YT YouTube2Text

YouTube2Text → Transcripts → Baseball Players Face Congressional Steroid Hearing

Baseball Players Face Congressional Steroid Hearing — Transcript

by electron media group, inc. · 26,743 words · 4,591 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

Open in transcriber Summarize with AI Download SRT/VTT

Full transcript

0:00a citing steroid policy violation
0:03the orioles first baseman denied ever
0:05using steroids during a house hearing
0:07last march
0:08here's a look at those proceedings also
0:10including players jose canseco
0:12mark maguire and sami sosa and baseball
0:15management
0:16it's about 5 hours and 35 minutes
0:31as i noted in my opening statement this
0:32morning the committee's primary goal in
0:34this inquiry
0:35is to break the vicious cycle of growing
0:37steroid use that begins at the
0:39professional level
0:40and inevitably it seems trickles down to
0:42college and high school sports
0:44mr waxman and i believe our oversight
0:46which begins but does not end today
0:49can help break that cycle and convince
0:50the 500 000 high school students
0:52using steroids today that they're making
0:55a big mistake
0:57but we can't do this alone after all
0:59there's a cause and effect here
1:01steroid use becomes legitimized in large
1:03part because young people emulate star
1:06athletes
1:06so it's going to take stars to combat
1:09stars
1:10today we're grateful that we have two
1:11pillars of the game of baseball ready
1:13willing and able to take on that charge
1:15we're taking this break in today's
1:16hearing to announce the creation of zero
1:18tolerance
1:19the advisory committee on ending the use
1:21of performance-enhancing drugs in sports
1:24while membership on this task force is
1:26evolving and names are sure to be added
1:27in coming days and weeks
1:29it will initially be co-chaired by curt
1:30schilling and frank thomas
1:33mr waxman and myself zero tolerance will
1:36gather information
1:37foster discussion and provide
1:38recommendations to congress on the next
1:40steps
1:41we've invited the nfl the nba and the
1:43nhl to recommend participants to this
1:45panel
1:46since every professional sport needs to
1:48let young people know
1:49about the dangers of illegal steroid use
1:52we believe the profile mr schilling and
1:53mr thomas can lend to this committee
1:55will send a strong message in and of
1:57itself about the dangers of steroid use
2:00we also believe that their input and
2:01leadership will be essential
2:03to putting the issue of steroid use at
2:04all levels of sports under the
2:06microscope
2:07mr waxman thank you
2:11mr chairman and i'm pleased to have mr
2:14schilling here with us
2:15the reason that mr schilling and mr
2:18thomas were
2:19invited to be participants in this
2:22hearing today
2:24is because they have both been outspoken
2:26critics of steroid use
2:28by baseball players for which i commend
2:31them and i think it's so
2:32important that they've taken the
2:34position they have
2:35and i'm pleased that they are going to
2:37be testifying
2:41in one case mr thomas by remote control
2:44and mr schilling here with us
2:46today i'm pleased that they are here and
2:49announcing
2:50as well the fact that they will be a
2:52part of an advisory group
2:54this will serve a very very important
2:56purpose as we
2:58move along to try to figure out how we
3:01can best
3:02stop steroid use by by uh
3:05sports figures and more importantly uh
3:08the children who emulate them
3:10so i want to commend both of them for
3:12their presence
3:14willing to participate and the committee
3:16that they are going to be part of
3:18um mr waxman and before we start the
3:20formal hearing
3:21uh again mr schilling and mr thomas were
3:24invited because they've been outspoken
3:25in their opposition to steroids in
3:26professional sports and
3:28mr schilling before you do your prepared
3:29testimony on earth would you like to say
3:31anything
3:33okay we're happy to have you as part of
3:36this and we just want to say thank you
3:37very much
3:38and to mr thomas the same thing thank
3:40you very much
3:43we'll be ready to move in with uh
3:47ready to bring in the next panel
3:54he's good yeah
4:12let's get them in them
4:16swear man
4:40um
5:22okay
5:50we're going to swear each member in
5:52before they testify individually
5:55jim sharp will be reading mr sosa's
5:57statement
6:04i'll start um we have a very
6:06distinguished panel here obviously in
6:07front of us
6:08mr jose conseco the former member of the
6:10oakland athletics and texas rangers
6:13mr sami sosa current member of the
6:14baltimore orioles and former chicago cub
6:17accompanied by his interpreter
6:18mrs patricia roselle and also jim sharp
6:21who will be reading his opening
6:22statement
6:23mr mark maguire former member of the
6:25oakland athletics and st louis cardinals
6:27mr rafael palmeiro current member of the
6:29baltimore orioles and former texas
6:31ranger
6:32and curt schilling current member of the
6:33boston red sox and
6:35we have mr frank thomas the current
6:36member of the chicago white sox
6:38appearing by video conference um mr
6:40conseco i will swear you in first if
6:42you'd rise with me and raise your right
6:46hand
6:49you solemnly swear the testimony you're
6:50about to give to me the truth the whole
6:51truth and nothing but the truth
6:53thank you um it's my manager do you wish
6:56to make an opening statement
7:00okay we're going to just go down each
7:01one of you make an opening statement and
7:02then we'll open up for questions
7:05son no sorry about that yeah that's fine
7:09thank you thank you thank you very much
7:11for being here thank you
7:13mr chairman members of the committee
7:16distinguished guests
7:17my name is jose canseco and for 17 years
7:20i played professional baseball
7:23i am humbled by the opportunity to
7:24appear before you today
7:26never in my wildest dreams could have
7:28imagined that my athletic ability and
7:31love for america's game
7:33will lead me to this place and the
7:34subject that has brought me before this
7:36committee
7:38when i decided to write my life story
7:42i was aware that what i revealed about
7:45myself and the game i played
7:47for a majority of my life would create a
7:49stir in the athletic world
7:54i did know that my my revelations would
7:57reverberate in the halls of this chamber
7:59in the hearts of so many
8:03my heart and condolences go out to those
8:05families who lost their children to use
8:07of steroids
8:09today i commit myself to doing
8:11everything possible to assist them
8:13and conveying to the youth of america
8:16the dangers that using steroids will
8:18bring
8:20after this hearing i would be happy to
8:22work with them
8:23in whatever way i can to help convey to
8:25the youth of america
8:27the message that steroid use is
8:28unnecessary to be a great athlete
8:30and that they are harmful harmful to use
8:34to those who take them
8:37when first contacted by the committee i
8:39was willing to cooperate all aspects of
8:41the investigation
8:44unlike others i have never refused to
8:46appear before this committee
8:48and assist them in this endeavor however
8:52due to the fact i am on probation in
8:54florida for events unrelated to baseball
8:56and steroid use
8:58and due to clear evidence of the
9:00overzealous efforts of state prosecutors
9:03to make an example of me
9:04i request immunity from this committee
9:09i requested immunity from this committee
9:10with immunity i would be free to answer
9:13all
9:13questions posed by me by the committee
9:16without fear of
9:17my testimony would affect my probation
9:20without immunity i cannot
9:26thank you very much
9:29it has been represented that this
9:30committee has been called
9:32to get to the bottom of steroid use and
9:34baseball
9:36it has been said that this meeting is
9:38not about
9:39prosecution or individual use if that
9:42were true
9:43grinding immunity to me should not be an
9:45issue
9:46although i have nothing to hide and
9:48although my answers to your questions
9:50will be helpful in resolving
9:52uncertainties and issues facing this
9:53committee
9:55because of my fear of future prosecution
9:58for probation violations or other
9:59unrelated charges i cannot be totally
10:02candid
10:02with this committee now when appropriate
10:05will invoke the protections offered me
10:08by the fifth amendment
10:11this is unfortunate that a committee
10:12chose not to grant me this request
10:15especially since i have been the only
10:16player a member of baseball who did not
10:18fight to request
10:19appear here today it is unfortunate the
10:22committee has made this decision
10:23as we will not be able to fully
10:25investigate the steroid issue without
10:27all testimony
10:28and the issue will continue to plague
10:29the sport
10:32thank you for asking me to appear i will
10:34try and answer every question that may
10:35be posed to me
10:36by comedian help addresses sprawl thank
10:38you thank you very much and
10:40mr cosego you are appearing voluntarily
10:42and secondly
10:44note that we did tried to get immunity
10:47from i talked to the attorney general
10:48about it
10:49and we were not unable to get it in the
10:51time schedules unfortunately
10:53but uh thank you for your statement
10:56mr sosa um you'll be next would you rise
10:59with me and raise your right hand
11:00as well as your attorney and your
11:01interpreter
11:06you solemnly swear testimony you're
11:08about to give me the truth the whole
11:09truth for nothing but
11:11thank you very much if you have any
11:14opening statement the
11:15committee would be happy to entertain it
11:16mr sharp i understand you're going to
11:17read it for mr sosa
11:20you need to hit your button
11:23mr chairman uh move it close to you
11:25there congressman
11:26waxman and members of the committee my
11:28name is jim sharp and i represent mr
11:30sosa
11:31and i appreciate the departure from the
11:34norm permitting me to read his statement
11:35keep moving the microphone a little
11:37closer it's there
11:38there you go
11:44how's that better uh statement of mr
11:47sammy uh
11:48sosa good afternoon members of the
11:50committee i understand that people have
11:52said that steroids are a big problem in
11:54professional baseball
11:56and that it is trickling down to our
11:58children
11:59i am here to offer my testimony in the
12:01hope that it will assist the committee
12:02in remembering this problem
12:05i grew up in san pedro in the dominican
12:07republic with four brothers and two
12:08sisters
12:09my father passed away when i was seven
12:11years old
12:12we sold oranges and shine shoes to get
12:15by
12:16early on i displayed a talent for
12:18baseball and when i was 16
12:20i left home and signed with the texas
12:22rangers
12:23i played in the minor leagues for four
12:24years before i played in my first major
12:26league game when i was 20 years old
12:29playing at that level is very difficult
12:31especially for someone as young as i was
12:33i had to fight for everything and that
12:34meant working out harder than the next
12:36guy
12:36lifting a few more reps than the last
12:38guy it meant spending more time in the
12:41batting cages and less time in the clubs
12:44everything i heard about steroids and
12:46human growth hormones is that they are
12:48very bad for you even lethal
12:50i would never put anything dangerous
12:52like that in my body
12:53nor would i encourage other people to
12:55use illegal performance enhancing drugs
12:58to be clear i have never taken
13:02illegal performance enhancing drugs i
13:05have never injected myself or had anyone
13:07inject me with anything
13:09i've not broken the laws of the united
13:11states with the laws of the dominion
13:13dominican republic i have been tested as
13:15recently as 2004 and i am clean
13:27i support testing professional athletes
13:30for illegal performance enhancing drugs
13:33because rigorous testing is new to
13:34baseball the initial reaction of many
13:37players was to bristle
13:39at the perceived invasion of privacy
13:42but if more testing is what it takes to
13:44help clean up the sport i'm behind it
13:46in light of recent scandals and serious
13:48public health problems
13:50we players need to commit to doing
13:52whatever it takes to regain our
13:54credibility
13:55as athletes and members of the community
13:58i do a lot of charity work for young
14:00people am genuinely committed to their
14:02welfare
14:03i'm willing to work with you and the
14:04congress as a whole to educate kids and
14:06young athletes about these serious
14:08issues
14:08education of course starts in the home
14:11but we baseball players can help by
14:13speaking out against the use of illegal
14:15performance enhancing drugs
14:17to the extent that i can help in these
14:18efforts i'm anxious to do so
14:20thank you very much thank you very much
14:22and if you will indulge me at this point
14:24he would just like to say a few words
14:25that would be fine just make sure the
14:26microphone's in front of him there
14:29thank you mr celeste thank you mr
14:30chairman
14:32um i was uh back there in the room and i
14:36was
14:37watching in tv the two family that lost
14:40the two kids and uh
14:44uh really shocked me and break my heart
14:48i want to send the sympathy to those
14:50family
14:51that got to go through that situation
14:54and uh you know the the quicker
14:58we can resolve this problem asteroid
15:01which is baffled kid
15:03uh you know are willing to work with you
15:06guy and do the best that i can
15:08to stop that i just want to say that
15:10thank you very much
15:11thank you very much mr mcguire welcome
15:13you want to rise with me and raise your
15:15right hand
15:17salmon is where the testimony you're
15:18about to give me the truth the whole
15:19truth and nothing but the truth
15:20thank you mr mcguire thank you very much
15:23for being with us today
15:29mr chairman members of the committee
15:31thank you for having me
15:34my name is mark maguire i played the
15:36game of baseball since i was nine years
15:38old
15:39i was privileged to be able to play 15
15:41years in the major leagues
15:44i even had the honor representing my
15:46country in the 1984 olympic baseball
15:48team
15:49i love and respect our national pastime
15:53i will do everything in my power to help
15:55the game
15:56it's players and fans
16:00first and foremost my heart goes out to
16:03every parent
16:04whose son or daughter were victims of
16:07steroid use
16:14i hope that these hearings can prevent
16:16other families from suffering
16:27i admire the parents who had the courage
16:30to appear before the committee
16:32and warn the dangers of steroid use my
16:35heart goes out to them
16:40when i was lucky enough to secure my
16:42last major league contract
16:43one of the first things i did was
16:45establish a foundation
16:47and donate three million dollars of my
16:49own money
16:51to support abused children
17:04i applaud the work of the committee in
17:07exposing this problem
17:09so that the dangers are clearly
17:11understood
17:12there has been a problem with steroid
17:14use in baseball
17:16like any sport where there is pressure
17:19to perform
17:20at the highest level and there has been
17:22no testing to control
17:23performance-enhancing drugs
17:26problems develop it is a problem
17:30and that needs to be addressed
17:33most importantly every little leaguer
17:36pony league high school
17:37college player needs to understand that
17:40performance-enhancing drugs
17:43of any kind can be dangerous
17:46i will use whatever influence and
17:48popularity that i have
17:50to discourage young athletes from taking
17:53any drug
17:53that is not recommended by a doctor
17:57what i will not do however is
18:00participate in naming names
18:02and implicating my friends and teammates
18:06i retired from baseball four years ago i
18:09live a quiet life with my wife and
18:12children
18:14i've always been a team player i've
18:17never been a person who
18:18spread rumors or said things about
18:20teammates that can hurt them
18:28i do not sit in judgment of other
18:30players
18:31whether it deals with their sexual
18:33preference their marital problems
18:36or other personal habits
18:40including whether or not they use
18:41chemical substance
18:44that has never been my style and i do
18:46not intend to change
18:48this just because the cameras are turned
18:49on
18:53nor do i intend to dignify mr canseco's
18:55book
18:56it should be it should be enough that
18:58you consider the source of the
18:59statements in the book
19:02and that many inconsistencies and
19:04contradictions
19:05have already been raised
19:08i've been advised that my testimony here
19:12could be used to harm friends and
19:14respected teammates
19:16or that some ambitious prosecutor can
19:19use
19:19convicted criminals who would do and say
19:23anything to solve their own problems
19:26and create jeopardy for my friends
19:30asking me or any other player to answer
19:32questions about who took steroids
19:35in front of television cameras will not
19:38solve the problem
19:39if a player answers no he simply will
19:42not be believed
19:44if he answers yes he risks public scorn
19:47and endless government investigations my
19:50lawyers have advised me
19:52that i cannot answer these questions
19:54without jeopardizing
19:55my friends my family and myself
20:00i intend to follow their advice
20:03it is my understanding that major league
20:05baseball and the players union have
20:07taken steps to address the steroid issue
20:10if these policies need to be
20:12strengthened i would support that
20:16i appreciate the difficult job you have
20:19as congressman and congresswoman and
20:22will use this opportunity to dedicate
20:24myself to this problem
20:27i am directing my foundation to
20:30concentrate its efforts to educate
20:31children
20:32regarding dangerous dangers of
20:35performance-enhancing drugs
20:37i am also offering to be spokesman for
20:39major league baseball
20:41and the players association to convince
20:43young athletes to avoid dangerous drugs
20:45of all sorts thank you very much
20:48thank you very much mr mcguire mr palmer
20:54you saw me swear the testimony you're
20:55about to give to me the truth the whole
20:56truth and nothing but the truth
20:58thank you very much thank you very much
21:00for being with us today
21:04good afternoon mr chairman and members
21:06of the committee
21:08my name is rafael palmeiro and i am a
21:10professional baseball player
21:12i'll be briefing my remarks today let me
21:15start by telling you this
21:17i have never used steroids period
21:22i do not know how to say it any more
21:24clearly than that never
21:26the reference to me in mr conseco's book
21:29is absolutely
21:30false i am against the use of steroids
21:34i don't think athletes should use
21:36steroids and i don't think our kids
21:38should use them the point of view is one
21:41unfortunately that is not shared by our
21:44former colleague
21:45jose canseco mr conseco is an unashamed
21:49advocate
21:50for increased steroid use by all
21:51athletes
21:54my parents and i came to the united
21:56states after fleeing the communist
21:58tyranny
21:58that still reigns over my homeland of
22:01cuba
22:02we came seeking freedom knowing that
22:04through
22:05hard work discipline and dedication my
22:08family and i
22:09could build a bright future in america
22:12since arriving to this great country i
22:15have tried to live
22:16every day of my life in a manner that i
22:19hope has typified
22:20the very embodiment of the american
22:22dream
22:24i have gotten to play for three great
22:26organizations
22:27the chicago cubs the texas rangers
22:31and the baltimore orioles and i have
22:33been blessed to do well
22:34in a profession i love that blessing has
22:38allowed me to work
22:39on projects and with charities in the
22:41communities where i live and play
22:44as much as i have appreciated the
22:46accolades that have come with a
22:47successful career
22:49i am just as honored to have worked with
22:51great organizations like the make-a-wish
22:52foundation
22:54shoes for orphan souls and the lena pope
22:56home of fort worth
22:59the league in the players association
23:01recently agreed on a steroid policy
23:03that i hope will be the first step to
23:05eradicating these substances from
23:07baseball
23:09congress should work with the league and
23:10the players association
23:12to make sure that the new policy now
23:14being put in place
23:15achieves the goal of stamping steroids
23:18out of the sport
23:21to the degree an individual player can
23:23be helpful perhaps as an advocate to
23:25young people
23:26about the dangers of steroids i hope you
23:29will call on us
23:30i for one am ready to heed the call
23:33mr chairman i think the task force is a
23:36great idea
23:38to send the right message to kids about
23:40steroids
23:41if it is appropriate i would like to
23:43serve with mr schilling
23:44and mr thomas thank you
23:48thank you very much mr palmer mr
23:50schilling
23:51thank you very much salmon i swear the
23:54testimony you're about to give to me the
23:55truth the whole truth and nothing but
23:56the truth
23:58yes
24:03um we have we have votes on so if
24:05members have feel they have to leave uh
24:07to go to vote and come back
24:09uh we have three votes i'm going to try
24:10to get these the testimony
24:12in of mr schilling and mr thomas and get
24:14over there if we stay as a block i think
24:15they'll hold
24:16the vote shilling you've been asked here
24:18today because you've been an outspoken
