Kenny Guido
Well-known member
Clemens, Pettitte named in baseball steroid report
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Illegal steroids have been in widespread use in Major League Baseball for more than a decade and used by some of the game's top stars, former Sen. George Mitchell said in releasing a report Thursday.
Former Sen. George Mitchell gives his report Thursday on steroid use in baseball.
"Those who have illegally used these substances range from players whose major league careers were brief to potential members of the Baseball Hall of Fame," Mitchell said.
"This has not been an isolated problem involving just a few players or a few clubs," Mitchell said. "Many players were involved. Each of the 30 clubs has had players who have been involved with such substances at some time in their career."
Mitchell said that while action should be taken against the most egregious abusers, it will be in baseball's best interest to put the past behind it.
"The commissioner should give the players and everyone else the chance to make a fresh start," Mitchell said. "That's what baseball needs."
Watch Mitchell report on steroid use in baseball »
Dozens of current and former major league baseball players, including Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens, Yankee teammate Andy Pettitte, sluggers Mo Vaughn and Gary Sheffield, and reliever Eric Gagne, are named as being linked to steroid use in the report.
"The report is a call to action, and I will act," Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig said Thursday afternoon.
The Mitchell Report
Ex-Sen. George Mitchell will discuss his long-anticipated report on steroids in baseball on "The Situation Room"
Today, 5 p.m. ET
see full schedule »
He said he would take steps including embracing the recommendations contained in Mitchell's report and implementing as many as possible; dealing with the players named in the report; and reviewing comments about club personnel.
"Discipline of players and others identified in this report will be determined on a case-by-case basis. If warranted, those decisions will be made swiftly," Selig said.
Several teams, contacted by CNN, said they were reviewing the report and would have no immediate comment.
The report describes how Clemens got injections of the steroid Winstrol in Clemens' apartment in Toronto's Skydome in 1998, according to Brian McNamee, named in the report as a possible distributor of steroids.
McNamee "injected Clemens approximately four times in the buttocks over a several week period with needles that Clemens provided," the report states.
Sen. George Mitchell
"During this period of improved performance, Clemens told McNamee that the steroids 'had a pretty good effect' on him," the report says.
What are anabolic steroids? »
McNamee injected Clemens with testosterone and human growth hormone after Clemens moved to the New York Yankees in 2000, the report says.
McNamee also became Pettitte's personal trainer in 1999, the report says.
"McNamee recalled that he injected Pettitte with human growth hormone ... on two to four occasions" in 2002 to help Pettitte recover from elbow tendonitis, the report says.
While steroid use was widespread, it was far from the norm, Mitchell said.
"The illegal use in baseball of these substances also victimizes the majority of players who don't use them," Mitchell said.
"One former player told us that one of the biggest complaints among players was that a guy is using steroids and 'he's taking my spot,' " Mitchell said.
Mitchell embarked on his multimillion-dollar task at Selig's behest, who felt an inquiry was necessary after reading "Game of Shadows."
The book was written by two San Francisco newspaper reporters who chronicled the alleged drug use of home-run king Barry Bonds.
Bonds, who faces federal perjury and obstruction charges for allegedly lying in 2003 about his steroid use, set the record for career home runs this year -- 762. He hit 73 home runs in 2001 to top Mark McGwire's 1998 record. Before the McGwire-Sammy Sosa race -- which McGwire won with 70 homers to Sosa's 66 -- Roger Maris' record of 61 home runs in a season had stood for 37 years.
Mitchell's report references the 1998 home run duel, but only briefly mentions Sosa.
No one interviewed echoed former slugger and admitted steroid user Jose Canseco's charges that McGwire also was a steroid user, Mitchell said in the report.
He suggests, however, that the discovery of the steroid precursor androstenedione in McGwire's locker was a watershed moment for baseball in terms of it finally opening its eyes to steroid use.
No other McGwire steroid connection is mentioned in the report, although Mitchell notes that he, too, refused to meet with investigators.
Mitchell's investigation was a difficult one because he had no subpoena power, meaning he had no way to force players or witnesses to cooperate with his investigation.
Watch how fans are divided by Mitchell's quest »
A major source for Mitchell's probe was Kirk Radomski, a former clubhouse employee for the New York Mets who is named in the report as a "significant source of illegal performance-enhancing substances until late 2005."
Radomski assisted with the report as part of his plea bargain with the federal government in the case against the Bay Area Co-Operative Laboratory; he pleaded guilty in April to illegally distributing performance-enhancing drugs.
David Segui, who retired in 2004 after 15 seasons, is on Mitchell's list of players linked to steroids. Segui has admitted to using steroids and human growth hormone during that time.
Segui, who played for seven teams in his pro career, told The Baltimore Sun that he refused to help Mitchell because he didn't want other players to think he was talking about them.
Baseball didn't begin testing for steroids until 2003. In a CNN interview, Victor Conte, the founder of the Bay Area Laboratories Co-Operative, said pro baseball's drug-testing policy is a farce.
Conte said the World Anti-Doping Agency lists 60 stimulants as banned substances, only half of which are recognized by Major League Baseball. By not including the other 30 substances on the list, baseball is essentially promoting their use, he said.
Watch Conte explain why tougher testing is needed »
Despite the steroid controversy, Major League Baseball enjoyed record revenues of $6 billion this year, and for the fourth year in a row, the league set a total attendance record.
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Illegal steroids have been in widespread use in Major League Baseball for more than a decade and used by some of the game's top stars, former Sen. George Mitchell said in releasing a report Thursday.
