After Alex Rodriguez rescinded his law suit against Major League Baseball (MLB) to fight his yearlong suspension tied to the use of a performance enhancing drug (PED), a new book (available on July 8) reveals that MLB granted the major league star permission to use testosterone in 2007.
The book, "Blood Sport: Alex Rodriguez, Biogenesis, and the Quest to End Baseball's Steroid Era," was written by Tim Elfrink and Gus Garcia-Roberts. Elfrink was the reporter who broke the story about Alex Rodriguez's alleged relationship with Tony Bosch and Biogenesis of America last year, ultimately leading to MLB commissioner suspending Rodriguez for the entire 2014 season - the longest suspension ever issued.
Initially suspended for 211 games, the Yankee's third baseman opted to appeal the ban and continued to play for the remainder of the 2013 season. After the Yankees' season ended, Rodriguez planned to contest the ruling of his suspension in a federal court, but his lawyers convinced him otherwise due to the cost of the trial (as well as the costs associated with losing the trial) and the evidence that MLB had against him. The ban was officially set at 162 games, a full season.
But now it seems A-Rod might have some evidence against the MLB that he otherwise was previously unable to reveal.
"Before the 2007 season, Rodriguez asked for permission to use testosterone, which has been banned by baseball since 2003. The independent program administrator in '07 was Bryan W. Smith, a High Point, N.C., physician. (Baseball did not yet have its advisory medical panel.) On Feb. 16, 2007, two days before Rodriguez reported to spring training, Smith granted the exemption, allowing Rodriguez to use testosterone all season," according to an excerpt in the book, reports Bleacher Report.
Rodriguez previously admitted to steroid use during his time with the Texas Rangers from 2001-2003. But when MLB began cracking down on steroid use, a number of players began seeking other forms of performance enhancing drugs that were harder for the testing system to detect, including human growth hormone (HGH) and testosterone injections, among many others. The Biogenesis scandal was believed (and hoped) to be the last that MLB dealt with, but now this book provides us with sobering information, implying an 'inside job' regarding PED use in baseball.
The league doctor, Bryan Smith, was criticized by the US Congress in 2008 for issuing so many drug-related exemptions, especially after the Mitchell Report was released, that he was replaced by Dr. Jeffrey Anderson in 2012.
A stampede of news is likely to come out of the book's revelations; for now, howver, you can read about A-Rod and MLB in this ESPN article.