24:19opponent of steroid use in professional
24:21sports and
24:22we're happy to see and looks like we
24:23have some people that want to help you
24:25in that
24:25regard and thank you very much thank you
24:28chairman davis congressman waxman
24:30members of the committee and other
24:31distinguished guests and invitees
24:33nearly two weeks ago i had the extreme
24:35honor of standing on the west lawn of
24:36the white house
24:37alongside my teammates and other members
24:38of the boston red sox world championship
24:40team
24:41to accept the congratulations of
24:42president bush and vice president cheney
24:44following that martine made a visit to
24:46walter reed hospital here in washington
24:47d.c
24:48during that visit my teammates and i had
24:50the extreme honor of meeting and
24:51visiting
24:52with the heroic men and women serving
24:53this country's great armed forces
24:55as the son of a man who served almost
24:57two decades in the united states army
24:58as a member of 101st airborne with a
25:01brother who served in vietnam
25:02a cousin that served in the u.s navy
25:04aboard the uss carl vinson
25:06and another cousin who recently finished
25:07his service in the united states army as
25:08a member of the rangers
25:09green berets and finally the delta force
25:12i think that visit with absolutely no
25:13disrespect to our esteemed president
25:15vice president
25:16was the highlight of many of our trips
25:17and some of our lives i believe that
25:19visit made my teammates and i aware of
25:21how fortunate we are to live in this
25:22country and how fortunate we
25:23are we were able to bring joy that
25:25afternoon to those courageous service
25:27people
25:27just because we were major league
25:29baseball players being a professional
25:31baseball player has put me in a position
25:32to try to bring awareness to certain
25:34issues and causes that affect so many
25:35people in our great country
25:37for example my recognition as a player
25:39has enabled me to bring an increase in
25:40awareness of the terrible disease known
25:41as
25:42known as als also known as lou gehrig's
25:44disease which afflicts some 30 000
25:46americans at any one time and to act as
25:47an advocate to try to find a cure for
25:49the disease
25:50my position as a player along with the
25:52dedication of my wife shonda
25:54a cancer survivor has enabled the two of
25:55us to bring awareness to the terrible
25:57problem that is skin cancer or melanoma
25:59our foundation tries to educate young
26:01americans on the dangers of the exposure
26:02to the sun
26:03in fact at this moment the bill has
26:04passed the arizona senate and is
26:06awaiting a vote by the house of
26:07representatives that would mandate that
26:08all children be taught sun safety
26:10in school the first such mandate
26:11anywhere in the united states
26:14my hope is that this hearing results in
26:15an increased awareness of steroids and
26:16their inherent danger to america's youth
26:18i understand from the invitation i
26:20received to appear before this committee
26:21that my presence has been requested
26:22because i've been outspoken on this
26:24issue
26:25i'm honored to be co-chairman on an
26:26advisory committee tasked with putting
26:28together recommendations on how to
26:29prevent steroid usage among young people
26:32i recognize that professional athletes
26:33are role models for many of the youth in
26:34this country
26:35most athletes take this role very
26:37seriously and i hope through my
26:38appearance here
26:39that i'm conveying my seriousness and
26:40understanding of the issue
26:42while i don't profess to have the
26:43medical expertise to adequately describe
26:45the dangers of steroid use i do believe
26:46i have the expertise to comment on
26:48whether steroids are necessary to excel
26:49in athletics
26:51i think it is critical to convey to the
26:52youth who desire to excel in sports that
26:53steroids are not the answer
26:55that stories are not necessary in order
26:56to excel in any athletic event and
26:58success is achieved through hard work
27:00dedication and perseverance i also hope
27:03that by being here i can raise a level
27:05of awareness on several other fronts
27:06first i hope the committee recognizes
27:08the danger of possibly glorifying
27:10the so-called author scheduled to
27:12testify today or by indirectly assisting
27:13him to sell more books through his claim
27:15that what he was doing is somehow good
27:16for this country
27:17or the game of baseball a book which
27:19devotes hundreds of pages to glorifying
27:21steroid usage which contends that
27:22steroid usage
27:24is justified and will be the norm in the
27:26country in several years is a disgrace
27:28was written irresponsibly and sends
27:30exactly the opposite message that needs
27:31to be sent to kids
27:32the allegations made in that book the
27:34attempts to smear the names of players
27:35both past and present
27:37having been made by one who for years
27:38vehemently denied steroid use
27:40should be seen for what they are an
27:42attempt to make money at the expense of
27:43others
27:44i hope we come out of this proceeding
27:45aware that we are dealing with when we
27:47talk about that so-called author
27:48and that we not create a buzz that
27:50results in young athletes buying the
27:51book and being misled on the issues and
27:52dangers of steroids
27:54i must also tell you members of the
27:56committee that i hope that a result of
27:57this hearing
27:58there is awareness there is a better
27:59awareness of the steroid program
28:01recently implemented by major league
28:02baseball
28:03and its players association that program
28:05was certainly not perfect and i dare say
28:07there is no such thing as a perfect
28:08testing program
28:10is a substantial step in the right
28:11direction that appears from initial
28:13from initial statistics to be having the
28:14desired effect
28:16that is removing steroids from the game
28:17of baseball statistics have shown that
28:19from the 2003 to 2004 the number of
28:22players using steroids in the major
28:23leagues has gone from five to seven
28:24percent to 1.7
28:27in fact in yesterday's new york times it
28:28was reported there were 96 positive
28:30tests during the 2003 testing period
28:33in 2004 that number saw a dramatic
28:34decrease as 12 players tested positive
28:37i see that as progress i see that as
28:39positive
28:40it troubles me when i hear the program
28:41being identified as a joke a travesty a
28:44program not designed to rid baseball
28:45steroids
28:46i think those numbers show this to be a
28:47meaningful program one that is working
28:49and steroid usage is dropping the
28:51players association in an unprecedented
28:53move
28:54reopened the collective bargaining
28:55agreement for the sole purpose of
28:56strengthening drug testing procedures
28:58and its penalties
28:59you may view that reopening of an
29:00agreement as a non-issue or one of
29:02minimal consequences but we didn't
29:05it appears that the main complaint about
29:06the current program revolves around the
29:07current penalties for being caught or
29:09failing a test
29:10it is my view as a 19-year professional
29:12veteran of professional baseball that
29:13there will be no system
29:15of suspensions or discipline that can be
29:16implemented that will stand up to
29:18or match the agreement made by the
29:20players that positive or test results
29:21will be made
29:22public subjecting the player to public
29:24humiliation labeling as a steroid user
29:26or cheater
29:27given the intense media coverage that
29:28now permeates professional sports there
29:30is no doubt in my mind
29:31that any player who has caught after
29:32this program has been implemented will
29:34for all intents and purposes have his
29:35career blacklisted forever
29:37when a player's suspension is over he
29:39may be able to lose the label of a
29:40player who is under suspension but i am
29:42convinced
29:42he will never lose the label of a
29:44steroid user
29:46while not a part of my original prepared
29:47statement i think it is important to
29:48address the issue that has arisen with
29:50respect to the public disclosure of test
29:51results under the current testing
29:53program it is my belief that the
29:54positive test results will be made
29:56public and it is the public disclosure
29:57which constitutes the real teeth of the
29:59testing program as far as i'm concerned
30:01when i learned upon my arrival in
30:02washington yesterday that there was some
30:04question about public
30:05disclosure i looked into the public
30:06disclosure issue because of my beliefs
30:08based on that i'm still of the belief
30:10that positive test results will be made
30:11public
30:12and i know for a fact that 98.3 percent
30:14of the players who tested clean
30:15want the results to be made public
30:17because they know the key to the
30:18elimination of steroids in pub
30:19is a public recognition of who the
30:21cheaters are
30:24members of the committee do i believe
30:25steroids are being used by major league
30:26baseball players
30:27yes past and present testing says as
30:29much
30:30do i believe we should continue to test
30:31and monitor steroid usage in major
30:33league baseball absolutely
30:35in fact in that regard i believe the
30:36message has been heard by players and
30:37that serious positive forward-thinking
30:39steps have been taken on the issue
30:41i urge the committee to focus its
30:42efforts in that direction as well as and
30:44not dwell on what may have occurred in
30:45the past
30:47i also urge the committee to not make
30:49this process just about baseball
30:51steroids and supplement usage appears to
30:52not be a baseball problem
30:54but a society problem everywhere you
30:56look we are bombarded by advertising of
30:58supplements and feel-good medications
31:00i use you to evaluate the way in which
31:01these products are manufactured and more
31:03importantly the way in which they are
31:04marketed
31:06if you're going to send a message to the
31:07young athlete and steroid use is bad and
31:09the steroids are not necessary to
31:10achieve success
31:11you cannot allow the message to be
31:12drowned out by the manufacturers
31:13advertising to the contrary
31:15if the government thought enough of the
31:16america thought enough of american youth
31:19to rally against the tobacco industry
31:21and it's advertising to our youth why
31:23should the supplement industry be any
31:24different
31:26i cannot conclude my statement without
31:27expressing my admiration to the hootons
31:28and the garibaldis for appearing here
31:29today and i extend my deepest sympathy
31:31to each other
31:32to each of them for their loss as a
31:34father of four children i can't begin to
31:36imagine the pain they must be suffering
31:38to the hootens and garibaldi's i want to
31:41say this having been appointed to
31:42as a co-chairman on the advisory
31:44committee tasked with educating
31:46our youth about the dangers of steroid
31:47usage i would welcome their input in
31:49helping the committee
31:49move forward thank you for your
31:52attention and thank you for the chance
31:53to speak
31:54thank you very much mr showing uh mr
31:56thomas are you with us
32:00can do we have do we have an audio out
32:02to mr thomas
32:10can you hear us mr thomas i'm here
32:15can i swear you in you saw me swear
32:19to tell the truth the whole truth and
32:20nothing but the truth
32:23i do and as you know we invited you here
32:25because you've been an outspoken
32:27opponent of steroids in major league
32:29sports
32:30do you wish to make any opening
32:31statement we thank you for
32:33joining the task force and co-chairing
32:36it with mr schilling
32:40good afternoon mr chairman and members
32:41of the committee
32:43my name is frank thomas and i'm a
32:44baseball player for the chicago white
32:46sox
32:46a team i'm proud to have been part of
32:48since joining major league baseball
32:50since 1990. first of all mr chairman
32:55let me say that as an outspoken critic
32:56of steroids
32:58i would like to work with the committee
32:59major league baseball and the players
33:01association to warn everyone
33:03especially young people about the
33:04dangers of performance enhancing drugs
33:07steroids are dangerous and the public
33:09should be educated about them
33:11and in particular parents should make
33:12sure that children are where the
33:13steroids can be bad for their health
33:16i also believe the league and the
33:17players association have done the right
33:18thing
33:19by reopening our collective bargaining
33:20agreement and strengthening our policy
33:22on drug testing
33:24i support this new policy as a very good
33:25first step in eliminating steroid use
33:27for the sport i love
33:29i have been a major league baseball
33:30player for 15 years and throughout my
33:33career
33:33i have never ever used steroids
33:36thank you mr chairman and member of the
33:38committee
33:40thank you very much mr thomas i'm going
33:42to recess
33:43the meeting right now i'm going to ask
33:44the members to go back we're in the
33:46middle of three votes we should be back
33:47about 20 minutes
33:48i appreciate your opening statements
33:50you'll be able to stay for a few
33:51questions i think the committee would
33:52want to ask you but we very much
33:54appreciate everybody being here
33:55coming up in recess members will go back
33:58i think that they're holding to the holy
34:1520 minutes
34:31no it's only about 20.
35:00uh
35:14okay
35:42so
35:50let me let me start by apologizing for
35:52the delay because we're not always
35:54like a rain delay baseball you can't
35:55always predict these things
35:57and we had a series of votes on the
36:00house floor
36:01so i want to apologize but i want to get
36:03everybody back
36:08but let me let me start the questioning
36:09so we can move this along while other
36:11members are coming in mr schilling
36:12i'll ask i'll start with you and i'll
36:13ask mr palmeira
36:15as i read the major league policy as it
36:18sits here it says the
36:19player test positive for a steroid a
36:2210-day suspension or
36:24up to a ten thousand dollar fine
36:27so under the policy a suspension is
36:30optional and you could do a fine up to
36:33ten thousand dollars it could be
36:35less than that i mean our feeling is
36:39it ought to be with clarity it ought to
36:41be a suspension because a suspension
36:43carries with it
36:45a public acknowledgement under the rules
36:48as we read them a find is not
36:50do you have any thoughts on that mr
36:51schilling i'm not trying to put you in
36:53the middle but to us that sounds a
36:54little weak
36:55well i don't think for a second that
36:57there's any question about
36:59uh making names public upon a failed
37:02test
37:02i don't i can't speak at length as to
37:05why the
37:05the clause is in there the ore but i was
37:08given the impression and i'm under the
37:10impression that there will be absolutely
37:11no chance for a failed test
37:13to not be made public okay that's not
37:16what it says just to let you know i
37:18understand but that
37:19your position and your understanding is
37:21it ought to be made public i think
37:22that's the position of
37:23players as a whole is the primary you
37:25have the same
37:26well i agree that the uh that the
37:28players should be suspended
37:30um i believe that uh our policy
37:34um to be strong and i think that we need
37:37to give it a chance but i do believe
37:38that the player needs to be suspended
37:41okay i mean that that's one of the major
37:43concerns and it was a huge surprise to
37:45us
37:46as it uh walked through here um
37:50mr coseca let me ask you just a question
37:52going back
37:54um your position basically that
38:00major league baseball knew that there
38:02was steroid use going on and for years
38:04didn't do anything to stop it
38:07absolutely yes when they when you signed
38:10a contract with the team
38:12uh they is it your opinion that
38:15people knew about the players that they
38:17were signing and investigating given the
38:19investment they were making in them
38:26i'm under the impression they even did
38:28background checks on them
38:31so in all likelihood they would know if
38:33a player was taking steroids if they
38:35were
38:36in what their private lives were because
38:38that could jeopardize their ability
38:40to perform i believe so yes okay
38:43and why do you think baseball didn't do
38:45anything about this
38:50i guess in baseball at the time there
38:51was a saying if it's not broke don't fix
38:53it
38:54and um baseball was coming back to life
38:58steroids were part of the game and i
39:01don't think anyone really wanted to take
39:02the stance on it
39:04okay
39:12um
39:15oh i wanted to wait till we got some
39:17people in the room mr palmeira i want to
39:19thank you
39:20for also agreeing to be a representative
39:22on the zero tolerance of the advisory
39:24committee on ending steroid use in
39:25sports
39:26i want to thank mr sosa and mr mcguire
39:28for agreeing to support the efforts of
39:30the advisory uh
39:31committee as well it is important that
39:33we get all athletes
39:35out there publicly on this issue
39:38um the i'm gonna mr waxman i'm going to
39:42recognize you i appreciate you all being
39:44here mr weinstein
39:46mr chairman before i start with this
39:48panel i i want to acknowledge a third
39:50family that's here with us today that's
39:52the family of efrain marrero
39:54a 19 year old kid from california who
39:57loved to play football
39:59and he killed himself after falling into
40:01the grip of steroids
40:02as his mother brenda has said steroid
40:04killed my son
40:06i understand that his efrain's mother
40:08his father frank and sister erica are
40:10here today
40:11i also understand that they're working
40:13with the garibaldis and hootons to get
40:14the message out about steroid use
40:17out to america's youth and i want to say
40:19on behalf of all of us i thank them for
40:21coming
40:22um on on the question
40:26i want to ask and i don't know which of
40:28you to ask
40:30what i want to know is
40:33you've seen steroid use in baseball
40:38you've seen it from inside the clubhouse
40:40mr palmer maybe you could be the best to
40:42ask we'll see what others have to say
40:44is it something that most of the
40:46baseball players knew about
40:48sir i have never seen the use of
40:50steroids in the clubhouse
40:51well how about just the players are
40:53using steroids excuse me
40:55the fact that players were using
40:56steroids is that something that other
40:58players knew
41:00um i'm sure that players knew about it
41:05you know i i really didn't pay much
41:07attention to it
41:08um i was focused in what i had to do as
41:10my as far as my job
41:12um well let me ask mr schilling did
41:15players know
41:16you you've spoken out against this did
41:18you know that other players
41:20were using steroids i think there was
41:22suspicion i don't think any of us knew
41:25um contrary to the claim of of former
41:29players
41:29i think while i agree it's a problem i
41:32think the issue
41:33was was grossly overstated by some
41:35people including myself
41:36um it was grossly overstated absolutely
41:39why did you do that i think at the time
41:41it was it was a
41:43a very uh hot situation and
41:46we were all being asked to comment on it
41:48and i think uh
41:50my opinion at the time was to go with
41:53someone who
41:54maybe had a better idea than me um but
41:56given a chance to reflect and i made
41:58comments to that effect afterwards when
41:59i look back on what i said
42:01i'm not sure i could have been any more
42:03grossly wrong
42:05do you think it's basically a
42:06non-problem in baseball no absolutely no
42:08i think there's an issue i think if one
42:09person is using it's a problem
42:11i think the desire to get to zero
42:14players using
42:16is a great goal i don't know how
42:18achievable that is
42:19uh mr sosa did you know that other
42:23players were using steroids
42:27um to my analysis i don't know i didn't
42:30know
42:31mr canseco absolutely yes
42:36now you say it so affirmatively you knew
42:38others were doing but the others seemed
42:39to
42:40be vague about it was it only
42:44where you were playing
42:47i didn't hear you sorry well what they
42:49seem to be vague as to whether other
42:51players whether it was known by the
42:52players
42:53that some players were using steroids
42:56do you think that there should have been
42:58any doubt in anybody's mind that
43:00steroids was being used by would you say
43:02a large number of players
43:04there should have been no doubt
43:04whatsoever none well um
43:08does it stop with ball players steroid
43:11uses
43:11as uh has grown do you think that the
43:15team trainers the managers the general
43:17managers and even the owners
43:19might have been aware that some players
43:22were using steroids
43:24no doubt in my mind absolutely
43:27so it's not a secret that stayed with
43:29just the players others knew it
43:31in the baseball absolutely i believe
43:33that yes do any of you disagree with
43:38that
43:56mr schilling disagree with the idea that
43:59not only did some baseball players know
44:01that others were using it but that
44:03managers and uh and other teammates and
44:06uh and and the trainers also were aware
44:09of it
44:11again i think it falls into the same i
44:12think there was a lot of suspicion a lot
44:14of questioning but i don't think any
44:15unless you were
44:16jose and you were actually using i don't
