Alex Rodriguez violated baseball's "unwritten code" by implicating others, insider says
(CBS News) The scandal surrounding Yankees star Alex Rodriguez continues to grow. On Friday, "60 Minutes" reported that, in February, members of Rodriguez's inner circle leaked documents implicating other players in using performance-enhancing drugs, including former MVP Ryan Braun and the star's own teammate, Francisco Cervelli.
Sources told "60 Minutes" the reason members of A-Rod's camp spread the information was to show that Rodriguez wasn't the only MLB star to use drugs.
"I was shocked when I first heard that anyone, much less Alex Rodriguez, would leak information implicating other players with Biogenesis. Not only is it against the CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement), it is certainly against the unwritten code," CBS Sports' Jon Heyman said on "CBS This Morning: Saturday." "Players just do not do this."
Heyman said that A-Rod was particularly close with Cervelli, so it is "shocking" that he implicated his teammate and friend in the doping scandal.
In a press conference before Friday night's game in Boston, Rodriguez denied leaking information and said that he had talked to Cervelli.
"It's not true; I spoke to Cervelli this morning. I had a positive conversation," said Rodriguez. "He understands it's not true, and we're on the same page."
Heyman said that the plan to throw suspicion onto other players "backfired" against Rodriguez.
"This is not something you do. Nobody looks at this favorably, so in terms of the public perception of this, it clearly has backfired on Alex Rodriguez. In terms of the hearing that will be coming up, I'm not sure it's going to be a major part of the hearing," said Heyman. "We know that the MLB believes there were major violations, transgressions, by Alex Rodriguez. 2010, 2011, 2012, that's the bulk of the case. They also do believe that he impeded the investigation, and that could be part of the hearing, no question about that."
Watch the full discussion with Heyman in the player above