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Bush Hopes Mitchell Report Ends Steroids Era
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Raw Video: Mitchell, Selig, Players' Union Remarks On Steroids
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Stan Honda/AFP/Getty Images
President Bush said Friday that baseball players and
owners must take seriously the Mitchell Report on steroid use, but cautioned
against jumping to conclusions about the individuals named.
"My hope is that this report is a part of
putting the steroid era of baseball behind us," he said, surrounded by
Cabinet members in the Rose Garden.
Bush, who once owned the Texas Rangers, said,
the Mitchell Report means that "we can jump to this conclusion: that
steroids have sullied the game."
"The players and the owners must take the
Mitchell Report seriously," Bush said. "I'm confident they
will."
In a report issued Thursday, former Sen. George
Mitchell linked 85 players to the illegal use of steroids and other performance-enhancing
drugs.
The 409-page report identified an array of
players, from those who have had brief stints to prospective members of the
Baseball Hall of Fame—including seven MVPs, two Cy Young Award winners and 31
All-Stars.
Lawyers in baseball commissioner Bud Selig's
office will have to determine whether any of the active players deserve
punishment, a process that will spill into next year.
"I think it's best that all of us not jump
to any conclusions on individual players named," Bush said.
As an intense fan of baseball, Bush seemed
pained by the extent of the problem. He spoke about the issue in answer to a
question from a reporter.
"I understand the impact that professional
athletes can have on our nation's youth," he said. "I just urge those
in the public spotlight, particularly athletes, to understand that when they violate
their bodies, they're sending a terrible signal to America's youth."
Bush, who was the managing partner of the Texas
Rangers before leaving that job to run for governor in 1994, had called for a voluntary
crackdown on steroids in his 2004 State of the Union address.
This August, Bush called to congratulate Barry
Bonds when he broke the home run record. The president didn't weigh in on the steroids
controversy surrounding the slugger's smashing of the vaunted major league
record.
"There is a lot of speculation about Barry
Bonds, and my only advice for people is to just let history be the judge,"
Bush said during a television interview. "Let's find out the facts, and
then everybody's opinion—one way or the other—will be verified or not
verified."
If it's later proven that a lot of Bonds'
strength came from drug use, Bush said, there will be a lot of disappointed
people.
"As you know, I'm a baseball fan—I love
the sport, I love the game," he said. "I've been troubled by the
steroid allegations."
On Thursday, White House press secretary Dana
Perino said Bush does not recall being aware of any steroid use during his time
as a baseball executive. Pushed about whether Bush regrets being in the dark
about that, Perino said: "The president said he thought long and hard
about it. He just does not recall hearing or seeing it. And I don't think it's time for regret. I
think it's time to do what the president has done, which has been to take time
in his State of the Union to shine a light on
the issue. Now we have the result of a report that is getting a lot of
attention, and deservedly so."
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