomBa_GoosE]

yeah, that whole homerun race got so freakin easy after sosa and mcgwire did it. once i saw how easily bonds was doin it, steroids were written all over his bat. shame!!!

 

that record has no more value whatsoever. i saw change that number back to whatever it was b4 McGwire broke it...

[Sybarite Paladin AxL]

some guys tend to not notice when their 15 minutes of fame pass, and start using this as last desperate solution...

[Gryph]

I dun care. they are just a bunch of idiots who get payed millions of dollars to play games kids play for free. I'd rather watch a good collage game then any MLB, NBA, or NFL game.

if these guys didn't take 'roids to keep up with pro sports then they'd be washing windows, or installing car stereos. scraping by like the rest of us.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That's how I feel about it. Even though I don't really watch college sports but if I were interested in sports then that's what I'd watch.

[Sturmvogel]

McGwire is a sham....he almost certainly used steroids. The Congress of the United States subpeona's him and he pleads the 5th!!? He should be stripped of his records, and he isn't going to be inducted into the hall of fame for sure. Sends a bad message to the yougsters too. Use drugs and if they can't prove it definitively, then deny deny deny...