In a statement issued to the AP on Monday, Mark McGwire finally admitted that he used steroids off and on throughout his entire career. He followed the statement up with a phone interview where he stated the following:
“It’s very emotional, it’s telling family members, friends and coaches, you know, it’s former teammates to try to get ahold of, you know, that I’m coming clean and being honest,”“It’s the first time they’ve ever heard me, you know, talk about this. I hid it from everybody.”“You don’t know that you’ll ever have to talk about the skeleton in your closet on a national level”“I did this for health purposes. There’s no way I did this for any type of strength use.”
McGwire also admitted to using human growth hormone (HGH).
The confession is related to the recent news that McGwire had accepted a job to be the St. Louis Cardinals hitting coach. St. Louis was the last team McGwire played for and his second stint under manager Tony LaRussa.
McGwire hit 70 home runs in 1998 in a race with Sammy Sosa which most baseball fans relate to the revitalization of the sport after a strike in 1994 that cancelled the World Series.
With McGwire finally manning-up, it’s now time for his cohort Sosa and current home run record holder Barry Bonds to do the same. Maybe Roger Clemens could do the same.