44:18think you have any first hand knowledge
44:19about who knew
44:21let me ask this question last week a
44:23very respected person
44:25in the athletic world and professional
44:28sports called me with a suggestion
44:30he said that if we want to dramatically
44:32cut the use of illegal steroids by kids
44:35we should pass
44:36federal legislation that applies one
44:38standard
44:39to all major sports to colleges and high
44:43schools
44:43instead of a patchwork of different
44:45policies he suggested taking
44:47the olympic policy and applying that
44:51program to everyone the first violation
44:52would result
44:54in a two-year suspension and the second
44:56would bring a lifetime
44:57ban do you think that would be effective
45:01let me start with mr canseco
45:06i think in my opinion the most effective
45:08thing right now
45:10is would be for us to admit there's a
45:12major problem
45:15it's got to start here and
45:18we've got to admit to certain things
45:20we've done
45:21and changed things there from what i'm
45:24hearing
45:25more or less i was the only individual
45:27major league baseball use steroids
45:29so that's that's hard to believe
45:32okay mr sosa do you think that we ought
45:35to have that
45:36gold standard of the olympic uh program
45:39zero tolerance you you you got caught
45:42using steroids
45:44for whatever the sport is that that
45:46you're suspended for two years and after
45:48that second offense you're out
45:50that certainly discourages people in the
45:51olympics you think it would be effective
45:53with uh
45:54baseball and other sports as well
45:59would you uh push the mic i can tell you
46:02mr chairman i don't have too much to
46:04tell you
46:05okay you can think about it we don't
46:07have to get the answer right now how
46:08about you mr mcguire
46:10i don't know but i think we should find
46:12the right standard
46:14and do you think the standard that the
46:16baseball commission
46:18is now using is the right standard i
46:20don't know i'm a retired player
46:23okay and you have to look carefully at
46:24that standard you haven't looked at it
46:27correct
46:27okay how about you uh mr palmero do you
46:29think if we went to a tougher standard
46:31it would be more effective
46:32i wouldn't have a problem playing under
46:34any type of of standard
46:36uh like i said before i've never taken
46:38it so
46:39if you want to play under the rules of
46:41the olympics i welcome it
46:43okay um my time is up and i hope we'll
46:46get another
46:46chance for hey mr sweeney thanks mr
46:50chairman uh
46:50welcome all and thank you uh for your
46:53participation i want to ask a general
46:55question of the entire panel with the
46:57idea that i'd follow up with a specific
47:00the general question is you've all made
47:01very strong statements about your
47:03interest
47:04in helping us develop some public
47:06education
47:07process very briefly because i
47:10the time is short i'd like to hear from
47:12each of you what you think
47:14the danger is what's your perception of
47:16what's happened out there
47:18in the world because of the allegations
47:20of steroid use and
47:22secondly what can major league baseball
47:25and the players association do
47:27tangibly if you have ideas and mr
47:28schilling i'll start with you since
47:29you're going to chair
47:30something that has to more formally
47:32answer that question if you could
47:34well i think the inherent danger here is
47:36inactivity
47:38i think i don't think a psa is going to
47:39do it i think there needs to be some
47:41tough legislation
47:43mandated on the federal level that
47:44affects high school
47:46athletics college athletics any level of
47:49athletics and i do agree
47:50i think if you can come to a one
47:51standard and a blanket standard for
47:54everybody
47:55that is that is tough and strict and
47:57enforceable there's no question that's
47:59the way to go
48:00mr palmeira i do believe that we are
48:02role models and
48:04we do have a lot of power in what uh
48:07kids
48:07listen to and uh the message that we
48:09send to them and i believe that
48:11if we do send the right message uh we
48:14can we can help tremendously
48:16mr mcguire well i believe that's one of
48:18the reasons why i'm here
48:20is to make this a positive thing instead
48:22of a negative thing
48:24and i will do everything i can in my
48:25power to turn this around
48:27from a negative to a positive mr salsa
48:31um i agree with mr mcguire you know one
48:34reason why here because
48:36to stop that and you know i think that
48:38we can do some more tests and
48:41you know one way or another we're here
48:43to help
48:45i think i think the most important thing
48:46is going to be awareness here i mean
48:49it's in the forefront right now right
48:51now we're looking at it
48:54major league baseball player whatever
48:55comes out of this meeting will say wow
48:57you know we have eyes on us they're
48:59looking at us we've got to change
49:00something
49:02you know hopefully this this book i
49:03wrote educates people on what's really
49:05going on in sports
49:07and how you know devastating the use is
49:10in major league sports
49:12and no matter what comes out of this
49:15at least we're going to have some type
49:18of start
49:19some type of position to say look you
49:22got to stop this the owners
49:23have got to stop this continuing their
49:26player association
49:27they have got to stop this period i have
49:30two questions to follow up one is that
49:33given its impact especially with the
49:35last panel on uh
49:36scholastic athletics and in kids in this
49:39country
49:40do any of you uh doubt that maybe major
49:42league baseball and when i say major
49:44league baseball i am
49:45including in that the players
49:46association don't
49:48don't you think major league baseball
49:50has some obligation to help pay for that
49:52kind of
49:52program because all of those things cost
49:54money
49:55does anyone disagree with that you gotta
49:58hear that
49:58major league baseball helps to subsidize
50:01such a nation
50:02well you talk about the owners here not
50:03right well i'm talking about the owners
50:06and
50:06and possibly the players association in
50:08conjunction
50:10for the owners i say yes the principal
50:14very well done mr schilling when you're
50:15done you can become an agent
50:17my point is baseball has an obligation
50:20here don't you agree
50:23final question i'm going to go into
50:24sensitive territory and i don't
50:26i i our intent is not to embarrass
50:28anybody here
50:29it's to get to solutions but i i have to
50:32ask this we've just established
50:33we all agree that this is a public
50:35health policy issue
50:38this is not treading on conduct that
50:41rises to the level of criminality
50:43uh in past years but this year it is and
50:46that's the use
50:47of uh steroid precursors and uh designer
50:51steroids and
50:52and how prevalent that was in baseball
50:54because that is part of a culture
50:56and specifically mr mcguire i i have to
50:59ask you this question from your
51:00statement
51:01in part 10 you essentially say that the
51:04impact
51:05on children is devastated you recognize
51:08that and
51:09you want people to understand that the
51:11use of any
51:12performance-enhancing drug can be
51:15dangerous
51:16it is um rather an infamous occurrence
51:20that in the year you were
51:22you were breaking the home run record a
51:25bottle of andro was seen in your
51:26in your locker my question to you is
51:31your position now says the use of that
51:33product which is now illegal but was not
51:35that
51:37how did you get to that point where that
51:39was what you were using
51:41to prepare yourself to play and if you
51:44could tell this committee
51:45how you ended up there and then i if i
51:47have time left i'd like to know if other
51:49players
51:50have similar experiences i think that
51:52would help us
51:53understand what you all live in
51:58well sir i'm not here to talk about the
52:00past
52:01i'm talk i'm here to talk about the
52:02positive and not the negative
52:06about this issue
52:09were you ever counseled that precursors
52:13or designer steroids might have the same
52:17impact i'm not here to talk about the
52:20past
52:23well
52:26your time simply say that in order to
52:28eliminate and alleviate
52:29the kinds of questions that surround the
52:31game we need to understand the game
52:33thank you time gentlemen times expired
52:35gentleman from baltimore
52:37yes um first of all i want to thank all
52:40of you for being here
52:42and uh you know mr conseco i i i i've
52:46been
52:46you know taking a look at your book and
52:48you've said some things that really
52:50you know i hear all of you i'm sitting
52:52here and i'm listening i'm trying to
52:54trying to feel good about this hearing
52:58but at the same time i see you
53:02mr mcguire with almost tears in your
53:03eyes when you were talking
53:05i hear everybody saying that now they're
53:06willing to come and be the spokespersons
53:10to uh help those families who may be
53:12trying to
53:14deal with this issue and prevent it in
53:16the future
53:17but mr canseco let me ask you this you
53:20said in your book
53:21and this is in your book i'm tired of
53:25hearing such short-sighted crap
53:27from people who have no idea what
53:29they're talking about steroids are here
53:32to stay that's a fact i guarantee it
53:34steroids are the future
53:36by the time my eight-year-old daughter
53:40josie has graduated from high school a
53:43majority of all professional athletes in
53:45all sports
53:47will be taking steroids and believe it
53:49or not
53:50that's good news help me with that
53:53you sit here one moment talking about
53:56how you want to do all these wonderful
53:58things to prevent it in the future
54:00but then it sounds like you're saying
54:02something almost the opposite in this
54:03statement in your book
54:11i i think that was very much pertaining
54:12to two subjects
54:14number one if congress does nothing
54:16about this issue
54:17it will go on forever that i guarantee
54:21um and basically steroids are only good
54:25for certain individuals not good for
54:27everyone i think i specify that
54:28in previous chapters if you medically
54:31need it
54:32um if it is prescribed to you i i think
54:34those were the things i actually spoke
54:36about
54:36so you are against you realize it's a
54:39federal crime is that right did you use
54:40steroids
54:41yes and so i saw you now for a zero
54:44tolerance policy
54:45absolutely now we've had uh you've made
54:48some
54:48some allegations and as i understand
54:51that both mr schilling mr thomas and mr
54:53palmer
54:54and i think mr sosa has said they never
54:57use the substances
54:58um uh is that right mr sosa you said
55:01that right you said you never
55:02okay is that right i all right
55:06now mr mcguire would you like to comment
55:08on that
55:09i didn't i didn't get a definitive event
55:11i didn't hear you say anything about it
55:13you don't have to i just asked you don't
55:15want to comment
55:18are you taking the fifth
55:22i'm not here to discuss the past i'm
55:24here to be positive about this
55:26subject i'm trying to be positive too
55:29but just a few minutes ago i watched you
55:31as tears no no i need to be able to
55:33answer my question
55:35well i think the gentleman in his
55:36opening statement made it clear that
55:39he he well i'm i'm making a statement
55:41i'm just telling him something
55:43i i i listen i sit here and i almost got
55:46tears in my eyes
55:48watching you testify and you know the
55:52thing that i guess i'm i'm curious about
55:54is that you know it's one thing to
55:58to say that we want to help it's a whole
56:01nother thing when those parents are
56:02sitting by the way
56:03directly behind you and then they wonder
56:06is this real
56:08and i guess you know my question is uh
56:11you said something about your foundation
56:13and trying to help out tell us
56:14exactly what it is you plan for your
56:15foundation to do
56:20i will uh right now yeah that's why i'm
56:23talking about the present the future as
56:24you said
56:25well my foundation helps out neglected
56:27and abused children
56:29and redirected we have not talked about
56:32it but i'm going to redirect
56:34about this subject and you are you're
56:36going to you're willing to be a national
56:38spokesman
56:38against steroids see we've got all these
56:41high school kids
56:42that are have emulating you although
56:44you're out of the game now
56:45they still look up to uh mcguire and
56:49and others and so you i think you said
56:51you're willing to be a national
56:52spokesman
56:53i'd be a great one so that means you
56:56would do it
56:57be a spokesperson yes absolutely all
57:00right
57:00thank you gentlemen's times expired
57:03there's no
57:04miss miller yes thank you mr chairman uh
57:07perhaps just a question from mr kansenko
57:10uh and i appreciate all of the panelists
57:11coming here today sincerely but uh
57:14in your book you did admit that you were
57:15a user an abuser of steroids
57:18and you did suggest that uh perhaps
57:20steroids
57:21perhaps were a good thing for players to
57:23use um i think you said in your book
57:25that if used properly steroids could
57:27help you to live to be 120
57:29years old unfortunately during your
57:32playing career baseball really did not
57:34have
57:34the testing policy in place against the
57:36use of steroids no
57:37testing regime and and i also want to
57:40applaud you for your testimony today
57:41saying that you're willing to work
57:42towards educating our young people about
57:44the
57:45dangers of steroid but
57:48could you answer even if the new random
57:51testing policy
57:53that the major leagues are putting in
57:54place today if that was in place
57:56during your playing career do you think
57:59it would have
58:00changed your behavior in regards to
58:01steroids or do you think that the
58:03desire to to play better
58:06it was just so strong that the standard
58:09that is going to be in place today is
58:11going to eliminate steroid use in
58:13major league baseball i don't know
58:15exactly how
58:17the policies for major league baseball
58:19structured right now but i've heard it's
58:20a complete joke
58:22um obviously if it were a proper system
58:27um completely educating athletes and so
58:30forth
58:31i truly believe that no major league
58:33player would do steroids absolutely not
58:36it's my understanding that the new
58:38policy is a random
58:40test once uh one at least one time
58:43during this season for each player so
58:45and i suppose we'll have some additional
58:46questions for the next panel on that
58:48thank you mr chairman that's my only
58:50question you have if you have some time
58:52left if you deal with mr burton he has a
58:53question
58:54i'll deal to the gentleman gentlemen i i
58:57mr chairman thank you very much i don't
58:59have a question i just like to say that
59:02it's evident from this hearing that a
59:04lot more needs to be done to make sure
59:06that uh
59:06not only the baseball world but the
59:08entire world of athletics knows that
59:10these uh kinds of drugs need to be
59:15outlawed and i'd just like to say i
59:17understand the commissioner has
59:19started to move in the in the right
59:20direction but it
59:22evidently hasn't moved fast enough so
59:24rather than me questioning
59:26uh the players who are here today
59:29or or pound on this subject anymore i
59:33just like to say that
59:34i hope the message is very loud and
59:36clear
59:37from this committee and from the
59:39congress of the united states
59:41we want this stuff stopped in all
59:44athletics
59:44not just baseball and i think you can
59:47tell by the tone of my colleagues up
59:49here if
59:50if it doesn't stop you're going to end
59:52up with something that you don't want in
59:54the world of athletics and that is the
59:55congress of the united states
59:57doing what you don't do so do the job
1:00:02baseball players whom i have respected
1:00:04since i was a kid
1:00:06go out there and tell the kids even if
1:00:08you use steroids tell them this is not
1:00:09the right thing to do
1:00:11tell them about the people who've lost
1:00:12their kids because of this
1:00:14misuse of steroids and if you do that
1:00:16job if you preach the gospel
1:00:19and if the baseball commissioner and
1:00:20everybody in baseball gets the word out
1:00:22this will change you won't have to have
1:00:24congress
1:00:24legislating you'll get the job done but
1:00:27do the job
1:00:28so that we don't have to and i hope this
1:00:30message goes out loud and clear to
1:00:31people in
1:00:32every athletic endeavor not just
1:00:34baseball
1:00:35and if it does then this uh hearing mr
1:00:38chairman
1:00:38because of you and mr waxman will be a
1:00:40great benefit to all sport
1:00:42thank you very much thank you very much
1:00:44mr lentes
1:00:46thank you mr chairman mr chairman i
1:00:49increasingly feel a feeling of the
1:00:52of the theater of the absurd unfolding
1:00:54here
1:00:55we are all interested in the future
1:00:58but in order to plan a better future in
1:01:02this field
1:01:03we must look at the past in every single
1:01:06endeavor
1:01:07as we plan for the future unless we
1:01:10learn
1:01:11from the past it will be a futile
1:01:13endeavor
1:01:14i am totally disinterested in individual
1:01:17past behavior
1:01:19let me make that clear but there are a
1:01:21few specific questions i would like
1:01:23all of you gentlemen to respond to
1:01:27jim bunning our former colleague
1:01:30testified earlier today
1:01:32who said that the industry is taking
1:01:36baby steps well baby steps are clearly
1:01:40not adequate
1:01:41when we are facing a major national
1:01:45crisis
1:01:46impacting our young people that's why we
1:01:49are here
1:01:50that's why all the media is here so to
1:01:52pretend that baby steps
1:01:55will solve this problem is ludicrous
1:01:58so i'd like to ask each of you gentlemen
1:02:00to answer the following questions
1:02:02you have already said some of you that
1:02:05you favor
1:02:06the olympics formula could i ask all of
1:02:09you to say
1:02:10yes or no it's a much tougher formula
1:02:14much more demanding with much more
1:02:16severe penalties
1:02:18uh miss schilling are you in favor of it
1:02:20excuse me i would need to
1:02:22see it first i i wouldn't just give a
1:02:24blanket yes or no i mean
1:02:26are you in favor of much stricter
1:02:28penalties i'm in favor of allowing the
1:02:30current system to continue to work and
1:02:32where loopholes are found those
1:02:34loopholes be fixed
1:02:35i think the testing is doing what it's
1:02:36aimed to do which is reduce the usage of
1:02:38players the usage of steroids by players
1:02:40mr palmer i am in favor
1:02:44i am in favor of eliminating the problem
1:02:46the problem completely
1:02:49well obviously the olympics are
1:02:52internationally recognized
1:02:54as it has been referred to as the gold
1:02:56standard
1:02:57if in fact that is the gold standard
1:03:00would you favor applying it to baseball
1:03:02i would play under any type of uh deal
1:03:05that would clean our sport
1:03:06and that would make it a plain level
1:03:08feel for everyone thank you ms maguire
1:03:11well being that i'm retired i know but i
1:03:14think
1:03:14that anything that major league baseball
1:03:16can do
1:03:18to get rid of this problem and do a
1:03:20positive
1:03:21positive put a positive light on this
1:03:23for our children of our future
1:03:25i think would be great miss sosa
1:03:28yes i am favored to the trickles
1:03:35well i i truly believe i'm definitely in
1:03:37favor of it but i think you have to
1:03:39monitor
1:03:40who's ever issuing this test the second
1:03:42question i have
1:03:44is are you in favor of independent
1:03:49testing
1:03:50because one of the the issues that
1:03:52emerged is that unless
1:03:54all testing is done by a totally
1:03:56independent entity
1:03:58which has nothing to do with the owners
1:04:01the players
1:04:02it stands by itself would you favor that
1:04:06ms schilling
1:04:07yes miss palmeira yes sir mr mcguire i
1:04:10think it would be outstanding
1:04:13yes sir it's going to be the only way
1:04:16you're going to solve this
1:04:17final question on the assumption
1:04:21that within a reasonable period of time
1:04:24the industry doesn't clean up its own
1:04:27act are you in favor of federal
1:04:30legislation
1:04:31it's shilling
1:04:35um yes
1:04:38thank you i agree i agree
1:04:41if that's what it takes yes
1:04:45yes yes thank you very much
1:04:48thank you very much mr sauder
1:04:54my first question is to mr uh schilling
1:04:56um
1:04:57and my belief is is that the uh all
1:05:00we've seen is is sampling and it's not
1:05:02adequate it's not independent
1:05:04and it's so full of holes on ephedra and
1:05:06everything else that if it was cheese it
1:05:07would definitely be swiss cheese
1:05:09so clearly the policy needs to be fixed
1:05:11and i'm disappointed that you
1:05:12don't seem to share that view but you
1:05:14said earlier as i understood it
1:05:16that we went from five to seven percent
1:05:18positive down to 1.7
1:05:20and that's progress i thought i also
1:05:22heard you say
1:05:23that um it would be inevitable and the
1:05:26people
1:05:26this would be public um i haven't heard
1:05:29five to seven
1:05:30percent of the players named as using
1:05:32steroids i haven't even heard
1:05:341.7 where is the public part
1:05:37well my understanding is that uh with
1:05:40this new
1:05:40after the agreement in put in place