"Those who have illegally used these substances range from players whose major league careers were brief to potential members of the Baseball Hall of Fame," Mitchell said.
"This has not been an isolated problem involving just a few players or a few clubs," Mitchell said. "Many players were involved. Each of the 30 clubs has had players who have been involved with such substances at some time in their career."
Mitchell said that while action should be taken against the most egregious abusers, it will be in baseball's best interest to put the past behind it.
"The commissioner should give the players and everyone else the chance to make a fresh start," Mitchell said. "That's what baseball needs."
Dozens of current and former major league baseball players, including Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens, Yankee teammate Andy Pettitte, sluggers Mo Vaughn and Gary Sheffield, and reliever Eric Gagne, are named as being linked to steroid use in the report.
"The report is a call to action, and I will act," Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig said Thursday afternoon.
The Mitchell Report
Ex-Sen. George Mitchell will discuss his long-anticipated report on steroids in baseball on "The Situation Room"
Today, 5 p.m. ET
see full schedule »
He said he would take steps including embracing the recommendations contained in Mitchell's report and implementing as many as possible; dealing with the players named in the report; and reviewing comments about club personnel.
"Discipline of players and others identified in this report will be determined on a case-by-case basis. If warranted, those decisions will be made swiftly," Selig said.
Several teams, contacted by CNN, said they were reviewing the report and would have no immediate comment.
The report describes how Clemens got injections of the steroid Winstrol in Clemens' apartment in Toronto's Skydome in 1998, according to Brian McNamee, named in the report as a possible distributor of steroids.
McNamee "injected Clemens approximately four times in the buttocks over a several week period with needles that Clemens provided," the report states.
Sen. George Mitchell
- <LI _extended="true">Mitchell represented Maine in the U.S. Senate from 1980-1995 <LI _extended="true">He was the Senate majority leader from 1989 until he retired
<LI _extended="true">President Clinton appointed Mitchell as a special adviser to Northern Ireland
<LI _extended="true">Mitchell helped negotiate the Good Friday peace accord between the United Kingdom, Ireland and the political factions in Northern Ireland
<LI _extended="true">Mitchell was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1999
- He is a partner with the law firm DLA Piper and has served as a director of several companies
Sources : The Mitchell Institute, DLA Piper, Bowdoin College, Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress
"During this period of improved performance, Clemens told McNamee that the steroids 'had a pretty good effect' on him," the report says.
McNamee injected Clemens with testosterone and human growth hormone after Clemens moved to the New York Yankees in 2000, the report says.
McNamee also became Pettitte's personal trainer in 1999, the report says.
"McNamee recalled that he injected Pettitte with human growth hormone ... on two to four occasions" in 2002 to help Pettitte recover from elbow tendonitis, the report says.
While steroid use was widespread, it was far from the norm, Mitchell said.
"The illegal use in baseball of these substances also victimizes the majority of players who don't use them," Mitchell said.
"One former player told us that one of the biggest complaints among players was that a guy is using steroids and 'he's taking my spot,' " Mitchell said.
Mitchell embarked on his multimillion-dollar task at Selig's behest, who felt an inquiry was necessary after reading "Game of Shadows."
The book was written by two San Francisco newspaper reporters who chronicled the alleged drug use of home-run king Barry Bonds.
Bonds, who faces federal perjury and obstruction charges for allegedly lying in 2003 about his steroid use, set the record for career home runs this year -- 762. He hit 73 home runs in 2001 to top Mark McGwire's 1998 record. Before the McGwire-Sammy Sosa race -- which McGwire won with 70 homers to Sosa's 66 -- Roger Maris' record of 61 home runs in a season had stood for 37 years.
Mitchell's report references the 1998 home run duel, but only briefly mentions Sosa.
No one interviewed echoed former slugger and admitted steroid user Jose Canseco's charges that McGwire also was a steroid user, Mitchell said in the report.
He suggests, however, that the discovery of the steroid precursor androstenedione in McGwire's locker was a watershed moment for baseball in terms of it finally opening its eyes to steroid use.
No other McGwire steroid connection is mentioned in the report, although Mitchell notes that he, too, refused to meet with investigators.
Mitchell's investigation was a difficult one because he had no subpoena power, meaning he had no way to force players or witnesses to cooperate with his investigation.
A major source for Mitchell's probe was Kirk Radomski, a former clubhouse employee for the New York Mets who is named in the report as a "significant source of illegal performance-enhancing substances until late 2005."
Radomski assisted with the report as part of his plea bargain with the federal government in the case against the Bay Area Co-Operative Laboratory; he pleaded guilty in April to illegally distributing performance-enhancing drugs.
David Segui, who retired in 2004 after 15 seasons, is on Mitchell's list of players linked to steroids. Segui has admitted to using steroids and human growth hormone during that time.
Segui, who played for seven teams in his pro career, told The Baltimore Sun that he refused to help Mitchell because he didn't want other players to think he was talking about them.
Baseball didn't begin testing for steroids until 2003. In a CNN interview, Victor Conte, the founder of the Bay Area Laboratories Co-Operative, said pro baseball's drug-testing policy is a farce.
Conte said the World Anti-Doping Agency lists 60 stimulants as banned substances, only half of which are recognized by Major League Baseball. By not including the other 30 substances on the list, baseball is essentially promoting their use, he said.
Despite the steroid controversy, Major League Baseball enjoyed record revenues of $6 billion this year, and for the fourth year in a row, the league set a total attendance record.
