Sports

NEW YORK (CBS 5 / AP / BCN) ― Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens turned out be the top exhibits in the long-awaited Mitchell Report, two All-Stars among many linked to steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs that put a question mark - if not an asterisk - next to some of baseball's biggest moments.

The report culminated a 20-month investigation by former U.S. Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, hired by commissioner Bud Selig to examine the "Steroids Era" in baseball.

Mitchell's hiring as an independent investigator in March 2006 was prompted by the ongoing federal investigation of Bonds and other players' involvement with the Burlingame-based Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, or BALCO.

Thursday's 409-page report identified seven MVPs "who were caught up in the drive to gain a competitive advantage," Mitchell said. In all there were 85 names listed to differing degrees, enough to put an All-Star at every position.

No one was hit harder than Clemens, who denied the allegations, and Bonds, already under indictment on charges of lying to a federal grand jury about steroids.

Clemens, a seven-time Cy Young Award winner was singled out in nearly nine pages, 82 references by name. Much of the information on Clemens came from former New York Yankees major league strength and conditioning coach Brian McNamee.

Only Bonds was mentioned more than Clemens, 103 times, most of it recounting previous reports.

Bonds, baseball's all-time home run leader, was indicted Nov. 15 -- not for taking performance-enhancing drugs but rather with failing to tell the truth during the federal steroids probe.  He pleaded not guilty to the charges last week.

"The illegal use of performance-enhancing substances poses a serious threat to the integrity of the game," the report said. "Widespread use by players of such substances unfairly disadvantages the honest athletes who refuse to use them and raises questions about the validity of baseball records."

While the records will surely stand, several stars could pay the price in Cooperstown, much the way Mark McGwire was kept out of the Hall of Fame this year merely because of steroids suspicion.

"If there are problems, I wanted them revealed," Selig said. "His report is a call to action, and I will act."

Mitchell said the problems didn't develop overnight and there was plenty of blame to go around.

"Everyone involved in baseball over the past two decades - commissioners, club officials, the players' association and players - shares to some extent the responsibility for the Steroids Era," Mitchell said. "There was a collective failure to recognize the problem as it emerged and to deal with it early on."

While Bonds did not immediately comment on the report's findings, his former team did.

"The report clearly demonstrates the pervasiveness of the (steroid)problem. The Giants accept our fair share of responsibility," said San Francisco Giants' owner Peter Magowan. "Our entire organization... pledges to work closely with Commissioner Selig and Senator Mitchell to implement the report's recommendations."

Mitchell recommended that the drug-testing program be made independent, that a list of the substances players test positive for be listed periodically and that the timing of testing be more unpredictable.

Ex-Athletic Tejada On List

Former Oakland Athletics shortstop Miguel Tejada was among the other high-profile names who showed up Thursday in the game's most infamous lineup since the 1919 Black Sox scandal.

According to Mitchell, former A's outfielder Adam Piatt in 2003 provided Tejada with steroids and human growth hormone, though whether Tejada actually used the substances is unknown.

Tejada, who played shortstop for the A's from 1997 to 2003 and was named the American League's Most Valuable Player in 2002, was traded from the Baltimore Orioles to the Houston Astros on Wednesday.

Tejada was offered the chance to respond to the allegations, but Mitchell said Tejada declined to meet with him.

Andy Pettite, Eric Gagne, Gary Sheffield, Jason Giambi, Troy Glaus, Gary Matthews Jr., Paul Byrd, Jose Guillen, Brian Roberts, Paul Lo Duca and Rick Ankiel were among other current players named in the report - in fact, there's an All-Star at every position. Some were linked to Human Growth Hormone, others to steroids.









More than a dozen Yankees, past and present, were identified. Players were linked to doping in various ways - some were identified as users, some as buyers and some by media reports and other investigations.

"According to McNamee, from the time that McNamee injected Clemens with Winstrol through the end of the 1998 season, Clemens' performance showed remarkable improvement," the report said. "During this period of improved performance, Clemens told McNamee that the steroids 'had a pretty good effect' on him."

McNamee also told investigators that "during the middle of the 2000 season, Clemens made it clear that he was ready to use steroids again. During the latter part of the regular season, McNamee injected Clemens in the buttocks four to six times with testosterone from a bottle labeled either Sustanon 250 or Deca-Durabolin."

