Selig laments steroid use by A-Rod

Feb 12, 2009 - 7:44 PM NEW YORK (Ticker) -- Baseball commissioner Bud Selig finally weighed in on the Alex Rodriguez steroids saga.

Selig lauded the superstar third baseman of the New York Yankees for his honesty in admitting to the use of performance-enhancing drugs, but condemned his actions as inexcuseable.

"On behalf of Major League Baseball, I am saddened by the revelations concerning Alex Rodriguez's use of performance-enhancing substances," Selig said. "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."

Rodriguez admitted his use of steroids in an interview with ESPN on Monday - two days after Sports Illustrated reported that Rodriguez tested positive for two anabolic steroids in 2003.

According to the report, Rodriguez's name appeared on a list of 104 players who tested positive during a survey conducted by Major League Baseball in 2003.

"What Alex did was wrong and he will have to live with the damage he has done to his name and

reputation," Selig said. "His actions are also a reminder to everyone in baseball - under our current drug program, if you are caught using steroids and/or amphetamines, you will be punished.

"Since 2005, every player who has tested positive for steroids has been suspended for as much as 50 games. Eradicating performance-enhancing substances from the game of baseball has been my first priority over the past decade and it is important to remember that these recent revelations relate to pre-program activity."

The latter statement seemed to indicate Selig's willingness to punish Rodriguez, which he told USA Today on Thursday he was considering.

"It was against the law, so I would have to think about that," Selig told the newspaper. "It's very hard. I've got to think about all that kind of stuff."

One obstacle to meting out punishment for the New York Yankees' superstar third baseman is the time frame of his admitted guilt.

Steroids and human growth hormone officially were placed on baseball's banned substance prior to the 2004 season so any attempt to penalize a player for an infraction beforehand likely would be challenged by the players union.

"I would be surprised if there was an attempt to do it," said Donald Fehr, the union's executive director.

Even though the penalty phase of baseball's testing policy was not implemented until 2004, Selig noted to USA Today that he sent out a memo to league clubs in 1997 detailing that it was illegal to possess steroids without a prescription.

MLB said Thursday that since the league steroid program was put in place, positive tests have decreased from five to seven percent in the 2003 survey test to less than one-tenth of a percentage point last year.

"We are very proud of the enormous progress we have made, and it is important to note that the recent revelations are at least five years old and a residue of pre-program behavior," Selig said. "But we will not rest or relax our efforts until the use of these illegal drugs are gone from baseball."

Selig also told the newspaper he is mulling reinstating Hank Aaron as baseball's career home run leader.

Barry Bonds, who eclipsed Aaron's mark of 755 in 2007, also is embroiled in controversy related to his alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs.

Bonds is scheduled to go on trial in San Francisco March 2 for lying to a federal grand jury about his use of banned substances.