Rodriguez denied having ever usedsteroids, Human Growth Hormone, or anyother performance-enhancing substance ina 2007 interview on CBS' 60 Minutes.

Primobolan, also known asmethenolone, is an injected or orally ad-ministered drug that improves strengthand maintains lean muscle. It is not an ap-proved prescription drug in the UnitedStates and is among the illegal substanceslisted in the Anabolic Steroid Control Actof 1990.

Attorneys andspor ts -dopingexperts saidMonday it's un-likely Rodriguezwill face legalramifications be-cause of severalreasons:

The statute oflimitations foruse of anabolicsteroids in 2003has passed,ESPN legal ana-lyst Roger Cos-sack said. Aspokesman forthe Departmentof Justice wasunable to con-firm that.

The 1990 law said those who are caughtpossessing or distributing anabolicsteroids are subject to arrest and prosecu-tion, with a first conviction carrying up toone year in prison and/or a minimum$1000 fine.

Bonds is to go on trial March 2 oncharges he committed perjury when hetold a federal grand jury in 2003 he neverknowingly used performance-enhancingdrugs. Roger Clemens is being investi-gated by a federal grand jury aboutwhether he committed perjury when hetold Congress he never used steroids orhuman growth hormone.

Rodriguez denied having ever usedsteroids, Human Growth Hormone, or anyother performance-enhancing substance ina 2007 interview on CBS' 60 Minutes.

"At the time, I wasn't even being truth-ful with myself," Rodriguez said.

Primobolan, also known as methenolone,is an injected or orally administered drugthat improves strength and maintains leanmuscle. It is not an approved prescriptiondrug in the United States and is among theillegal substances listed in the AnabolicSteroid Control Act of 1990.

How to know if yourMVP is it...fakin’

Ma

n M

an

ua

lA-Rod Strikes Out

Rodriguez, a New York Yankees thirdbaseman, admitted in a televised inter-view that he took performance-enhancingdrugs in 2001-03 while with the TexasRangers.

"I did take a banned substance," Ro-driguez, 33, told ESPN. "For that, I amvery sorry and deeply regretful."The acknowledgement came two daysafter Sports Illustrated reported that Ro-driguez tested positive in 2003 for ana-bolic steroids. Rodriguez said he startedtaking the drugs in 2001 because of thepressures he felt after becoming the sport'shighest-paid player.

"I felt a tremendous pressure to play,and play really well," Rodriguez said inMonday's interview. "I felt like I wasgoing up against the whole world. I justsigned this enormous contract. I felt like Ineeded something, a push to get me to thenext level."Rodriguez was with the Rangers when hesigned a 10-year, $252 million contractbefore the 2001 season.

Fessing Up

Avoidingthe Juice

Your MVP"I was young. I was stupid. I was naive,"he said. "I wanted to prove to everyonethat I was worth being one of the greatestplayers of all time."

Rodriguez, according to the Sports Il-lustrated report, was one of 104 playerswho tested positive for performance-en-hancing drugs during survey testing in2003. Thosenames weresupposed to re-main confiden-tial but wereconfiscated byfederal agentsin a raid of aCalifornia drug-testing labora-tory.

He said hewas unawarehe failed a drugtest until aSports Illus-trated reportertold him. Ac-cording toSports Illus-trated, sourcessaid Rodriguez tested positive for Pri-mobolan and testosterone. But he said inMonday's interview he wasn't sure whathe took exactly.He is a three-time winner of the Most

Valuable Player award and has 553 ca-reer home runs _ 209 behind the all-time home run mark held by BarryBonds, another figure linked tosteroids.

Rodriguez said he has not taken anybanned substances since 2003, twoyears before Major League Baseballstarted cracking down on steroid useby penalizing those caught usingthem.

"Back then, baseball was a different cul-ture," he said. "It was very loose. I gotcaught up in this everybody's-doing-it era,so why not experiment with X, Y and Z?I'm just sorry. I'm sorry for that time. I'msorry to fans. I'm sorry for my fans inTexas."

Rodriguez hit 156 home runs from 2001to 2003 _ the most prolific three-seasonstretch in his 15-year major-league career.Starting in 2004, when he joined the Yan-kees, he hit 119 home runs over three sea-sons. Rodriguez, who attended WestminsterChristian in Southwest Miami-Dade, joinsAndy Pettitte and Jason Giambi amongthe few players to admit using steroids.

" I was young. I wasstupid. I was naive. Iwanted to prove toeveryone that I wasworth being one ofthe greatest playersof all time."

Alex Rodriguez

Girl TalkGetting a girl’s thoughtson A-Rod’s steroid use.

By Jim ReevesCOSMOPOLITAN JANUARY 2009 JANUARY 2009 COSMOPOLITAN92 93

Maybe it's time toshut the doors atCooperstown.

Forever.Put a deadbolt and a pad-

lock on 'em. Let the ghostswho wander the halls therelive in peace ... without anymore doping cheaters roam-ing among them.

Or perhaps we shouldjust build a mythical Hall ofShame right alongside it.Alex Rodriguez can joinBarry Bonds, Mark McG-wire, Raffy Palmeiro andJose Canseco as chartermembers, along with all ourother tainted former heroes.

I can almost guaranteehis crocodile tears won't lu-bricate his entrance into theHall of Fame, however, norshould they.

The Hall of Shame, sure.The Hall of Stupid, ab-solutely. The Hall of Liars,without a doubt.

- Hope, 20