1:05:44renegotiated this past
1:05:46uh a couple months those those are
1:05:48instituted now those
1:05:50previous results are from the last two
1:05:52seasons the five to seven percent was
1:05:54the number that needed to be met
1:05:56for the testing to be put into effect
1:05:59the different method of testing which
1:06:00was put into effect last year
1:06:02under the previous policy was anybody
1:06:04suspended for steroids
1:06:05i can't answer that um we'll ask the
1:06:08baseball i also wanted to say that the
1:06:09simple way to solve this
1:06:11is the way that um mr sosa
1:06:14mr palmeiro and you mr schilling and mr
1:06:17thomas has said
1:06:19i am clean i've been clean i've taken
1:06:21the test
1:06:23and i passed the test this is pretty
1:06:25simple
1:06:26uh and the american people are figuring
1:06:28out who's willing to say that and who
1:06:29isn't
1:06:30and uh as as far as this being about the
1:06:33past
1:06:35that's what we do this is an oversight
1:06:37committee
1:06:38if the enron people come in here and say
1:06:40well we don't want to talk about the
1:06:42past
1:06:42do you think congress is going to let
1:06:43them get away with that if when we were
1:06:45doing
1:06:46investigations on the travel office on
1:06:49whitewater
1:06:50if if president nixon had said about
1:06:52watergate when congress was
1:06:53investigating watergate we don't talk
1:06:55about the past
1:06:56how in the world are we supposed to pass
1:06:58legislation when you're a protected
1:07:00monopoly and all your salaries are paid
1:07:03because you're a protected monopoly
1:07:06how are we supposed to figure out what
1:07:07our obligations are to the taxpayers
1:07:09if you say we won't talk about the past
1:07:12i want to praise those people who've
1:07:13come forward
1:07:14uh and have been in awkward situations
1:07:17before because of peer pressure and said
1:07:19look i'm clean but i'm really
1:07:22disappointed because we have to talk
1:07:24about the past
1:07:25because there isn't any way to address
1:07:26this and unless there are independent
1:07:29uh entities doing this i don't believe
1:07:31that that it's this is going to pass a
1:07:32laugh test i believe
1:07:34we've advanced some today but we've also
1:07:36gone backwards some today
1:07:37and this last panel with the management
1:07:40and players association is going to be
1:07:41very critical
1:07:42yield back the balance thank you mr
1:07:43owens
1:07:48i don't want to repeat what my colleague
1:07:51asked before
1:07:52i just want a clarification he said that
1:07:55if the industry cannot clean this up are
1:07:58you in favor of federal legislation
1:08:00and i think most of you gave a positive
1:08:02answer
1:08:03i want to go one step further and say
1:08:05baseball isn't industry
1:08:07it is a business it's our favorite past
1:08:09time whatever else but it also is an
1:08:11interesting business
1:08:12and in most instances we have failed in
1:08:15attempts to have businesses
1:08:16self-regulate themselves there are a few
1:08:18successes but very few do you think it
1:08:21is possible that self-regulation will
1:08:22solve this problem
1:08:25yes absolutely i think it is possible i
1:08:27absolutely think it is i think it is
1:08:28possible too
1:08:30me too yeah i think it's possible to we
1:08:33work together
1:08:36yes
1:08:38honest opinion not completely but
1:08:40because we have brought this to light
1:08:42it's going to come very close thank you
1:08:47thank you very much
1:08:50mr mchenry any questions
1:09:00thank you all for coming here today i
1:09:01know it's not an easy situation for any
1:09:04of you
1:09:04i certainly appreciate the fact that as
1:09:06individuals
1:09:08you don't like the idea of having to
1:09:09come before congress and
1:09:11swear an oath i certainly understand
1:09:13that certainly
1:09:14respect your right to to privacy as
1:09:16individuals
1:09:18our hearings today are not about you as
1:09:20individuals
1:09:22a lot has been made of a book written a
1:09:24lot has been made of statements that
1:09:25have been made
1:09:27but it's not about using individuals
1:09:28it's the overall societal problem
1:09:31and you you mentioned you all mentioned
1:09:34what these families that testified
1:09:36earlier
1:09:37the impact it had on you as individuals
1:09:40but that's a message that your sport you
1:09:43and your colleagues
1:09:45are sending in many ways and so
1:09:49i have a simple question and you can
1:09:51answer yes or no
1:09:53or choose to not answer that certainly
1:09:55you're right
1:09:57is using or using steroids
1:10:00the use of steroids is that cheating
1:10:05that's right yes i believe it is
1:10:09that's not for me to determine
1:10:13for you is it cheating yes or no
1:10:16that's not for me to determine mr
1:10:19cheshire
1:10:20i think so
1:10:26i think so and and in many ways i think
1:10:29it also cheats the individual who uses
1:10:31it because eventually
1:10:33if found out or if come to the forefront
1:10:35they have to go through this absolutely
1:10:39my follow-up question is to mr mcguire
1:10:42you said that you'd like to be a
1:10:44spokesman on this issue
1:10:46what is your message
1:10:51my message is that steroids is
1:10:54is bad don't do them it's a bad message
1:10:59and i'm here because of that and i want
1:11:02to tell everybody
1:11:03that i will do everything i can if you
1:11:05allow me
1:11:06to turn this into a positive there's so
1:11:09much negativity set out here
1:11:12we need to start talking about positive
1:11:13things here
1:11:15how do you know they're bad
1:11:19pardon me your message is coming from
1:11:22professional baseball
1:11:24would you say that perhaps you've known
1:11:26people that are that have taken steroids
1:11:28and
1:11:29and you've seen the ill effects on that
1:11:30or would your message be that
1:11:32you've seen the direct effects of
1:11:34steroids
1:11:37you know let me just note here that
1:11:39house rule 11 protects witnesses in the
1:11:41public from the disclosure of defamatory
1:11:43degrading or incriminating testimony in
1:11:45open session
1:11:46house rules in this point are both clear
1:11:48and strict
1:11:50i think the test if the testimony tends
1:11:52to defame
1:11:53the greater incriminate the committee
1:11:55cannot resp proceed in open session and
1:11:57we want to proceed in open session today
1:11:59so with that in mind
1:12:00you can choose to answer that or not mr
1:12:02mcmahon well mr chairman respectfully
1:12:04my question is just about the message
1:12:06that he would
1:12:13i've accepted by my attorney's advice
1:12:17not to comment on this issue okay
1:12:24if you'll go down the line again i'll
1:12:25ask another question that everyone can
1:12:27answer
1:12:27simply and directly i would hope
1:12:30if it's proven that a player has set
1:12:32records while using steroids
1:12:34should those records stand
1:12:38mr canseco
1:12:41it's impossible to measure i i would
1:12:44guess what one steroid
1:12:45does to one player and another player
1:12:49there is no guideline to trying to say
1:12:52well
1:12:52if he hit 60 or 70 home runs because he
1:12:54was on stairways we're going to take
1:12:56away 20
1:12:5620 or 24 percent of his home runs it's
1:12:58impossible
1:13:00mr assassin it's not up to me
1:13:05it's not up to me to determine that i
1:13:08believe that's up to the commissioner
1:13:10absolutely not thank you for your frank
1:13:14answers and
1:13:15as members of the player uni players
1:13:17union which
1:13:19you all are or were
1:13:22your representatives sat down and
1:13:25negotiated on your behalf about the
1:13:28steroid policy
1:13:29and part of what we'll hear from the
1:13:31commissioner i'm sure and your union
1:13:32representative
1:13:33is uh the fact well from your union
1:13:36representative
1:13:37that he was empowered to negotiate in
1:13:40certain directions
1:13:41did you support the the old policy
1:13:46the old policy on steroids did you
1:13:48empower your union representative what
1:13:50was your stance on
1:13:51on the issue of steroids within your
1:13:54union votes
1:13:55as members of the union did you support
1:13:57a more stringent policy
1:13:59or did you ask your union representative
1:14:01to limit
1:14:03the policy when it comes to steroids
1:14:07no i didn't support the old policy and i
1:14:10uh as a team the diamondbacks made it
1:14:12very clear we didn't support the old
1:14:13policy to the point where we
1:14:15spoke about uh not taking the tests
1:14:18ourselves to to force a failed
1:14:21result to to increase the the toughness
1:14:24of the policy and
1:14:25i i think that that's exactly what
1:14:27happened
1:14:28well since there was a new policy in
1:14:30place and it was the first time that we
1:14:31were tested i was in favor of it
1:14:33now i was aware that we needed to take
1:14:35uh bigger steps and more steps
1:14:37and i think that we need to give a
1:14:39chance to this new policy and if we do
1:14:40need to
1:14:41take more steps i'm in favor of that
1:14:43also
1:14:45i've been retired
1:14:48when you were a member of the players
1:14:50you know there was no policy
1:14:52all right and you spoke gentlemen's
1:14:54times expired we'll allow the
1:14:56previous question to be answered but mr
1:14:58saucer if you want to answer
1:15:00i really uh you know i don't have the
1:15:02specific question to
1:15:03not you know to explain it to you mr
1:15:06canseco
1:15:07the policy was never an issue when i was
1:15:09there i think the only players that may
1:15:11have been privy to it briefly
1:15:12were members of the player association
1:15:15in other words
1:15:16each organization had a representative
1:15:19that would go and represent that team so
1:15:22as beyond that
1:15:26no policy was ever mentioned or really
1:15:28talked about okay
1:15:29thank you all yes
1:15:32gentleman from new york mr townsend
1:15:34thank you very much mr chairman
1:15:36you know looking back over the rules and
1:15:39the recommendations that have been made
1:15:42i think that we're overlooking the fact
1:15:44that we can only hold the players
1:15:46accountable
1:15:47but all wrongdoers including management
1:15:50trainers front office and all should be
1:15:53involved
1:15:54in this if we really want to clean up
1:15:57the situation we now find ourselves in
1:16:00let me just go down the line starting
1:16:01with you mr schilling do you consider
1:16:03yourself a role model
1:16:05yes definitely
1:16:08yes yes yes
1:16:15with that in mind do you think that
1:16:18maybe posting something in a locker room
1:16:22might remind the person that they should
1:16:23not
1:16:24uh consider using being you're saying
1:16:26the kind of damage that takes place or
1:16:27the person uses steroids
1:16:29offenses you know uh in locker room
1:16:31sometimes they put up you know what
1:16:33smoking will do to you and things like
1:16:34that
1:16:35do you think this would serve as a
1:16:36deterrent in any way i'm just trying to
1:16:38figure out what we might be able to do
1:16:40uh if it's a widespread kind of thing
1:16:44you think that would sort of scare
1:16:45tactics no
1:16:49i'm not sure i can't answer that
1:16:53i don't think so i know yes
1:16:57i think bringing this issue to light is
1:16:59going to be a major deterrent
1:17:00um the players will be talking about
1:17:02this on a daily basis
1:17:04and they will be aware that there'll be
1:17:06a lot of eyes on them especially
1:17:07congress
1:17:09yeah my concern is is the young people
1:17:11you know the high school ball players
1:17:13and you know people playing
1:17:15uh that i was just wondering if this
1:17:18kind of technique might not you know the
1:17:20scared straight kind of thing to show to
1:17:21show them that uh
1:17:23if you use uh you could end up looking
1:17:25like this
1:17:26at the end of the day you know and
1:17:28that's reason why you know
1:17:29i was thinking about that for high
1:17:31school players
1:17:32more than professionals because my
1:17:35concern
1:17:36is that at that level
1:17:40they might begin to really use it and
1:17:42that's a real concern
1:17:46so what can we do with high schoolers
1:17:49any thoughts on that
1:17:55any suggestions because that's the area
1:17:57that i really think we need to focus on
1:17:58a great deal i believe that we can go
1:18:01around the high schools around the
1:18:02country
1:18:03use our our names use our our who we are
1:18:07to send the right message to send the
1:18:08message that steroids are wrong
1:18:10and they're costing lives every day
1:18:17i think you need to i don't again i
1:18:20don't think a psa is going to do it i
1:18:21think there needs to be some form of
1:18:22drug testing
1:18:24to to and there needs to be
1:18:25ramifications to failing a drug test
1:18:27be it in high school or college because
1:18:29until you have have to pay a price i
1:18:31don't think that there's going to be
1:18:33uh a lot of thought from a 16 year old
1:18:36about the consequences of using
1:18:40if a trainer has information about the
1:18:43fact that somebody's using
1:18:45you know what should that trainer do and
1:18:47i'm thinking in terms of oncologists
1:18:49that if you see someone cheating and you
1:18:51tell if you don't tell
1:18:53they put you out too you know so i'm
1:18:55thinking about the fact that uh
1:18:57if you have a trainer that's very much
1:18:59aware of the fact that
1:19:01illegal uh actions are taking place and
1:19:04nobody's doing anything about it he
1:19:06doesn't do anything about it
1:19:07should anything happen to that person
1:19:12right down the line yes or no i'm not
1:19:14sure
1:19:16i'm not sure i got the question the
1:19:18question is that you have a trainer
1:19:20who might be aware of the fact that
1:19:22somebody's using steroids
1:19:23and so he knows it but he just walks
1:19:26around every day and then tell anybody
1:19:27about the fact that this is going on
1:19:31might be aware or definitely no i mean i
1:19:33don't
1:19:34he might be aware that there's someone
1:19:36using or yeah might be
1:19:38has information that somebody's using it
1:19:39does nothing about it well i
1:19:41i think unless you have a verifiable
1:19:43fact i think you're you're treading on
1:19:44some dangerous ground i think
1:19:46we're here because some of some people
1:19:49that that
1:19:50uh loose tongue that
1:19:53and and said things that i don't believe
1:19:54are entirely true
1:19:56i think it causes a lot more problems
1:19:58than it solves but
1:20:01i think that if the trainer knows for
1:20:03sure it's his responsibility to make the
1:20:06player aware
1:20:06and educate the player
1:20:10yeah i agree with rafi i think that'd be
1:20:12a great step
1:20:14exactly elsa
1:20:17i agree i agree with rafi i think and
1:20:19it's probably the training or something
1:20:21he should do
1:20:22but
1:20:26um i definitely believe and know that
1:20:29they are under the same circumstances
1:20:31some major league
1:20:32players are under meaning if they come
1:20:34to the forefront and speak about it
1:20:36major league baseball will do something
1:20:37to them in the sense of maybe
1:20:39blackballing them from the game or cause
1:20:42them a lot of problems
1:20:45other words there should be some
1:20:46penalties if the trainer does not report
1:20:48it that he should be penalized
1:20:51it's a very delicate position he's in
1:20:53the example i can give you is
1:20:55let's say one player knows of another
1:20:57player using steroids but this player is
1:20:59still active
1:21:00or one player wants to come to the
1:21:01forefront but he's still active
1:21:03in in major league baseball major league
1:21:06baseball is very very powerful
1:21:09and if you act against them or speak out
1:21:12against them
1:21:13it can cost you your livelihood
1:21:15definitely thank you
1:21:16gentlemen's gentleman's time is expired
1:21:18thank you miss fox
1:21:24thank you mr chairman candice miller
1:21:28asked one of the questions that i wanted
1:21:30to ask about
1:21:31whether if the policy were in effect
1:21:34uh years ago would it have made a
1:21:36difference but
1:21:38i want to ask another question and that
1:21:40is
1:21:41why do you think and i'll ask each each
1:21:43player this
1:21:45why has it taken so long for the league
1:21:48to act
1:21:49on this since it seems to have been so
1:21:52wide that it was so well known
1:21:56that abuse was going on why has it taken
1:21:59the league
1:22:00so long to act
1:22:06basically something like a book written
1:22:08about the problems in major league
1:22:09baseball
1:22:11had to be done absolutely i think it
1:22:13definitely triggered
1:22:15a lot of events i think it finally
1:22:18made major league baseball aware of that
1:22:21you know or
1:22:22in the sense of stop covering up what
1:22:24was really going on
1:22:28i don't really know i i'm not sure
1:22:33you say the question one more time why
1:22:36has it taken
1:22:37so long for the league to act for
1:22:41professional baseball to act on this
1:22:43issue there's a policy in effect now
1:22:46i think it's a very weak policy but why
1:22:49is it taking so long to institute any
1:22:51policy
1:22:52i don't know but this is a great reason
1:22:54why we're here today
1:22:56try to fix it ma'am
1:23:00i'm not sure why it's taking so long you
1:23:03may have to ask
1:23:05the commissioner and the donald fielder
1:23:07players association leader
1:23:10well i don't know that um that it's
1:23:13taken
1:23:14there was a policy in place before the
1:23:16book came out
1:23:19the only thing that's happened i think
1:23:20in the last six months is that the
1:23:21policy has changed
1:23:22uh and gotten in some way stronger
1:23:27thank you thank you the policy is weaker
1:23:30than the minor league testing
1:23:31at this point and the minor leagues had
1:23:33it way before and i think one of the
1:23:35concerns is
1:23:36among professional sports baseball's
1:23:38been a little bit late coming to the
1:23:39table
1:23:40and maybe a little bit short of where
1:23:41some of the other standards are that's
1:23:43that's one of the concerns
1:23:44obviously we'll see how this is
1:23:46implemented there's active testing going
1:23:48on now
1:23:49but there is a concern as you can hear
1:23:50from us and some of the other experts
1:23:51that
1:23:52maybe it doesn't go far enough and
1:23:53hopefully this hearing will shine some
1:23:55light on it and
1:23:57between the players and the owners we
1:23:58can come up and close in these loopholes
1:24:00and make it work
1:24:01last thing you want is us making the
1:24:02policy i guarantee it
1:24:04we don't do things very well anyway when
1:24:06we get into it
1:24:07we act as a last resort but there's
1:24:09still a lot of concern not just
1:24:11it's late but it's not as complete as we
1:24:13had hoped it would be
1:24:15but you're speaking here is is just very
1:24:17helpful to that next
1:24:18is mr i think mr kanjorski was next
1:24:21thank you mr chairman
1:24:22mr canseco can you tell us i assume in
1:24:25your book
1:24:26i didn't read your book but i assume
1:24:28that you confessed to taking steroids is
1:24:30that correct
1:24:39i think
1:24:46yes in the past i have yes yeah well can
1:24:49you tell us what we're trying to get
1:24:50here
1:24:51one of the reasons i objected to the use
1:24:53of use of subpoenas at that
1:24:55at this hearing was it highlighted just
1:24:57baseball
1:24:58just superstars in baseball and
1:25:01i i've been listening to the examination
1:25:04now and i'm getting the indication that
1:25:05we want to clean up baseball
1:25:07at the highest level and not looking at
1:25:08the broad application
1:25:11i want to get to motive why did you use
1:25:13steroids
1:25:18well there are many reasons there's a
1:25:20chapter in my book
1:25:21where my mom passed away and
1:25:25i was called in from california i was
1:25:27playing uh a ball
1:25:28that year and um
1:25:33when i flew home she was in the hospital
1:25:35and she was brain dead from an aneurysm
1:25:39and i she never had seen me play minor
1:25:41leagues
1:25:42in general and i promised her i was
1:25:44going to be the best athlete in the
1:25:46world no matter what it took
1:25:47i i definitely got caught up in the
1:25:50whole
1:25:51um what would it be fair to say that you
1:25:53did it because the motivation was to
1:25:55build your body to be more competitive
1:25:57and ultimately make more money i don't
1:26:00even
1:26:01i don't even think the money was an
1:26:03issue at that time i think just becoming
1:26:06you know the best athlete i could
1:26:08possibly become right
1:26:09well have you given a lot of thought
1:26:10that if we had the best damn testing
1:26:13system that baseball could
1:26:14possibly imagine what type of
1:26:18implication or ramification would that
1:26:20have for
1:26:21all of those hundreds of thousands of
1:26:22high school athletes that we're trying
1:26:24to
1:26:25uh establish some help for uh shouldn't
1:26:28we be
1:26:28looking at what we can do for them
1:26:32and now my next question is since you
1:26:35obviously favor testing for super
1:26:37athletes
1:26:39would you favor a universal testing
1:26:42of the highest standard the olympic
1:26:44standard for all
1:26:45athletics regardless of where they are
1:26:48and in regards to what level of
1:26:50schooling that they're in
1:26:51and regardless of what sex is involved
1:26:53whether it's male female or otherwise
1:26:56i i truly believe that at the majorly
1:26:58level
1:26:59everyone knew that there was no steroids
1:27:01at all and a competitive balance was
