A-Rod Denies Relationship With Alleged PED Peddler; MLB Investigating
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez has found himself ensnared in another doping investigation, and many Yankee fans wonder if this could mean the end of his career in New York.
As CBS 2's Dick Brennan reported, the New York Daily News reported Saturday that federal and state authorities were investigating Anthony Bosch, an alleged adviser the Yankees third baseman, for possible illegal distribution of HGH and testosterone to professional athletes in Florida.
On Tuesday, the Miami New Times blew the doors open on Bosch and his Miami anti-aging clinic, Biogenesis.
There was A-Rod's name, among others, reportedly listed in "an extraordinary batch of records" given to the publication by a former Biogenesis employee before the clinic closed its doors.
"This book has receipts from 2009 up until last April, it appears that he's back on what he's taken before, if this document is legitimate," said Bill Price of the New York Daily News.
"Alex Rodriguez," "Alex Rod," or the star's alleged nickname at Biogenesis, "Cacique," appeared 16 times in what are believed to be Bosch's personal notebooks, the New Times reported.
Bosch's 2009 records reportedly contained a listing for Rodriguez and a $3,500 order for "1.5/1.5 HGH (sports perf.) creams test., glut., MIC, supplement, sports perf. Diet."
B&C React To PED Report
The lengthy report stated the "mentions of Rodriguez begin in 2009 and continue all the way through last season." A-Rod admitted in '09 to using steroids from 2001-03 with the Texas Rangers.
Another entry linked "Cacique" to the banned insulin stimulator IGF-1. According to the New Times, there was a listing in the 2012 notebook under "A-Rod/Cacique": "He is paid through April 30th. He will owe May 1 $4,000... I need to see him between April 13-19, deliver troches, pink cream, and... May meds. Has three weeks of Sub-Q (as of April)."
"Sub-Q" was reportedly detailed in Bosch's records as a mixture of HGH, IGF-1 and other drugs.
A-Rod's camp has denied any relationship with Bosch.
"The news report about a purported relationship between Alex Rodriguez and Anthony Bosch are not true," a spokesman for Rodriguez said in a statement. "Alex Rodriguez was not Mr. Bosch's patient, he was never treated by him and he was never advised by him. The purported documents referenced in the story -- at least as they relate to Alex Rodriguez -- are not legitimate."
Rodriguez has hired noted Miami lawyer Roy Black, according to WFAN and CBSSports.com baseball insider Jon Heyman.
Players can be suspended without a positive test, Heyman reported. First-time offenders receive a 50-game ban. A-Rod hasn't tested positive under the league's policy.
"We are in the midst of an active investigation and are gathering and reviewing information," MLB said in a statement Tuesday.
The league recently announced random, unannounced, in-season blood testing for HGH starting in 2013.
"Vigilance remains the key toward protecting the integrity of our game," MLB said. "We have the best and most stringent drug testing policy in professional sports, we continue to work with our doctors and trainers to learn what they are seeing day-to-day and we educate our players about the game's unbending zero-tolerance approach. We remain fully committed to following all leads and seeking the appropriate outcomes for all those who use, purchase and are involved in the distribution of banned substances, which have no place in our game."
A former employee told the New Times that Bosch "was always talking about A-Rod."
"We never saw any athletes in the office, so we didn't know if he was just talking bulls--- or not," the employee said. "But he would brag about how tight they were."
The New Times also reported that Yuri Sucart, A-Rod's doping-tainted cousin who was banned from Yankees facilities, appeared in 2009 records near Rodriguez's name.
Nelson Cruz, Melky Cabrera, Yasmani Grandal and Bartolo Colon were among several other athletes implicated in the New Times report. The latter three tested positive for PEDs and received bans from MLB.
"I've never used performance enhancing drugs of any kind and I never will ,I've never met or spoken with tony Bosch or used any substance ... Provided by him.anything said to the contrary is a lie," tweeted Washington Nationals pitcher Gio Gonzalez, whose name also appeared in the report.
Yankees general manager Brian Cashman admitted last week on WFAN radio that A-Rod could possibly miss the season -- a worst-case scenario -- after offseason hip surgery.
The question is what will happen to his Yankee career after that.
"Who knows what the Yankees are going to do with him?" Price said. "I'm sure they would love to get rid of his contract, they still owe him $114 million, but who knows if they can?"
The Yankees owe the 37-year-old Rodriguez the huge sum over the final five years of his contract.
"We fully support the Commissioner's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program," the team said in a statement. "This matter is now in the hands of the Commissioner's Office. We will have no further comment until that investigation has concluded."
Here we go again. Your thoughts on the New Times report? Be heard in the comments...