"It is very unfair to include Roger's name in this report," said Clemens' lawyer, Rusty Hardin. "He is left with no meaningful way to combat what he strongly contends are totally false allegations. Hee has not been charged with anything, he will not be charged with anything and yet he is being tried in the court of public opinion with no recourse. That is totally wrong."

"There has never been one shred of tangible evidence that he ever used these substances and yet he is being slandered today," said Hardin, who called McNamee a "troubled man."

Former Mets clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomski also provided information as part of his plea agreement in a federal steroids case. Jose Canseco's book "Juiced" also was cited.

Mitchell: Don't Punish Players

Mitchell urged Selig to hold off on punishing players in the report "except in those cases where he determines that the conduct is so serious that discipline is necessary to maintain the integrity of the game."

Selig said discipline will be determined in case by case basis, and actions will be taken "swiftly."

"Former commissioner Fay Vincent told me that the problem of performance-enhancing substances may be the most serious challenge that baseball has faced since the 1919 Black Sox scandal," Mitchell said in the 409-page report.

"The illegal use of anabolic steroids and similar substances, in Vincent's view, is 'cheating of the worst sort.' He believes that it is imperative for Major League Baseball to 'capture the moral high ground' on the issue and, by words and deeds, make it clear that baseball will not tolerate the use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs."

Rafael Palmeiro, who tested positive for steroids, was among the former players named. So were Kevin Brown, Benito Santiago, Lenny Dykstra, Chuck Knoblauch, David Justice, Mo Vaughn and Todd Hundley.

Mike Stanton, Scott Schoeneweis, Ron Villone and Jerry Hairston Jr. were among the other current players identified.

"We identify some of the players who were caught up in this drive to gain a competitive advantage," the report said. "Other investigations will no doubt turn up more names and fill in more details, but that is unlikely to significantly alter the description of baseball's `steroids era' as set forth in this report."

"The illegal use in baseball of these substances also victimize the majority of players who don't use them. We heard from many former players who believe it was grossly unfair that the users were gaining an advantage," Mitchell said.

The report took issue with assertions that steroids were not banned before the 2002 collective bargaining agreement.

They had been covered, it said, since the 1971 drug policy prohibited using any prescription medication without a valid prescription, and were expressly included in the drug policy in 1991.

"Steroids have been listed as a prohibited substance under the Major League Baseball drug policy since then," the report said, although no player was disciplined for them until the 2002 labor agreement provided for testing.

Mitchell is a director of the Boston Red Sox, and some questioned whether that created a conflict, especially because none of their players were in the report.

"Judge me by my work," Mitchell said. "You will not find any evidence of bias, special treatment, for the Red Sox or anyone else. That had no effect on this investigation or this report, none whatsoever."

Giambi, under threat of discipline from Selig, was the only current player known to have cooperated with the Mitchell investigation.

"The players' union was largely uncooperative for reasons that I thought were largely understandable," Mitchell said.

Union's Fehr Won't Apologize

Union head Donald Fehr made "no apologies" for the way they represented players.

"Many players are named. Their reputations have been adversely affected, probably forever," he said. "Even if it turns out down the road that they should not have been."

About two hours after the report was released, two congressmen at the forefront of Capitol Hill's involvement in the steroids issue asked Mitchell, Selig and Fehr to testify at a U.S. House committee hearing next Tuesday.

California Democrat Henry Waxman and Virginia Republican Tom Davis - the leaders of the panel that held the March 17, 2005, hearing at which McGwire, Palmeiro and Sammy Sosa testified - want to know "whether the Mitchell report's recommendations will be adopted and whether additional measures are needed," they said.

Also, it was announced another Congressional subcommittee will hold a hearing on Jan. 23 relating to steroid use in professional sports, including the findings of the Mitchell report.

"Senator Mitchell's report indicates a pervasive and profoundly disappointing culture of illegal drug use in Major League Baseball," said Congressman Tom Lantos, D-San Mateo/San Francisco.

"There appears to be easy access to performance-enhancing drugs in this league, and their wide acceptance creates an abhorrent stain on America's pastime," Lantos said.

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