1:27:03even it will trickle down to the minor
1:27:06league level
1:27:07the high school level and beyond well
1:27:10but but is it your idea that we can't do
1:27:11anything about steroids then
1:27:13no we we definitely can well wouldn't it
1:27:15i'm saying that wouldn't it require that
1:27:17we have a universal
1:27:18test at all at all athletes because you
1:27:20know some kid
1:27:2116 years old is looking up not only you
1:27:23he's looking at football players they're
1:27:25looking at
1:27:26tennis players he's looking at wrestlers
1:27:28and and
1:27:29probably he's not doing it for some
1:27:32narcissistic reason but
1:27:34probably for accomplishment and success
1:27:38i agree but if you just regulate it at
1:27:40let's say the minor league level
1:27:42and then the college level and high
1:27:44school level and then don't regulate it
1:27:46at the majority level
1:27:48i'm not suggesting not doing it at the
1:27:49major level i'm saying a universal test
1:27:51for everybody is an athlete from major
1:27:52league on down
1:27:53everybody absolutely yes you would you
1:27:55would be in favor yes
1:27:57do you have any idea how pervasive
1:28:00steroids are used
1:28:01particularly in our younger population
1:28:03in college and high school
1:28:04do you have any feeling as a result of
1:28:06being the center of this controversy
1:28:09if it's any proportion to at the major
1:28:13league level
1:28:14at the peak of steroid use i would say
1:28:17very high
1:28:19do you have any percentages or fractions
1:28:21no i don't
1:28:22not not beyond the major level no i
1:28:24don't it's very uh well
1:28:26carrying that on now i'm going to give
1:28:28you an analogy that has bothered me
1:28:30and i i don't expect that any of you
1:28:32have the answer but supposedly somebody
1:28:34came out with smart pills
1:28:37and that smart pill could make you ten
1:28:39times smarter
1:28:40than you are right now and
1:28:43they may put a warning on there it could
1:28:45cost you five or ten years of your
1:28:48life expectancy how many people would be
1:28:52tempted to try and win a nobel prize and
1:28:55take that smart bill
1:28:59you know that's a very tough question
1:29:01because we don't know we're going to be
1:29:02around tomorrow not
1:29:04we don't know if our futures are
1:29:06guaranteed or not
1:29:07but the smart pill guarantees something
1:29:09meaning you're going to win
1:29:12a nobel prize it's a tough question to
1:29:14ask
1:29:15i i really don't even it's trying to get
1:29:17to the point
1:29:18look there's a motivation of why
1:29:22athletes who have a high appreciation of
1:29:24their body
1:29:26they're making a judgment of risking
1:29:28something so what i'm saying is
1:29:29it's some somewhat of an intelligent
1:29:32question that they raise
1:29:33i mean i i assume all of you fellows
1:29:36would have had particularly you i won't
1:29:38address it to the other
1:29:39you had an idea could be dangerous to
1:29:41your body didn't you
1:29:43someone's time has expired if you'd like
1:29:46to answer you may
1:29:48um i think as athletes have become more
1:29:52educated
1:29:53yes they're starting to realize that
1:29:55more and more information
1:29:56that the dangers are greater and greater
1:29:58thank you thank you mr goodnick
1:30:03thank you mr chairman and this has been
1:30:06one of the most fascinating hearings i
1:30:07have ever participated in and i've been
1:30:09in congress now 10 years
1:30:12i'm like a lot of folks up here on this
1:30:14side of the the panel
1:30:16i grew up listening to baseball games on
1:30:19w.h.o radio
1:30:20listening to minnesota twins and my
1:30:22idols were people like harman killebrew
1:30:24and
1:30:24earl batty and richie rollins and i
1:30:27remember those games like it was
1:30:28yesterday
1:30:29and when i started thinking about this
1:30:31issue and as this issue was sort of
1:30:33you know bubbled up over the last
1:30:34several years my first reaction is how
1:30:37unfair this is to people
1:30:39uh like harman killebrew you wonder how
1:30:41many home runs he might have hit
1:30:43if he'd have been able to use chemicals
1:30:45or particularly
1:30:47hank aaron you know and in some respects
1:30:49it it sort of cheats the game and it
1:30:50cheats history
1:30:52and it cheats things like that and i
1:30:53think about baseball especially because
1:30:56growing up watching roger maris uh hit
1:30:5861 home runs and remembering that for
1:31:00years and perhaps even today
1:31:02there's an asterisk after his name and
1:31:05knowing that for example
1:31:06in little leagues now and even in
1:31:08softball leagues we use aluminum bats
1:31:10but we don't do that in in baseball not
1:31:12in the major leagues and not even in the
1:31:13minor leagues and the reason is we take
1:31:15those records so seriously
1:31:17i mean they're almost a part of history
1:31:18we all know
1:31:20where we were when roger ramirez hit
1:31:22that 61st home run and we remember some
1:31:24of those things
1:31:25and so in many respects when i thought
1:31:27about this hearing first i thought about
1:31:29some of the greats of the game
1:31:31one of my favorite expressions is with
1:31:34all kinds of issues we deal with here in
1:31:36washington
1:31:37is that it shouldn't take an act of
1:31:38congress but
1:31:40i'd like to all of you perhaps respond
1:31:43to that question
1:31:44can baseball heal itself or is it going
1:31:47to take an act of congress
1:31:48to force them to come to grips with with
1:31:51this problem and
1:31:52hopefully begin to spread the message
1:31:55down to the
1:31:56to the minor leagues and to the colleges
1:31:59and high schools and ultimately to the
1:32:00little leagues that
1:32:02this is a bad idea and and it's the
1:32:04wrong way to go and it cheats you it
1:32:05cheats the game and it cheats the
1:32:06history of baseball
1:32:08is it going to take an act of congress
1:32:11shilling
1:32:12i don't think so i i as a member of the
1:32:15players union as a former player
1:32:16representative
1:32:17i believe and i've always believed that
1:32:19the the 90
1:32:21plus percentile of players that test
1:32:23clean
1:32:24want to make sure that the ones that
1:32:27don't
1:32:27are found out and i think that given
1:32:30what i've heard from from the
1:32:31commissioner
1:32:32and from from the people and the play
1:32:34representatives that's going to happen
1:32:35now
1:32:36and i think the fear of public
1:32:37embarrassment humiliation
1:32:39upon being caught is going to be greater
1:32:41than any player ever imagined
1:32:45i don't believe it's going to take an
1:32:46act of congress i believe that our game
1:32:48will get straightened out and i believe
1:32:49that
1:32:50it will get cleaned up we just need to
1:32:52give this policy a chance
1:32:54and like i said before if we need to
1:32:56enhance it
1:32:58let's do it i don't know
1:33:01being that i'm retired but whatever it's
1:33:03going to take
1:33:05to put more of a positive light on this
1:33:08situation
1:33:10to detract the young people of today
1:33:12away from this
1:33:13stuff i'm all for it
1:33:18i believe it can heal himself if you
1:33:20immediately baseball take that seriously
1:33:23we can do so
1:33:27i got to be honest again i don't believe
1:33:29it can unless congress steps in
1:33:31because of the frugal testing programs
1:33:34that major league baseball has
1:33:37it'll just be a joke it'll be all this
1:33:39all over again know everybody's about it
1:33:42and talking about uh baseball the way
1:33:44it's changed baseball is evolving
1:33:46uh the ballparks the
1:33:49bats the let's say there was
1:33:53no steroids invented today at all the
1:33:55nutrition the information
1:33:57on on on food supplements out there are
1:34:00incredible
1:34:01nonetheless let's say 10 15 20 years
1:34:03from now we have a shortage of wood in
1:34:04the world
1:34:05now we have to go to aluminum bats so
1:34:07we're constantly evolving moving forward
1:34:09striving to become bigger
1:34:11faster stronger we just have to find a
1:34:13way of doing it legally that's it
1:34:16are you back thank you very much mr
1:34:19sanders
1:34:20thank you mr chairman and i want to
1:34:21thank you and
1:34:23the ranking member for calling this
1:34:25important hearing
1:34:27um mr chairman this morning
1:34:31uh i was on a tv show as i'm sure many
1:34:35members
1:34:35of this committee were and i was asked
1:34:38by the interviewer
1:34:40whether i thought this committee was
1:34:42grandstanding
1:34:43whether in fact we were using the fame
1:34:45of these outstanding athletes to get our
1:34:47names
1:34:48in the paper and so forth and i said i
1:34:50didn't think so because i thought this
1:34:51was a hugely
1:34:53important issue impacting millions of
1:34:56young people
1:34:57and that's what i believe but i do want
1:34:59to say
1:35:00that i am overwhelmed by the kind of
1:35:03media attention
1:35:04that this has gotten i have counted
1:35:06dozens of tv
1:35:07cameras and i think some of the american
1:35:10people
1:35:10wonder is this all we do because this is
1:35:12what they see on television
1:35:14so i want to say to our media friends
1:35:17that when some of us talk about the
1:35:18collapse of our health care system
1:35:21and millions of people not having any
1:35:22health insurance come and join us
1:35:25and we talk about the united states
1:35:27having the highest rate of childhood
1:35:29poverty in the industrialized world
1:35:31at a time when the rich are going richer
1:35:32come on down now maybe we may have to
1:35:35bring great baseball players to help us
1:35:37talk
1:35:37about childhood poverty i don't know i
1:35:40would hope that i hope we could have
1:35:41some of the great experts and i would
1:35:43hope you would come
1:35:44but to the american people some of us
1:35:46are dealing with other issues
1:35:47as well in terms of of this issue i have
1:35:51a
1:35:51a couple of questions uh that i would
1:35:53like to ask
1:35:55our uh our guests i have heard a
1:35:58discrepancy
1:35:59of opinion about the seriousness of the
1:36:02problem
1:36:02mr conseco says it's rampant everybody
1:36:06knows it virtually
1:36:07lots of people are doing it mr schilling
1:36:09says he's not so sure he doesn't really
1:36:11think
1:36:11it is a terribly serious problem and i
1:36:13think mr palmeiro has agreed with mr
1:36:15schilling so let me start off
1:36:17and i know this is a hard one are we
1:36:19talking about one percent of players to
1:36:21your judgment doing it
1:36:22are we talking about five percent 10
1:36:24percent is mr conseco the only player in
1:36:27the world to have done this
1:36:28mr schilling no i don't think he is the
1:36:30only player i think he's i think he's a
1:36:31liar i think that what he did was
1:36:33grossly overstate
1:36:35a situation to make himself not look as
1:36:37bad how many what would you be your
1:36:38guests in terms of
1:36:39you know what i took an oath i swore to
1:36:42tell the truth here today in 19 years in
1:36:44the big leagues
1:36:45i have never seen a syringe other than
1:36:48one prescribed by a doctor to a player
1:36:49i've never seen steroids but
1:36:51in locker room gossip you may not have
1:36:52seen it people talk right this guy's
1:36:54doing something that guy's doing
1:36:55something i don't need names
1:36:57what's your guess uh you've heard people
1:37:00saying that somebody is doing
1:37:01absolutely there's discussion about
1:37:03other guys on other teams
1:37:05i would say the percentages is on or
1:37:07around where it's been tested at i don't
1:37:09think it's much higher i think it's
1:37:11i think it's grow again i'm in a locker
1:37:13i've been with six different teams i've
1:37:14played with over thousands of players
1:37:16i i i've guessed that maybe five to ten
1:37:19of my teammates in the last
1:37:2015 years were using i i'm five in the
1:37:22last 15 years maybe
1:37:24five to ten at mo i wouldn't know
1:37:25anymore okay
1:37:27i missed the romero mr schilling says he
1:37:29would guess maybe five or ten players in
1:37:31the many years he's been in the majors
1:37:32what do you guess
1:37:33i wouldn't know i couldn't take a guess
1:37:35i just think as long as
1:37:37even one percent is too high that's way
1:37:39too high we need to make sure it's zero
1:37:41percent
1:37:42mr mcguire would you like to speculate i
1:37:44would know but there's a
1:37:45there's a big reason why we're here
1:37:47today to talk about it okay mr sosa
1:37:49what's your guess
1:37:50i don't know i i really mr conseco
1:37:54i guess i say mr schilling is correct
1:37:57about
1:37:57today's statistics on how many people
1:37:59are using stairways because um
1:38:03we've made steroids aware we've brought
1:38:05it out
1:38:06this book came out scared a lot of
1:38:07individuals if they were using steroids
1:38:10when this book came out
1:38:11they called stopped suggesting that it
1:38:13went from
1:38:14wide prevalence down to what mr
1:38:16schilling is saying almost nothing is
1:38:18that what you're saying
1:38:19well when i mentioned the 80 percent i
1:38:20mentioned at the peak of steroid use
1:38:22that may have been somewhere from 94 on
1:38:25to year 2000
1:38:26that's when i played okay i've been
1:38:28retired for
1:38:29i guess three or four years now it's
1:38:31been it's been a long time
1:38:32but um because of certain instances that
1:38:36that have happened definitely it's
1:38:37definitely curtailed greatly yes okay
1:38:40let me ask uh the last question i
1:38:42appreciate
1:38:43all of your efforts and you're willing
1:38:45to stand up for the kids of america
1:38:47that you know your role models you know
1:38:49that steroids are bad and you want to do
1:38:50everything you can
1:38:51to prevent kids from emulating bad
1:38:53habits my question is this
1:38:56if the major leagues does not come forth
1:39:00with an aggressive policy i think what
1:39:01you're hearing today
1:39:02is we are not overly impressed by what
1:39:04the major leagues have done
1:39:06will you come back in a year from now
1:39:08and say members of congress
1:39:10we support you in passing federal
1:39:13legislation
1:39:14to tell the major leagues that they have
1:39:16got to be aggressive
1:39:18and pass strong and stringent
1:39:20requirements in other words will you
1:39:22come back and tell us to do that
1:39:23mr schilling know i'm not sure i can
1:39:26answer that i mean i
1:39:27we are in support of of of a stronger
1:39:30system
1:39:30that eradicates the use of steroids by
1:39:33players majors don't do anything if the
1:39:34league doesn't do anything are you going
1:39:36to come back if we ask you to come back
1:39:37that's a hypothetical i don't believe is
1:39:38going to happen
1:39:39you sound like a politician there
1:39:40watching mr palmeiro
1:39:42bernie bernie i'm in a republican you
1:39:44better not encourage him
1:39:46i'm gonna agree with kurt uh you know i
1:39:48don't think it's gonna happen
1:39:50uh but you know if you think the league
1:39:52is going to do the right thing i believe
1:39:54so but if it doesn't i'm
1:39:55i would be more than happy to come back
1:39:57and let's address the problem
1:39:59will you come back and join us well i
1:40:01have no idea being a retired player i
1:40:03have no idea what the policy is but
1:40:05if you'd like me back sure okay mr salsa
1:40:09yes i believe that uh you know majorly
1:40:12baseball gonna do something no question
1:40:14if you had to come back here
1:40:16i'm happy to do it thank you mr canseco
1:40:20i think it'd be a major mistake to
1:40:22delete police itself
1:40:23no from butts about it we'll be back
1:40:25here quicker than quick
1:40:26okay thank you very much thank you thank
1:40:28you uh mr dent
1:40:30uh thank you mr chairman oh i'm sorry
1:40:34i promised mr isa first and then we'll
1:40:35go to mr ned go ahead thank you thank
1:40:37you very much mr chairman
1:40:39uh mr schilling uh i must
1:40:42i must say i came here intending on on
1:40:45throwing softballs
1:40:46to all of you whenever possible but
1:40:48listening i've been a little
1:40:49disappointed that
1:40:50i'm sort of hearing a consistent pattern
1:40:52from you as
1:40:53a player's rep that there isn't a
1:40:55problem and we don't need to intervene
1:40:57so would it surprise you if i told you
1:41:01that i talked to multiple professional
1:41:03team owners including baseball
1:41:05and had an absolute positive please
1:41:09legislate a zero tolerance
1:41:12would it surprise me would it surprise
1:41:13you so that's a position that you feel
1:41:16comfortable
1:41:17comes from the the owners the position
1:41:19being
1:41:20that zero tolerance go ahead and mandate
1:41:22it that that doesn't surprise you that
1:41:23the owners feel that way
1:41:26um not that they say it no
1:41:30okay well i you know i take people you
1:41:33know schilling i take people
1:41:34he is a pretty good politician didn't he
1:41:36yeah yes he is oh and by the way as to
1:41:38my colleague on the other side
1:41:39talking about that pill to make us 10
1:41:41times smarter i think it could be
1:41:43mandated for congress to save the nation
1:41:45so uh i'm not sure that that wouldn't be
1:41:47one we would we would
1:41:49give ourselves a special exemption as we
1:41:50do so many other things
1:41:52uh the earlier panel i asked
1:41:55every member and they were medical and
1:41:58grieving parents
1:42:00uh basically a question and i'll set it
1:42:03up
1:42:04if you use a the aluminum bat if you
1:42:07were to sneak one into a game and use it
1:42:10that'd be cheating wouldn't it and if
1:42:13you were to
1:42:14uh if you were a pitcher you were to
1:42:16bring in a dull ball
1:42:18so that nobody could really hit a home
1:42:20run off of you while you were pitching
1:42:21that'd be cheating wouldn't it
1:42:23anyone disagree here so
1:42:27using an illegal drug to
1:42:30attempt to enhance the performance of a
1:42:33player would be cheating
1:42:34wouldn't it anyone here disagree in any
1:42:37way shape or form
1:42:39and wouldn't you agree that congress has
1:42:42a vested interest
1:42:43in ensuring that baseball does not have
1:42:47cheating going on
1:42:54mr chairman i've got all my questions
1:42:56answered
1:42:57are you back thank you very much
1:43:02thank you mr chairman members of
1:43:03committee
1:43:07some have you steroids and with respect
1:43:09to baseball it defies credibility that
1:43:11only the players knew
1:43:15i mean we're holding players accountable
1:43:17here
1:43:19but what about those who profited from a
1:43:22system of enhanced performance
1:43:27others knew including the owners which
1:43:30may explain why
1:43:31the owners may be congenial to some
1:43:34changes
1:43:34so good for them what has not been
1:43:37investigated today or
1:43:39documented is the win
1:43:42at all costs mentality which has
1:43:45infected not only sport
1:43:47but business the media and i might add
1:43:51politics our steroids are called
1:43:54pacs and special interest contributions
1:43:58this does not excuse anyone but if we
1:44:01leave here today
1:44:02without looking at the larger questions
1:44:04of pressures to succeed
1:44:06pressures to win pressures to make money
1:44:10pressures to be bigger pressures to be
1:44:12better when it all costs
1:44:14at the cost of health at the cost of
1:44:16reputation
1:44:17at the cost of life
1:44:21if we don't look at these larger
1:44:22questions of when it all costs
1:44:26if we don't think about this if we don't
1:44:28go deeper with our thinking here today
1:44:30we'll be back here years from now
1:44:32regardless of what these
1:44:34players so graciously commit to do
1:44:37we only need to go back to mr waxman's
1:44:39initial testimony
1:44:40his statement about how we've been here
1:44:43before
1:44:44now i'd like to have the remaining time
1:44:48belong to the players who have said that
1:44:51they want to
1:44:52communicate with the young people of
1:44:55america
1:44:56take the opportunity now because i think
1:44:58this is an important moment to do it
1:45:01what can you say right now mr shelling
1:45:03to america's youth
1:45:04uh with respect to the use of steroids
1:45:06just in a half a minute to a minute
1:45:09i think that uh if you speak directly to
1:45:11the young people i
1:45:12i think to the to the youth of america
1:45:13we've we've
1:45:15made it very clear that steroids is
1:45:17cheating and and winning
1:45:19without honor is not winning mr primero
1:45:22i would have to say that i am the
1:45:23perfect example of someone that came
1:45:25from another country
1:45:27and took advantage of the situation that
1:45:28was given to me i've worked very hard
1:45:30and i've dedicated my life
1:45:31to my sport mr uh
1:45:34maguire i would say that steroids are
1:45:36wrong
1:45:38do not take them gives you nothing but
1:45:40false hope
1:45:43all right that's that's that's what i
1:45:44would say uh mr sosa podrious
1:45:54asteroides yes sir see
1:45:57i would say pretty much you know hard
1:46:00work
1:46:01believe in yourself you know uh a drug
1:46:04that
1:46:05they are not good good and and and work
1:46:08hard you know
1:46:09just say myself as a sample you know
1:46:12coming from the island
1:46:13work hard make it through the
1:46:14measurement so that's the only thing
1:46:16that i can say
1:46:16everybody up there and you know believe
1:46:18in yourself
1:46:19mr ken check thank you mr canseco i
1:46:22could speak for myself and say i made a
1:46:24mistake using steroids known from butts
1:46:26about it i don't want any youngsters
1:46:27using steroids
1:46:31speak to the young people yes i probably
1:46:33haven't slept in three or four days my
