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McGwire Refuses to Say if He Used Steroids
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By HOWARD FENDRICH and RONALD BLUM
AP Sports Writers
March 17, 2005, 7:48 PM CST
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
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 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, 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 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 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 hit 73.
Bonds and Jason Giambi of the New York Yankees 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 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.
Copyright (c) 2005, The Associated Press