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Selig: A-Rod 'Shamed the Game'

MLB boss, powerless to impose penalty, scolds player over drug use

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Feb 13, 2009 7:23 AM CST

(Newser) – Bud Selig slammed Alex Rodriguez yesterday for "shaming the game" by using steroids, reports the AP. Angry words may be the only thing the MLB commissioner can use to punish the Yankees player, however, since his positive test was meant to be anonymous and took place years before the enactment of an agreement that mandates penalties for drug use.

"What Alex did was wrong," Selig said, "and he will have to live with the damage he has done to his name and reputation.” Selig stressed that players caught using drugs since 2005 have been suspended for up to 50 games, and he vowed to continue unrelenting efforts to stamp out the use of banned substances in baseball.

[Images (3)]

[Quotes (2)]

MLB commissioner Bud Selig speaking during a news conference discussing the Mitchell Report in New York. Selig says Alex Rodriguez has "shamed the game," (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

Alex Rodriguez is interviewed by ESPN's Peter Gammons on Monday, Feb. 9, 2009. Rodriguez admitted during the interview that he used performance-enhancing drugs from 2001 to 2003. (AP Photo/ESPN)

Texas Rangers' Alex Rodriguez heads for first base after hitting his 300th career home run against the Anaheim Angels at Edison Field in Anaheim, Calif., April 2, 2003 (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)

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While Alex deserves credit for publicly confronting the issue, there is no valid excuse for using such substances, and those who use them have shamed the game. - MLB Commissioner Bud Selig

We will not rest or relax our efforts until the use of these illegal drugs are gone from baseball. - MLB Commissioner Bud Selig

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COMMENTS

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Showing 3 of 4 comments

PosterNutbag

Feb 13, 2009 1:44 AM CST

A friend who plays in the big leagues told me that it is not uncommon for guys to smoke a cigarette or drink a beer before stepping up to the plate.

Forderon

Feb 12, 2009 10:30 PM CST

Ditto

AnnieChrist

Feb 12, 2009 10:16 PM CST

Selig is a joke, and if shame should be brought to anyone, it is Selig himself. He has known about the steroid scandal for over 10 years and repeatedly turned a blind eye to it, because he is a spineless worm. For him to put forward statements like this now is farcical, its nothing more than a CYA.

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Selig: A-Rod 'Shamed the Game'