1:46:35attorney can verify this because of this
1:46:36issue
1:46:37first hearing about these children that
1:46:40took their lives
1:46:43it's not worth it and i'm going to say
1:46:45this again if congress does nothing
1:46:47about this
1:46:48major league baseball will not regulate
1:46:51themselves
1:46:52the player association will not regulate
1:46:54these players that i guarantee i've been
1:46:56a major player for 17 years
1:46:58sure the player association and the
1:47:01owners
1:47:01disagree on most things but when it
1:47:04comes to making
1:47:05money they're on the same page well
1:47:08and that's what i alluded to earlier and
1:47:10i would
1:47:11i would uh suggest to the members of the
1:47:14committee that we can take these players
1:47:16at their work
1:47:17about their commitment wherever they've
1:47:19been in the past as a matter of fact
1:47:21some who know the territory well may be
1:47:22the best spokespersons
1:47:25about a new direction and even if you've
1:47:27not been in that territory some of our
1:47:29witnesses have said
1:47:30you can also make a strong statement
1:47:32people young people look up to you
1:47:34and so thank you for being here today
1:47:36and i agree that we need to look forward
1:47:38and and we need to move forward thank
1:47:40you thank you mr dent
1:47:42uh thank you mr chairman and uh you know
1:47:44we're here for a variety of reasons
1:47:46today because one this committee has
1:47:47oversight on federal drug policy we're
1:47:49all concerned about our youth
1:47:51i believe we all can say that and the
1:47:52other the other constituency i think
1:47:55that has to be considered today are the
1:47:56taxpayers of this country
1:47:58and in my state where we subsidize major
1:48:01league baseball
1:48:02taxpayers do 100 over 150 million
1:48:04dollars went to support stadiums in the
1:48:06cities of philadelphia and pittsburgh
1:48:09we subsidize that industry which is
1:48:10treated like monopoly because of the
1:48:12antitrust exemption your industry enjoys
1:48:14that said here's my my main
1:48:18question i in 1919 major league baseball
1:48:21went through the black sox
1:48:22scandal and the and the gambling issues
1:48:24that really i guess created the
1:48:26commissioner's office in order to deal
1:48:27with that problem and i believe that in
1:48:292005 we're about where that's about
1:48:31where baseball is now
1:48:321919 2005 is another seminal year for
1:48:34baseball
1:48:36and i guess my question is is really
1:48:38this do you believe that steroid use
1:48:41in baseball is as serious
1:48:44an issue for major league baseball as is
1:48:46uh the anti-gambling policy that major
1:48:48league baseball uh
1:48:50currently has imposed uh mr schilling
1:48:52you want to start
1:48:53i think it's cheating i think any form
1:48:55of cheating is i don't think they're any
1:48:56more serious than the next
1:48:59i i i agree as long as there's positive
1:49:02tests
1:49:03it's it's wrong and we need to clean it
1:49:04up
1:49:07i don't know but if it's if it's a
1:49:08positive positive move
1:49:10i'm all for it i guess my
1:49:13i do the same thing okay
1:49:16i didn't quite hear the question the
1:49:17question was is this issue steroid abuse
1:49:20by ball players as serious an issue as
1:49:21gambling
1:49:22or potential gambling by players the
1:49:25steroid issue is much more serious
1:49:27because it takes lives
1:49:28you have to be very careful i get the
1:49:30sense that you think it's as serious or
1:49:31more serious in your case
1:49:33because in i guess several years ago
1:49:35pete rose is banned for life for the
1:49:36game for
1:49:37banned for life from the game of
1:49:38baseball because of a violation of
1:49:40gambling policy
1:49:42and i guess this is the second question
1:49:44why do you think major league baseball
1:49:46was so aggressive then in going after mr
1:49:49rose on that issue
1:49:50and seems to have been so much less
1:49:53aggressive
1:49:54on this steroid issue do you think it's
1:49:56because of money or
1:49:57but what drives that start with you mr
1:49:59kinsenko
1:50:00i think it's very simple when you really
1:50:02look at it
1:50:04um it didn't affect the game in the
1:50:06sense of this issue
1:50:08steroids actually affects your game it's
1:50:10a completely different subject matter
1:50:15i had no idea i can't answer that
1:50:18could you repeat the question why why do
1:50:20you think baseball was so much more
1:50:22aggressive about pete rose's gambling
1:50:24issue than it has been
1:50:26about uh this whole issue of steroid use
1:50:28which has been described by some as as
1:50:30rampant
1:50:31i'm not sure my guess would be that uh
1:50:33you know it is illegal
1:50:35to gamble it's illegal to bet on
1:50:36baseball it's always been that way
1:50:41that's about all that i can say about
1:50:43that
1:50:44okay no no answer okay i'm just curious
1:50:48what your perspective would be because
1:50:49it
1:50:50i mean it was always clear to me i
1:50:51thought that you know baseball players
1:50:52knew not to bet
1:50:53in games particularly ones they're
1:50:54playing in and uh and there were serious
1:50:56sanctions
1:50:57for that kind of behavior it just just
1:51:00i just get the sense from hearing what
1:51:02i've heard that major league baseball
1:51:04just doesn't take this issue
1:51:05nearly as seriously as it does the
1:51:07gambling issue
1:51:08and and i i commend major league
1:51:10baseball for what they did when they
1:51:12they found an instance of gambling i
1:51:13mean they dealt with it decisively as
1:51:14they should have
1:51:15and i'm just trying to get a sense from
1:51:17players or former players
1:51:19why you think they're less aggressive on
1:51:21this and if anybody has anything to say
1:51:22i'm
1:51:23glad to hear it
1:51:26you might ask the next panel i think
1:51:27they may have something i'm going to ask
1:51:28them that one too don't worry but i
1:51:29thought i'd get a player's perspective
1:51:31on this one but
1:51:32i understand your reluctance to want to
1:51:33answer that question
1:51:35thank you very much mr davis
1:51:39thank you very much mr chairman
1:51:43representatives of the league have
1:51:45emphasized that the current policy that
1:51:48is the
1:51:48current test and policy is a negotiated
1:51:53labor agreement you know that that was
1:51:57negotiated
1:51:58it's a collective bargaining agreement
1:52:01and and i have a great deal of respect
1:52:04for that
1:52:06but i guess the question becomes for me
1:52:10that since the impact the outcome
1:52:14the results of what we're dealing with
1:52:19it's far more reaching than
1:52:23just the players themselves in terms of
1:52:25their
1:52:26work situation and the owners themselves
1:52:31in terms of the work environment
1:52:37how do we get the two
1:52:41mr canseco you've emphasized
1:52:45consistently that you just don't believe
1:52:50that there is enough wheel
1:52:54within the industry itself that is
1:52:56enough will
1:52:57among the the the owners and players
1:53:01to put together a serious policy
1:53:05that will will impact the situation
1:53:08to a level of satisfaction
1:53:13is there any possibility that
1:53:16that that the industry can in fact
1:53:22really police itself
1:53:25that would make it unnecessary
1:53:30for federal legislation to further
1:53:33regulate
1:53:35baseball and and drug use
1:53:38if you will among um
1:53:42players of the game and
1:53:45and so maybe we could just revisit that
1:53:47is there mr schilling
1:53:48any any
1:53:52real possibility of that happening
1:53:54absolutely i think it's already happened
1:53:55i think that what you've seen in the
1:53:58last couple months is a direct result of
1:53:59senator mccain's
1:54:01anger over the original policy and i
1:54:05understand that after yesterday he's a
1:54:07little bit more perturbed than he might
1:54:09have been
1:54:09two days ago but my understanding is
1:54:13and after after having spoken to him
1:54:15that we are taking steps
1:54:16and i believe if you as a body
1:54:20are voicing your displeasure which you
1:54:22have done
1:54:23baseball well listen i know as a player
1:54:25i know we've listened we understand that
1:54:26there needs to be more stringent testing
1:54:28there needs to be more stringent things
1:54:30done
1:54:30there are loopholes i don't question for
1:54:32a second we'll close them to make sure
1:54:34because as a player we want
1:54:36the playing field to be level mr canseco
1:54:39could you
1:54:40why are you so adamant that
1:54:44that nothing will really happen unless
1:54:47congress steps in
1:54:50i i try to think about this in a
1:54:52positive way
1:54:54and but if you really look at it and you
1:54:56look at the
1:54:57drug testing policies today nothing has
1:54:59really been done
1:55:01i think we're looking at drug testing
1:55:02policies and even down on paper yet
1:55:04so i mean i'm hoping
1:55:08just out of this something happens at
1:55:11least the public is aware at least
1:55:13you know children children's parents are
1:55:16aware of what's really going on and
1:55:18maybe they can help also
1:55:21so then all of you are actually
1:55:24disagreeing with those who have
1:55:26suggested
1:55:28that there is no role in this activity
1:55:33for congress to play
1:55:35and that this committee and the congress
1:55:38is overstepping its bounds
1:55:42i don't think any of us said that no i
1:55:43didn't say that any of you said it but
1:55:45there are people
1:55:46who are suggesting it and i'm trying to
1:55:48get a verification from you
1:55:51that you're in agreement with my side of
1:55:53it
1:55:54i think it's just that we're doing
1:55:56exactly what we ought to be doing
1:55:58the median democrats maybe but no
1:56:07we owe you guys one after ms watson's
1:56:09thing absolutely
1:56:11could could we finish yeah
1:56:15i believe that we are policing ourselves
1:56:17right now and i believe that we will
1:56:18clean the game
1:56:19because i believe that players like kurt
1:56:22said
1:56:23want a level playing field mr mcguire
1:56:26whatever it takes mr salsa
1:56:31yeah i believe they take it seriously
1:56:33yes
1:56:35thank you very much mr gentleman has a
1:56:37little time left would he yield to me
1:56:39yes i yield to mr waxman why should we
1:56:42believe
1:56:43that the baseball commission and the
1:56:46baseball union will want to do something
1:56:49when we have a 30-year
1:56:50record of them not responding to this
1:56:53problem
1:56:54why should we believe it's all going to
1:56:56be done now
1:56:59the way it should be done mr schilling
1:57:01could you answer that question
1:57:0230 years they've done nothing and even
1:57:05the proposal that you're vouching for
1:57:07is not in in effect yet it's only a
1:57:10draft and it's filled with loopholes
1:57:12and what you seem to be telling us is
1:57:14what baseball seems to be telling us
1:57:16trust us don't you think there's a
1:57:18reason not to trust them
1:57:20what do you mean by 30 years of history
1:57:22well 30 years ago there was a committee
1:57:24hearing in congress that looked at this
1:57:26whole problem
1:57:27and bowie kuhn was the commissioner and
1:57:29he assured the congressman
1:57:31that they were going to do testing and
1:57:33they were going to stop steroids that
1:57:34was 30 years ago
1:57:36there have been so many other incidents
1:57:38of reports
1:57:39in the last 10 15 years of widespread
1:57:42steroid use
1:57:44nothing has happened from the baseball
1:57:46industry
1:57:47and even now when they put a testing
1:57:49program in place
1:57:51it seems to be full of holes don't you
1:57:53think at some point
1:57:55even a republican would say
1:57:58as a democrat would say how long do we
1:58:02go along with this trust
1:58:03that something is going to be done when
1:58:05we don't see a very good record
1:58:07i can't answer for the the prior 30
1:58:09years i can answer for my time in the
1:58:11game as a player
1:58:12um i think there's a huge contingent
1:58:14like i said there's 98.3
1:58:16of us that have tested clean that are
1:58:19all for
1:58:20as stringent the testing as we can get
1:58:22that's
1:58:23constitutional and fair and you accept
1:58:26the test absolutely
1:58:27okay thank you bye gentleman's time has
1:58:29expired mr westmoreland
1:58:32no questions let me move to mrs ross
1:58:35uh leighton thank you so much mr
1:58:37chairman and i'm uh
1:58:39very honored to uh to be here today this
1:58:42is a very important issue not not just
1:58:44for the uh
1:58:45for the nation but uh as all of the
1:58:49players have pointed out what an
1:58:50important message it sends to
1:58:52to the young people and i'm glad to hear
1:58:54that uh
1:58:55everyone is saying uh the right thing
1:58:57and i just wanted to point out the
1:58:59testimony
1:58:59given by um two of my my favorite
1:59:03athletes rafael palmeiro and sami sosa
1:59:06and their
1:59:06their hometown uh favorites in uh in our
1:59:10community in south florida as raphael
1:59:12said my parents and i came to the united
1:59:14states after fleeing
1:59:15communist tyranny that still reigns over
1:59:17my homeland of cuba
1:59:18we came seeking freedom knowing that
1:59:21through hard work discipline dedication
1:59:23my family and i could build a bright
1:59:25future in america
1:59:27and as a matter of fact when he was
1:59:29asked by the team owner
1:59:31to go to cuba and play baseball
1:59:33diplomacy
1:59:34uh and uh and do that with castro he
1:59:37said
1:59:38not me and uh we we admire him for
1:59:41for his courage because we know that
1:59:43that that was not an easy decision
1:59:45and i i thank chairman davis for uh
1:59:49being open to uh the possibility of
1:59:52having
1:59:52rafael belong to the uh be a member of
1:59:55the task force that uh
1:59:58they'll be putting together he'll be a
2:00:00valuable addition
2:00:01a person who says that his goal is to
2:00:04stamp out steroids
2:00:05out of the sport and it he
2:00:08would certainly add a lot to the debate
2:00:12as all of us know there are a high
2:00:13number of hispanics uh
2:00:15playing uh baseball uh throughout the
2:00:18nation uh in
2:00:19at at all levels and he would certainly
2:00:21be uh
2:00:22a leading role model for that and and
2:00:24sami sosa what an
2:00:26outstanding uh athlete uh growing up
2:00:28dirt poor
2:00:29in in the dominican uh republic uh
2:00:32undergoing um
2:00:33very difficult circumstances to to get
2:00:35where he is today and
2:00:37he says very strongly supports testing
2:00:39professional athletes for
2:00:41illegal performance enhancing drugs and
2:00:43we congratulate you sami for uh for that
2:00:46stan and both of these
2:00:47individuals do so much charity work
2:00:50especially
2:00:51in our area of south florida and and we
2:00:54congratulate them
2:00:55for that felicidades gracias and jose
2:00:58canseco is a
2:01:00miami boy growing up just a few blocks
2:01:03from where i grew up a graduate of
2:01:05coral park high school and i'm i'm
2:01:07pleased to have
2:01:08jose say that he's devastated when he
2:01:11listens to the testimony
2:01:13uh that we heard today and i know that
2:01:14he's heard it in the past of parents of
2:01:16young people
2:01:17who have uh the young people have killed
2:01:20themselves as a
2:01:21as a result of steroid use and
2:01:25and i hope that as a proud graduate of
2:01:28uh
2:01:29of coral park the rams that in a street
2:01:32that's named for him right there
2:01:33southwest 16th street that you go back
2:01:36to coral park and you go back to my alma
2:01:38mater southwest just a few blocks away
2:01:41and uh talk to the young people about
2:01:44the dangers of steroid use
2:01:46and and your voice will be heard and
2:01:50and i encourage all of you to continue
2:01:52that battle and
2:01:53and i especially congratulate raphael
2:01:56and sami
2:01:59and i'd like to yield my remaining time
2:02:00to mr sauer
2:02:02okay i'd just like to add for the the
2:02:05uh record as as major league baseball
2:02:07and congress work together and
2:02:08and how you look at drug testing in 1989
2:02:12i was a staffer for then senator dan
2:02:13coats and we passed the first
2:02:15drug testing legislation through the
2:02:18safe and drug-free schools act and we
2:02:20look
2:02:20at a high school in indiana mccutcheon
2:02:22high school where they drug tested their
2:02:24kids because of several injuries on
2:02:25their baseball team
2:02:27and one-third had tested positive for
2:02:29marijuana that led to
2:02:30it being sustained by the courts that in
2:02:32any athletic or athletic type event in
2:02:35any school in the country they could
2:02:36uh drug test it still is what other
2:02:38kinds of random tests but the courts
2:02:40have also ruled for students
2:02:41that when there is possible cause or
2:02:43something that a student does then you
2:02:45can test and not have it be
2:02:47legally challenged for example if your
2:02:50tardy three days to school you can be
2:02:51tested because that may be a sign of
2:02:53that you've been partying
2:02:54in baseball i would suggest there are
2:02:56other things such as sudden dramatic
2:02:57changes in player performance
2:02:59hey if you're clean it doesn't matter
2:03:00like rafael pomero said
2:03:02if you're clean hey a drug test
2:03:04shouldn't be a problem also dramatic
2:03:06improvement when you're aging like
2:03:07senator bunning referred to after a
2:03:09strike when there's a financial
2:03:10incentive to alter the game
2:03:12that would be a good time to have more
2:03:14drug testing than usual also a
2:03:15particular franchise
2:03:16is in financial trouble those are
2:03:19motivations
2:03:20that cause question to the game and drug
2:03:22testing should be accelerated
2:03:24also including a fedra and other things
2:03:26in it so there are lots of loopholes of
2:03:27policy
2:03:28and i hope the players are very serious
2:03:29that you talk to your player reps
2:03:31about doing logical testing like we do
2:03:33for truck drivers
2:03:34like we do in schools not just in the
2:03:36olympics but across this nation
2:03:38i thank the gentlelady for healing mr
2:03:41clay
2:03:42thank you mr chairman mr mcguire uh i
2:03:45along with uh
2:03:46all of saint louis and the country uh
2:03:49watched with great excitement when you
2:03:52and mr sosa
2:03:53chased and broke marist's home run
2:03:55records
2:03:57a stretch of interstate 70
2:04:00that runs through the heart of my
2:04:01district is named after you
2:04:04in st louis cardinal baseball has held a
2:04:07special place in the hearts
2:04:09of millions of fans for over a hundred
2:04:11years
2:04:12so naturally i'm i'm very concerned
2:04:15about allegations of player misconduct
2:04:18that if substance substantiated
2:04:21could damage that proud tradition
2:04:24mr mcguire we are both uh fathers of
2:04:27young children both my son and daughter
2:04:30love sports and they look up to stars
2:04:33like you
2:04:34can we look at those those children with
2:04:37a straight face and tell them that great
2:04:40players like you
2:04:41played the game with honesty and
2:04:43integrity
2:04:46like i've said earlier i'm not going to
2:04:48go into the past and talk about my past
2:04:52here to make a positive influence on
2:04:53this mr mcguire you have
2:04:55already acknowledged that you used
2:04:58certain supplements including
2:04:59andro as part of your training routine
2:05:03in addition to andro which was legal at
2:05:06the time that you used it
2:05:08what other supplements did you use i'm
2:05:11not here to talk about the past
2:05:14no we can't mr okay
2:05:18mr canseco um
2:05:22how did how did steroids enhance your
2:05:24effort to a step to
2:05:26uh uh hit the home run or your
2:05:29ability to uh to hit hit the ball
2:05:34for me i think it was a little different
2:05:36because i've also had a back run of
2:05:39since i was a child coming home from
2:05:43baseball practice the same bending over
2:05:45and falling to the ground paralyzed i've
2:05:46had
2:05:47diagnosed with a degenerative disc
2:05:49disease scoliosis arthritis i've had
2:05:52four major back surgeries elbow surgery
2:05:54so for me for me
2:05:58i was a separate different case than
2:06:00anyone else in the sense of
2:06:02i truly believe yes it helped me yes it
2:06:04helped my
2:06:05uh physical stature and my muscle
2:06:08density
2:06:09help me stand up straight but i had so
2:06:12many other physical problems
2:06:15that um that's why i said if you're
2:06:16completely healthy i would
2:06:18never ever touch the stuff never would
2:06:20you have been able to perform at that
2:06:22level
2:06:23uh that that you did achieve without
2:06:26those
2:06:27um without steroids
2:06:31i'm i'm an exception to the rule because
2:06:33i had all these ailments and i
2:06:35i truly believe that for myself and i'm
2:06:39just
2:06:40you know one in a billion in this sense
2:06:44um it helped me because of my
2:06:46physicality
2:06:47i had problems for your honesty mr
2:06:49mcguire let me go back to you and ask
2:06:51you would you have been able to have
2:06:53performed at that level
2:06:54without using andros i'm not going to
2:06:57talk about the past
2:06:58okay let me go into mr shelling then
2:07:02i commend you for speaking out against
2:07:04steroids even before
2:07:06baseball implemented testing who
2:07:09benefits from having a weak drug testing
2:07:12policy
2:07:13nobody nobody benefits do clean athletes
2:07:16speak out often
2:07:20i'm not sure i can answer that with any
2:07:22accuracy and how do your
2:07:23your uh colleagues receive your your
