Mitchell: MLB Steroid Use Rampant
Updated: In a press conference this afternoon that culminates a 20-month investigation, George Mitchell has reportedly described steroid use as rampant among Major League Baseball players, described the league as slow to respond to the problem and, in a written report, named players who may have been involved in steroid use.
“For more than a decade, there has been widespread illegal use of anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing substances by players in Major League Baseball in violation of federal law and baseball policy,” Mitchell said, according to Reuters.
“The evidence we uncovered indicates that this has not been an isolated problem involving just a few players or a few clubs. Many players were involved,” he said, according to USA Today. “Each of the 30 clubs has had players who have been involved with such substances at some time in their careers.”
As expected, the Mitchell report names names, including those of high-profile players. (A copy of the Mitchell report (PDF) is provided by WNBC.)
Although he says players routinely did not cooperate with his investigation, Mitchell names dozens of individuals in his report and describes, concerning each one, evidence (such as canceled checks, overnight delivery receipts, testimony by others, media accounts and a book) suggesting that they may have been involved with performance-enhancing substances.
A list of players named in the Mitchell report is provided by the National Post, a Canadian newspaper.
The “culture of drug use included a virtual Hall of Fame of some of the sport’s biggest names of recent years: [Roger] Clemens, Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi, Gary Sheffield, Eric Gagné, Miguel Tejada, David Justice, Chuck Knoblauch and Andy Pettitte,” Reuters reports.
An earlier ABAJournal.com post today about the Mitchell report provides additional details.
Updated at 2:44 p.m., CST.