2:07:26message when you do speak out do they
2:07:28look at you funny do they
2:07:30i don't think i speak for for i'm not
2:07:32i'm not trying to speak for
2:07:34everybody but i think i speak for a
2:07:35majority of the players uh when i
2:07:37say that we all feel that it you know
2:07:40stricter testing is not something we're
2:07:42against
2:07:44okay thank you for that in response miss
2:07:47uh just uh in closing mr mcguire
2:07:49i'm i wish you had taken this
2:07:52opportunity to actually
2:07:54answer some of these questions about
2:07:57your career
2:07:58about the records that you established
2:07:59thank you gentlemen's time inspired mr
2:08:01chaise
2:08:03thank you mr chairman gentlemen it's
2:08:05nice to have you here
2:08:06this an important hearing it's about
2:08:08drugs
2:08:09and frankly modestly interested until
2:08:13we saw the response of major league
2:08:16baseball which i think has been
2:08:17outrageous
2:08:18some of your testimony has been very
2:08:20helpful i want you to know that this
2:08:23committee had requested
2:08:25a major league baseball joint drug
2:08:27prevention and treatment program we
2:08:28wanted
2:08:29a copy of it we asked for it we wrote a
2:08:32letter
2:08:33and then we had to subpoena now i would
2:08:36like to ask
2:08:37the three who are active baseball
2:08:40players
2:08:41i would like to have you tell me what
2:08:44you
2:08:44think or thought until today the policy
2:08:48was
2:08:48and let me first say we thought
2:08:51that it was uh the first
2:08:54positive test 10-day suspension second
2:08:57positive test
2:08:5830-day suspension third positive test
2:09:0160-day suspension
2:09:02fourth positive test one year suspension
2:09:05and then any subsequent positive test
2:09:08you're out for life
2:09:09that's what we thought it was i want to
2:09:11ask the three active players
2:09:13starting with you mr so-so uh
2:09:16so if you thought that uh this that was
2:09:19the policy or did you think it was
2:09:21what we now have learned that you could
2:09:23also be fined up to ten thousand on the
2:09:25first defense find up to twenty five
2:09:27thousand in the second offense
2:09:29find up to fifty thousand third offense
2:09:31find up to
2:09:32a hundred thousand on the fourth offense
2:09:35were you aware that you could be
2:09:37uh given a fine instead of
2:09:41um suspension
2:09:45no i wasn't aware of it i knew about the
2:09:49uh 10-day suspension for the first
2:09:50defense
2:09:51and your name being public and so on but
2:09:54i wasn't
2:09:54aware of the fine i need to answer so
2:09:58they can record it no i wasn't aware of
2:09:59it
2:10:01what does that tell you about major
2:10:04league baseball
2:10:05and the management if we couldn't get
2:10:08this information voluntarily
2:10:11we couldn't get it through a request by
2:10:13letter after asking for it we had to
2:10:14subpoena this
2:10:16why would this document and why should
2:10:18this document have been prevented from
2:10:20coming to us
2:10:21uh would anyone care to ask answer that
2:10:24question
2:10:25i can't help it
2:10:29let me ask you another question
2:10:32i i hear the concept of team player and
2:10:35and
2:10:35trust me i don't care at this hearing i
2:10:38don't care to get into the issue of
2:10:40cheating or records i don't care at this
2:10:42hearing to know if you took drugs or not
2:10:44i don't care to have you name names but
2:10:47what piqued my interest was the concept
2:10:49that as a team player i'm not going to
2:10:52name names
2:10:53i'd like to know the obligation that
2:10:55each of you think you have
2:10:57for your team to make sure you don't
2:11:00have drugs
2:11:01being used by teammates and
2:11:05let me start with you mr shelling well
2:11:07my obligation first is to the lord into
2:11:09my family
2:11:10my family name above any of my teammates
2:11:13that i've ever had
2:11:14okay what do you think the lord would
2:11:16want you to do
2:11:17to be as truthful and honest as you
2:11:19could be and had to be
2:11:20would you uh just do you feel that means
2:11:22that you should confront your
2:11:24even privately your colleagues that are
2:11:26using them
2:11:27i think that varies with different
2:11:28people okay
2:11:31um i'm not sure how i would handle that
2:11:34i've never had that problem um
2:11:38you know if it became a problem i guess
2:11:40i would confront the player
2:11:43i agree i i've never had that problem
2:11:46and and
2:11:47being retired and out of the game um
2:11:50i couldn't ever had a problem of seeing
2:11:52uh your colleagues use drugs
2:11:54it's pardon me never had a problem with
2:11:56seeing your colleagues use drugs
2:11:58steroids and so on is that what you mean
2:12:00i don't know what you mean by you never
2:12:02had that problem
2:12:14okay i'm not really asking about the
2:12:16past um
2:12:18mr sosa what obligation do you think
2:12:22you have to uh your team
2:12:25if you are aware that someone is using
2:12:28drugs on your team
2:12:31i'm a private person i don't really go
2:12:33you know ask
2:12:34people whatever it is well i'll just
2:12:37conclude by saying
2:12:38i think i know your answer sir uh
2:12:41it just seems to me that one of the
2:12:43messages you may be telling
2:12:45young people is that a team player
2:12:50it's an interesting concept of a team
2:12:51player it seems to me it seems to me you
2:12:53do have an obligation
2:12:54gentlemen's times expired miss watson
2:12:58i want to thank everyone in front of us
2:13:02for being here in this most grueling
2:13:05session
2:13:06believe me some of us feel very deeply
2:13:09for you
2:13:10my concern is this when i read
2:13:13statistics like this more than
2:13:15500 high school students have tried
2:13:18steroids
2:13:20nearly tripled the number just 10 years
2:13:22ago
2:13:23nearly 20 percent of 8th graders
2:13:27nearly 30 percent of 10th graders and
2:13:30more than
2:13:3040 percent of 12th graders that were
2:13:33surveyed
2:13:34surveyed in 2004
2:13:38they were using steer wards and found
2:13:40them
2:13:41fairly easy and very easy to obtain
2:13:45so i want to ask a question about where
2:13:47does that come from
2:13:49and i think it seems to be
2:13:52that drug use goes across all sports
2:13:57and it's the sign of the times
2:14:00it seems to be so acceptable today to
2:14:04take some kind of drug i don't care what
2:14:06kind of sport
2:14:07you're using and i guess we have to
2:14:10know that our youth are living in a
2:14:12different era
2:14:14when they do this as a matter of
2:14:17standard
2:14:19so what i want to ask is what happened
2:14:22to sportsmanship
2:14:25i'm using that in the generic
2:14:27sportsmanship
2:14:29and why are drugs so accessible
2:14:34and is it the money that drives
2:14:39this kind of practice does anyone want
2:14:42to talk about that
2:14:44i am highly concerned about our youth
2:14:47today
2:14:50and believe me i know of what i'm
2:14:51talking about you sit on a scoot board
2:14:53in los
2:14:54angeles i was a school counselor
2:14:57i chaired the health committee for 17
2:15:00years we fought
2:15:01along with representative waxman tobacco
2:15:04use and that's why i held this up to at
2:15:06a dual purpose
2:15:08this is a man who used steroids and
2:15:10smoked cigars
2:15:11and was on the front sports illustrated
2:15:14i am really disturbed by the messages
2:15:16we're sending to young people today
2:15:18and so that's a general those are
2:15:21general questions if you'd like to spout
2:15:23on them fine
2:15:24if you don't it's all right with me but
2:15:26i just had to get it out
2:15:30anybody want to say anything okay thank
2:15:32you mr chairman thank you very much mr
2:15:34lynch
2:15:38thank you mr chandler mr canseco i just
2:15:41want to start off by saying
2:15:44the testimony i'm hearing today from you
2:15:46at this hearing is much much different
2:15:48than what i
2:15:49i have read in your book i have to say
2:15:50it's a stock stock
2:15:53change uh i just want to remind you
2:15:56uh at the end of your book you stated
2:16:00what i'm hoping is there's some more
2:16:02intelligent
2:16:03forward-looking voices will come out and
2:16:06urge baseball
2:16:07to embrace the potential of steroids
2:16:10and to fight for their place in the game
2:16:13and in our lives
2:16:15that's what you're selling here in this
2:16:17book i don't know if there's a new book
2:16:18coming out
2:16:19with what you're saying today but but i
2:16:22gotta tell you i'm a little surprised
2:16:25what i read and you know uh and what
2:16:28you're saying
2:16:29so can you can you enlighten me a little
2:16:31bit because i'm a little bit surprised
2:16:42i think we have to put it in context
2:16:44this book took i think
2:16:46over two years to write and while maybe
2:16:49that
2:16:49may have been my opinion two years ago
2:16:51it's not today absolutely not i
2:16:53have you know spoken with people uh
2:16:56seeing certain things that steroids has
2:16:59done and
2:17:00um it's i'm completely
2:17:04done you know a turnaround wait for the
2:17:06sequel
2:17:09mr schilling i should live in my
2:17:12district
2:17:13i want to say uh in fairness to you
2:17:15there's never been any
2:17:16any allegation or any suspicion that
2:17:18you've ever
2:17:19had anything to do with any of this
2:17:20stuff you you're here uh
2:17:23for two reasons that's what they tell me
2:17:25one you've been outspoken on this stuff
2:17:28and a voice for for for right in this
2:17:31case
2:17:31and that you're well respected among all
2:17:34the parties the
2:17:35the the owners the managers the players
2:17:38everyone
2:17:40i gotta tell you though i'm a little bit
2:17:41surprised that you
2:17:43you still believe in self-regulation
2:17:46and i'm looking i'm a i'm a former
2:17:49ironworker president
2:17:51and i would negotiate for my guys and
2:17:53ladies
2:17:54and then i would come back to them with
2:17:57the contract after i negotiated with the
2:17:59companies
2:18:00and i would ask them to ratify it and
2:18:03mr davis touched on this a little
2:18:05earlier did you folks ratify this
2:18:07contract because it's not signed by the
2:18:09players union
2:18:10it's not signed by management it says
2:18:12it's a draft agreement
2:18:14and i just wonder did they ever come
2:18:16back to you and say
2:18:18here's the drug policy here's the
2:18:19collective bargaining agreement
2:18:21like i would do with my members i would
2:18:23read it to them page by page and say
2:18:25okay now we're going to vote on this did
2:18:27they do that
2:18:29i don't think it's possible i think the
2:18:30dynamics in which we negotiate are very
2:18:32different
2:18:33than when the ones that which you know
2:18:34we have over a thousand players spread
2:18:36around the world and the salaries are
2:18:38much different than the iowa workers as
2:18:39well
2:18:40right right but we we we elect player
2:18:43representatives to
2:18:44okay to go on behalf of did that happen
2:18:48though
2:18:48uh yes that always happens it always
2:18:51happens even with the drug policy
2:18:52i i can't speak to that specifically
2:18:54you're gonna have to ask the panel
2:18:55following us exactly how that happened
2:18:57but i'm
2:18:57as a player i assume it did yes
2:18:59absolutely okay
2:19:01i just wanna uh just talk about where
2:19:04where self-regulation has got us
2:19:07you're allowed to leave in the middle of
2:19:09the urine test
2:19:11there are a bunch of substances that are
2:19:14not included on the list
2:19:17the players and the and the the league
2:19:20have to agree on
2:19:22what's going to be banned
2:19:25it says on the text of the agreement and
2:19:27that's what you that's what you
2:19:28negotiate the text of the agreement that
2:19:31the first offense of steroid use
2:19:34the players according to the agreement
2:19:37can pay ten thousand dollars and keep it
2:19:39quiet
2:19:40they're not publicized for their
2:19:42violation they can buy it off
2:19:44for ten thousand dollars and the average
2:19:46starting salary is over
2:19:48two million dollars so it's it's not
2:19:51even a slap on the wrist
2:19:54we have an escape clause here where if
2:19:56the government comes in and starts
2:19:57investigating your drug policy
2:19:59it goes away you just get rid of it
2:20:03the party's agreed that's what
2:20:05self-regulation has got us
2:20:07and i'm just i i don't i'm not with you
2:20:11on that i have to admit
2:20:12i i just don't think that baseball is
2:20:14capable and i'm gonna
2:20:16we're gonna have a little chat with the
2:20:17next panel coming in i just don't think
2:20:20that they have demonstrated good faith
2:20:21on their ability to be able to
2:20:24to be able to police this type of thing
2:20:26but i want to thank you all for coming
2:20:27here today
2:20:28thank you gentlemen's times expired mr
2:20:29duncan any questions
2:20:32very briefly mr chairman uh i i heard mr
2:20:34palmiero say that
2:20:37he could live with a one strike you're
2:20:39out olympic
2:20:40standard on the steroids and uh but then
2:20:43i had to go to other meetings and mr
2:20:45souter tells me that
2:20:46some of you defended the present major
2:20:49league policy
2:20:51after after seeing all the interest all
2:20:54the concern after hearing all this
2:20:55testimony and seeing all these news
2:20:57reports about young people dying and
2:21:00i saw a news report where a light
2:21:02heavyweight
2:21:04boxer who became a heavyweight boxer
2:21:05this weekend they had a report on the
2:21:07national news that his legs were
2:21:08amputated all these horrible things
2:21:11it do any of you on the panel would
2:21:14anybody object
2:21:16to the major leagues of coming in or
2:21:19instituting a much
2:21:20much tougher stricter policy whatever
2:21:23that might be
2:21:23much tougher than it is now any any of
2:21:27you have an objection
2:21:28to our problems with something like that
2:21:32even if it's not quite as strict as what
2:21:34mr palmiero said an
2:21:36olympic standard but i mean a much much
2:21:38tougher policy
2:21:40anybody have any problems with that
2:21:43objection to it mr mcguire
2:21:46well i'm retired but i'm telling you if
2:21:50whatever anybody can do to
2:21:54improve it so there's no more meetings
2:21:56like this i'm all for it
2:21:58so i i think everybody seconds that here
2:22:02on the panel
2:22:04all right i think everybody agrees a
2:22:06much tougher standard is necessary thank
2:22:08you thank you very much mr chairman uh
2:22:10thank you very much mr van hollen
2:22:13uh thank you mr chairman and thank all
2:22:14of you for your testimony
2:22:16here today and thank all of you also for
2:22:18your commitment to use your star power
2:22:21going forward to send the message to our
2:22:23young people about
2:22:25the dangers of steroid use and the fact
2:22:28that it's
2:22:28just simply the wrong thing to do in
2:22:31baseball or any other
2:22:33sport one of my sons one of my young
2:22:36sons um
2:22:37mr soso where were your t-shirt uh to
2:22:40bed
2:22:40just about uh every night couldn't get
2:22:42it off of him and that's when you were
2:22:43with the cubs i'm from maryland now that
2:22:45you're with the
2:22:45baltimore orioles he's a real real fan
2:22:48and even extra fan so
2:22:49all of you understand i know that uh you
2:22:52have a great responsibility uh given
2:22:55the fact that you are heroes to so many
2:22:57young people to to convey the right
2:22:58messages and i i thank you for that
2:23:01a part of making that message i think
2:23:03also requires
2:23:05conveying to people an understanding of
2:23:07the scope of the problem
2:23:08and that's why we're here today is to
2:23:10try to get a handle on the scope of the
2:23:11problem the best way we can all work
2:23:13together to approach
2:23:14eliminating the problem and in that
2:23:17regard mr schilling i do have a question
2:23:19for you regarding your earlier
2:23:20statements regarding the extent
2:23:22of steroid use within baseball because
2:23:24as i understood your testimony you said
2:23:26that steroid use in baseball is less
2:23:28than two percent
2:23:30uh is that right that's the the results
2:23:32of the testing from the last season yes
2:23:34right and that that's based on the
2:23:36league's current steroid testing policy
2:23:38right
2:23:39but i think we've heard testimony today
2:23:41about the weakness in that policies i
2:23:43understand
2:23:43it does not include testing in the
2:23:45off-season is that right
2:23:47right yeah it's random okay all right
2:23:50designer okay
2:23:51it does it does not include i understand
2:23:53new designer steroids like a recent
2:23:54steroid
2:23:55uh recently recognized by the world
2:23:58anti-anti-doping agency
2:24:00uh it did not include andro which is an
2:24:02anabolic steroid precursor that we
2:24:05understand that players used and it did
2:24:07not include human growth hormone which
2:24:09we also believe from at least news
2:24:11accounts
2:24:12that players used and so i guess given
2:24:14that information
2:24:16uh are you confident that the two
2:24:18percent
2:24:20testing results really reflect
2:24:23the use of steroids i don't believe
2:24:27as written in by by the author
2:24:31of that book that 78 of them slipped
2:24:33through the cracks if that's what you're
2:24:34asking me
2:24:35no no i'm really asking very simple you
2:24:37you've used the number two percent right
2:24:38and
2:24:39that two percent i think is just
2:24:41important to understand for everybody is
2:24:42based on
2:24:43the current test right that's right and
2:24:45i i think that a lot of the testimony
2:24:48today we heard from earlier panels
2:24:49suggest that that policy is a very weak
2:24:52policy and as i understand your
2:24:54testimony you would be willing to accept
2:24:55a much
2:24:56tighter policy right right so i i think
2:24:59it's something we would all have to
2:25:00acknowledge that when you have a weak
2:25:01testing regime
2:25:03you you can't be confident in the
2:25:04results is that right
2:25:06right i think i think my answer earlier
2:25:08was given again on my 19 years of being
2:25:10in a major league clubhouse
2:25:11i i i can honestly tell you i i've never
2:25:15seen
2:25:16a syringe i've the discussion is nothing
2:25:19more than
2:25:20than you get on high school lunch breaks
2:25:22you talk you wonder you speculate but
2:25:24none of us are not many of us if any are
2:25:26experts
2:25:27but i've never seen it i've never seen a
2:25:29a a i would know what it looked like
2:25:32no i appreciate that i just i just that
2:25:34the two percent number has been out
2:25:35there i think it's important people
2:25:36understand that's
2:25:37based on a testing policy that i think
2:25:39most people have acknowledged today is
2:25:41relatively weak and would agree to
2:25:43to strengthen it uh and i think it's
2:25:45important that we understand the scope
2:25:46of the problem when we're
2:25:47trying to get a solution to and i think
2:25:49it's important when we're community
2:25:50young people
2:25:52that we're not trying to narrow a scope
2:25:54of the problem which at least by all
2:25:56press accounts
2:25:57uh is much broader so i i really think
2:26:00there has been some progress
2:26:01i think the fact that you're all
2:26:02committed to going forth after
2:26:05the testimony today to dedicate yourself
2:26:07to sending strong messages i think
2:26:09that's a very important part of it
2:26:10obviously
2:26:11tightening the testing policy is what
2:26:15gives some teeth to the message going
2:26:17forward but i thank you for your
2:26:18testimony thank you mr chairman
2:26:20thank you very much mr van hollen
2:26:21sanchez thank you
2:26:23let me just start by saying that i am a
2:26:24huge baseball fan and i
2:26:26admire all of your talent and dedication
2:26:29to the sport
2:26:30as a young girl who played competitive
2:26:31softball i looked up to major league
2:26:33baseball players as my heroes
2:26:35and as somebody who plays on the
2:26:36congressional baseball team and that's
2:26:38baseball
2:26:39i still look up to y'all and admire your
2:26:41talent
2:26:42but because baseball is so intertwined
2:26:45in our
2:26:46you know like our national heritage and
2:26:48our history to me
2:26:50you know this hearing is about being
2:26:51upfront and honest about the problem i
2:26:53think everybody here has agreed
2:26:55that there is a problem but so far today
2:26:58and i have to say i'm really
2:26:59disappointed because
2:27:00i'm hearing differences in terms of how
2:27:02widespread it is we have
2:27:04one member of the panelists who says
2:27:05it's rampant and we've got four fifths
2:27:08of the panel that
2:27:09couldn't really speculate because you
2:27:11know they never saw it they never heard
2:27:13it
2:27:13they've never been around it they don't
2:27:15know anything about it and i just want
2:27:17to um
2:27:18you know tell you that it's hard to
2:27:20reconcile those two visions
2:27:22about how rampant is this problem in
2:27:24baseball
2:27:25and i think you know if we want to move
2:27:27forward we have to start with being
2:27:28honest about
2:27:30how deep is this problem i want to just
2:27:34read to you really briefly some news
2:27:36accounts
2:27:37in 1995 the los angeles times reported
2:27:40that anabolic steroids apparently have
2:27:43become the performance drugs of the 90s
2:27:45in major league baseball
2:27:47and the paper quoted san diego padres
2:27:49general manager stating we all know
2:27:51their steroid use
2:27:52and it's definitely become more
2:27:54prevalent i think 10 to 20 percent
2:27:56that's in 1995.
2:27:58in july of 1997 the denver denver post
2:28:01quoted a player
2:28:02for the colorado rockies estimating that
2:28:0420 percent
2:28:05of ball players use steroids in 2000 the
2:28:08new york times quoted
2:28:09brad anders the strength coach for the
2:28:11colorado rockies
2:28:12as estimating that 30 percent of major
2:28:15league baseball players had used
2:28:16steroids at some point in their careers
2:28:19and one veteran all-star outfielder said
2:28:21he believed that two-thirds of the top
2:28:22players
2:28:23in the national league are using some
2:28:25kind of steroid in 2002
2:28:27sports illustrated reported that the
2:28:29game has become a pharmacological trade
2:28:31show
2:28:32and outfielder chad curtis estimated
2:28:34that 40 to 50 percent
2:28:36of the players use steroids so it's hard
2:28:39for me to imagine
2:28:41that two percent of the players are
2:28:43using we've
2:28:44had extensive questions on the testing
2:28:47and
2:28:48my understanding is the current policy
2:28:50the two percent testing
2:28:52is not testing that's done more than
2:28:54once a year
2:28:55randomly it could be done in the off
2:28:56season can be done in the preseason but
2:28:58that's
2:28:59two percent that they're catching using
2:29:01at the time that the test is
2:29:02administered
2:29:03uh we had a colleague that tried to pin
2:29:05you all down and have you just i mean
2:29:07estimate for us what percentage of ball
2:29:10players do you think are using i mean
2:29:11you guys are in the clubhouses
2:29:13we're not we don't have access there we
2:29:15don't know
2:29:16but we're getting this hear no evil see
2:29:18no evil don't know anything that's going
2:29:20on i mean
2:29:21the first step is admitting hey there's
2:29:23a problem next step how widespread is it
2:29:25and then the next step what do we do
2:29:27to try to combat it and i'm not hearing
2:29:29that from y'all today and i'm very
2:29:31disappointed i have to say
2:29:33extremely disappointed in the testimony
2:29:35today
2:29:36so i'm going to ask you know we're not
2:29:38asking you to name names we're not
2:29:40asking you to implicate
2:29:41anybody we're asking you because
2:29:43everybody admits it's serious for young
2:29:45kids
2:29:46but you know you as a teammate as a
2:29:48player and if you're
2:29:49all nine users which you four fifths of
2:29:51the panel has testified you guys didn't
2:29:53use
2:29:54if you guys are users i would think that
2:29:56you would be the first to step up and
2:29:58say hey there's a problem with teammates
2:30:00that are using
2:30:01because it's potentially hazardous to
2:30:02their health and because it's unfair
2:30:04it's cheating it's
2:30:05not a level playing field and if i'm not
2:30:07using why should teammates be allowed to
2:30:09use
2:30:10and yet i'm not hearing that have any of
2:30:12you ever confronted
2:30:13anybody over the use ask them about it
2:30:16you hear rumors in the locker room that
2:30:17was
2:30:18some of the testimony today but you got
2:30:20none of you went to management or said
2:30:22hey there may be a problem here
2:30:24have any of you ever confronted a player
2:30:26or made that
2:30:27problem known i mean i'm hearing that
2:30:29one percent is too much
2:30:30yet none of you throughout all the years
2:30:32that you collectively played together
2:30:34has ever stood up and said that before
2:30:36now and i would just like an answer to
2:30:37that question as briefly as possible
2:30:40my question i'm sorry the question is
2:30:42have you ever
2:30:43made i'm sorry but i'm very passionate
2:30:46about this
2:30:47have you ever made the problem of use
2:30:49among players that you've heard rumors
2:30:51of
2:30:52made that known to somebody responsible
2:30:55no
2:30:55no i haven't i know and i never would
2:30:57because i've never known for sure
2:30:59i i wouldn't know who to go to i
2:31:01wouldn't know who's on it
2:31:02nobody knows i'm not here to discuss
2:31:04that you're not here to discuss a pass
2:31:05and you're out of baseball now mr sosa
2:31:08i really not going to tell you something
2:31:10that i don't know
2:31:12period mr canseco when you played
2:31:16did you ever notify anybody about the
2:31:17use by other players
2:31:22in my days which is states of my book i
2:31:25was a source of information for it
2:31:28but you never made it the problem aware
2:31:29to
2:31:31anybody it wasn't it's it's funny
2:31:34because it
2:31:35it wasn't a problem there wasn't anyone
2:31:39that said you know don't do it or you
2:31:43shouldn't do it
2:31:44or if you get caught this is going to
2:31:46happen to you it was
2:31:48acceptable in the 80s and mid to late
2:31:5190s as a cup of coffee thank you
2:31:53thank you ladies times expire we have
2:31:55two questions left and then we're going
2:31:57to dismiss the panel we'll move to the
2:31:59final panel mr ruppersberger any
2:32:00questions
2:32:01when you come to the end of the panel a
2:32:02lot has been discussed and we've been
2:32:04here all day
2:32:05uh the first thing i think that in the
2:32:07beginning i was concerned about this
2:32:09hearing
2:32:10now i think it's a very positive it's
2:32:12very positive for baseball
2:32:14the issue is now on the table i
2:32:15guarantee you jose consanco is not going
2:32:17to win a popularity contest with the
2:32:19players
2:32:19but he might be the best thing that's
2:32:21happened to you all baseball has a
2:32:23public
2:32:23relations problem and in my opinion you
2:32:26players can solve it
2:32:28now we can talk about management and
2:32:29manage them that has a lot of
2:32:30responsibilities
2:32:31but we've been going through this this
2:32:33testimony about who knows what would you
2:32:35talk to a player
2:32:36you know it all comes down in the end i
2:32:38think to having a good
2:32:40drug policy that works if the nfl can
2:32:43have a policy
2:32:44if olympics can have a policy especially
2:32:46the olympics who had a credibility
2:32:47problem
2:32:48then you can do it we love your game you
2:32:51know i look at you kurt schilling it was
2:32:53one of the worst trades we ever had i'm
2:32:54a baltimore world fan
2:32:55but but bottom line you can fix it and
2:32:58you've been dodging a little bit today
2:33:00in my opinion
2:33:00about saying well if i don't know about
2:33:02it i'm not going to say about it if i
2:33:04think
2:33:04my colleagues taking a bribe i'm going
2:33:06to deal with it and it's your
2:33:07responsibility i think with baseball you
2:33:09have one of the best negotiators
2:33:11in fair and if he can't negotiate
2:33:14with them with management and management
2:33:16really i'm putting more burden on you
2:33:18than management because
2:33:19management would love to fix this and
2:33:21let's get on with the game of baseball
2:33:22so my question
2:33:23bottom line would you take the position
2:33:27to go to fear and organize your players
2:33:30who have a responsibility to this
2:33:32country for our national pastime for our
2:33:34children
2:33:35would you go to fear and say we want the
2:33:38best and the strongest program
2:33:39that we can have to bring integrity to
2:33:42baseball
2:33:43because if you don't have integrity
2:33:44eventually this game is going to have
2:33:46problems and we don't want that to
2:33:48happen
2:33:49yes would you go to fear and do whatever
2:33:51and work with us
2:33:52you might know that you might not know
2:33:54the intricacies of drug policy i do i
2:33:56was a former prosecutor
2:33:57who dealt with drugs you have to have
2:33:59accountability you can't tell people
2:34:01when they're going to test somebody
2:34:02you have to make sure that you follow
2:34:04the vowel when you take the urine test
2:34:06these are things that have to be done
2:34:07but if each one of you would agree
2:34:09and i challenge each one of you here
2:34:10today to organize your players
2:34:12your world champion now you you've got a
2:34:15momentum to challenge your players
2:34:17to say we will go and we will do what we
2:34:19can do we will match the nfl
2:34:21do you think you're a better sport than
2:34:23the nfl
2:34:26well definitely okay yeah
2:34:30then why can't you have a drug policy
2:34:32like the nfl so bottom line
2:34:34you can fix it okay you can't blame the
2:34:37owners the owners have responsibility
2:34:39but you go to to sell i'm sure he would
2:34:41love to have the strictest policy you
2:34:43could have and then you can go on about
2:34:44playing baseball how about you raphael i
2:34:46agree
2:34:47i agree i would go to donald fear for
2:34:48that okay
2:34:50if you were there mr mcguire well being
2:34:52that i'm retired
2:34:54i know that i'd still would go to him
2:34:56yes jeremy
2:34:57welcome to baltimore but would you do
2:34:59that i will do the same thing
2:35:00okay and what do you think jose i gave
2:35:02you a a plug you know you
2:35:04you put this issue on the table and and
2:35:06by the way if i was going to question
2:35:07you
2:35:08i would have questioned you about
2:35:09credibility because you've made some
2:35:10inconsistent statements
2:35:11about how many people i'll go over later
2:35:13in a private time
2:35:15if i was going to question you but but
2:35:16more i think about it you had to
2:35:18you you put it out there on the table
2:35:20and now we're dealing with it and if
2:35:22players and baseball management don't do
2:35:24it now
2:35:25shame on you okay that's all thank you
2:35:29thank you very much i lost my voice by
2:35:31the way but it wasn't for me it's a
2:35:32question
2:35:33you're a clean up batter clean up better
2:35:35thank you mr chairman um
2:35:38i'm just going to make two comments very
2:35:40briefly one a request
2:35:42which probably falls more on the
2:35:43shoulders of mr sosa and mr palmero than
2:35:46anybody else
2:35:47if we talk about an education program
2:35:49for young people
2:35:50please remember that according to
2:35:52statistics i think is 40 percent
2:35:54of all professional ball players from
2:35:56rookie league up
2:35:58are latin americans and so an
2:36:00educational program that doesn't include
2:36:03an outreach to the dominican republic to
2:36:05venezuela to mexico
2:36:07and to other places in latin america
2:36:09will not be in preparation for what
2:36:11needs to happen
2:36:12there have been already scandals
2:36:13reported about an
2:36:15anticipation of signing as free agents
2:36:18people in different parts of latin
2:36:19america are being beefed up
2:36:21and hurt with drugs and secondly
2:36:25and and and i hope that would happen and
2:36:27secondly
2:36:29i hope that as the one of the last
2:36:32speakers today
2:36:34you see us for who we are i'm not a
2:36:37member of this committee
2:36:38the chairman of the ranking member gave
2:36:39me the privilege of being here today
2:36:41because i like so many of these people
2:36:43on this panel are baseball fanatics
2:36:46for me baseball is not a game it's a
2:36:48passion
2:36:50we may be looked and some reporters may
2:36:52see us as politicians having another
2:36:54hearing
2:36:55but we're concerned about a game we love
2:36:58when mr mcguire
2:36:59and mr sosa took us on that ride that
2:37:01summer
2:37:02that wasn't just hitting home runs there
2:37:04was a country hanging on
2:37:06to heroes when mr palmeiro i will watch
2:37:10you this summer
2:37:11as you become the only the fourth player
2:37:14joining aaron
2:37:16and murray and maize to give 500 home
2:37:18runs and 3 000 hits
2:37:20as a latino i feel proud and as an
2:37:23american i'll be excited
2:37:25mr canseco i wish i could have helped
2:37:28you get those 38 home runs to reach 500.
2:37:31you stopped at 462.
2:37:33perhaps baseball stopped you you claim
2:37:36at times
2:37:37and mr schilling even though you did it
2:37:40to my yankees you're still my hero
2:37:43that's who you are you are you are not
2:37:47just normal regular people
2:37:50it's not the kids who look at you alone
2:37:54that's the excuse we use this autograph
2:37:56is for my son
2:37:57it's for me
2:38:00i already signed up for major league
2:38:03game day audio for my computer
2:38:07i already brought my first 25 packs of
2:38:09baseball cards for this year to add
2:38:11to the closet full of baseball cards
2:38:13that i have mr mcguire i'll never sell
2:38:16your rookie card i'll leave it to my
2:38:19children my grandchildren
2:38:21because you're heroes there's no price
2:38:25on my love of this game and so i hope
2:38:28that when you leave here today and think
2:38:30about it tomorrow
2:38:31and the next day that you don't think of
2:38:34us
2:38:34as another legislative committee you
2:38:37think of us as no different than the
2:38:38people you see in the stands
2:38:40where baseball fans who loved this game
2:38:43and were terrified of what could happen
2:38:45to it i don't like the fact that you're
2:38:47here
2:38:48i don't like to see the breakup of the
2:38:50bass brothers in front of me
2:38:52i don't like the fact that mr salsa
2:38:54hasn't smiled a famous smile
2:38:56i don't like the uneasiness of all of
2:38:58you today
2:38:59you shouldn't be here circumstances put
2:39:02you here
2:39:03please save the game without this game
2:39:08this country is in deep trouble and i'd
2:39:10like to yield now
2:39:11to mr waxman i thank you for yielding to
2:39:13me and
2:39:14that was a very eloquent uh plea and i
2:39:17thank you for it as you speak on behalf
2:39:19of so many of us but mr schilling
2:39:21i just want to raise something that just
2:39:22came to my attention and read you some
2:39:25quotes
2:39:25that were attributed to you which sounds
2:39:27so different than what you said today
2:39:29so you'll be prepared for it in case
2:39:31somebody raises it later
2:39:34this was from sports illustrated june
2:39:362002
2:39:38schilling says that muscle building
2:39:39drugs have transformed baseball into
2:39:41something of a freak show
2:39:43quote you sit there and look at some of
2:39:45these players and you know what's going
2:39:47on he says
2:39:48guys out there look like mr potato head
2:39:50with a head and
2:39:52arms and six or seven body parts that
2:39:54just don't look right they don't fit
2:39:56i'm not sure how steroid you snuck in so
2:39:59quickly
2:40:00but it's become a prominent thing very
2:40:02quietly it's widely known in the game
2:40:05and then also i know guys who use and
2:40:07don't admit it
2:40:08because they think it means they don't
2:40:10work hard and i know plenty of guys now
2:40:12are mixing steroids
2:40:14with human growth hormone those guys are
2:40:16pretty
2:40:17obvious end quote were those your quotes
2:40:20yes and you feel um
2:40:24don't those quotes seem to indicate
2:40:25you've been you thought that
2:40:27at least when you gave them that uh
2:40:30there was a widespread use of steroids
2:40:32with some people because you could see
2:40:34it i think we saw it as a problem i
2:40:35think that any player looks at
2:40:38at anybody on the field as
2:40:41they gave themselves a competitive
2:40:43advantage by cheating as a problem
2:40:45you don't think this is inconsistent
2:40:46with your statements today no i
2:40:48no i think i i i said those are my
2:40:50quotes i i made those quotes and i think
2:40:52i said earlier today there were
2:40:53some quotes i've made in the past
2:40:55referring to some of those
2:40:56where i think i grossly overstated the
2:40:58problem uh due to being uninformed and
2:41:00unaware
2:41:01thank you very much thank you thank you
2:41:03very much and let me just
2:41:05thank all of you it's been a long
2:41:06afternoon for you this has been very
2:41:08helpful to us and i think this will be
2:41:10very
2:41:10helpful hopefully the owners management
2:41:14and the union are listening to this as
2:41:15well uh we have a lot of different
2:41:17perspectives up here we are the elected
2:41:19representatives of the people
2:41:20i think we share that perspective
2:41:23which is a little different from being a
2:41:24player or in management
2:41:26um but this has been very helpful for us
2:41:29i just appreciate the willingness of all
2:41:30of you to step forward
2:41:31this has been i think a victory in
2:41:33itself we look forward to continuing to
2:41:34work with you
2:41:35we wish all of you good luck on the
2:41:37field this year as the season begins
2:41:40as well and i'm going to release this
2:41:41panel thank you very much
2:41:43take a five minute recess still
2:41:47thank you goodbye thank you very much
2:42:08thank you
2:42:24okay
2:43:02are you back again i am back
2:43:07one again panel you're still thinking of
2:43:09vegas

About this transcript

This page contains the full transcript of Baseball Players Face Congressional Steroid Hearing by electron media group, inc., generated from the public captions YouTube serves with the video. The transcript has 26,743 words across 4,591 segments, with the original timestamps preserved so you can click any line to jump to that moment in the embedded player.

What you can do with it

Use the transcript to take notes, quote the speaker, build a study guide, generate a summary with ChatGPT or Claude via the YouTube Summary tool, or export it as a timed subtitle file with YouTube to SRT. You can also re-open it in the transcriber to translate the transcript into 100+ languages.

Free YouTube transcript tool

YouTube2Text is a free YouTube transcript generator — no signup, no daily limit. Paste any YouTube link and get the full transcript instantly, with timestamps, click-to-jump, translation to 100+ languages, AI prompts for ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, and exports to TXT, SRT, VTT, or Markdown.