Palmeiro issued his first detailed public comments on the case Wednesday, including a possible explanation for why he might have failed a steroid test even though he says he never knowingly took steroids: a tainted vitamin shot given to him by a teammate.
When he testified before the House Government Reform Committee on March 17, alongside Mark McGwire, Jose Canseco and others, Palmeiro jabbed a finger in the air for emphasis and denied he had used steroids.
In May, Palmeiro failed a doping test, and on Aug. 1, he became the highest-profile player suspended for 10 days by Major League Baseball under its new steroids policy. Two days later, Davis said the panel would open an investigation into whether Palmeiro committed perjury.
Palmeiro agreed to have baseball give Congress documents about his steroid tests, and investigators interviewed some of his current and former teammates and training partners.
On Wednesday, two hours after Davis' committee announced he would release the results of the investigation Thursday, Palmeiro's lawyers issued the player's first detailed public comments on the case.
Palmeiro acknowledged several facts that already had been reported, including that he had raised the possibility that a shot of vitamin B-12 he was given by a teammate ``might have been the cause'' of the positive doping test.
"Everything I have been working for all my life -- to play the game that I love with dignity and earn the respect and admiration of my colleagues and fans -- has been changed by my suspension. For this, I alone take full responsibility," Palmeiro said. "I have never intentionally taken steroids. But I must also acknowledge that stanozolol, a banned substance, was found in my system in May."
He's one of four players in baseball history with 500 homers and 3,000 hits -- and the timing of his positive test means Palmeiro knew he faced a suspension as he approached the hit milestone this summer.
"Nobody is more frustrated and disappointed in me than I am. ... All my accomplishments are now tainted," Palmeiro said.
His case has been cited as one of the reasons that lawmakers have continued to pursue legislation to require tougher rules for steroid testing and harsher penalties for positive tests in baseball and other major professional sports leagues.
A bill calling for a half-season ban for a first steroid offense, a full-season ban for a second offense, and a lifetime ban for a third reached the floor of the Senate. But a spokesman for one of the bill's sponsors, Sen. Jim Bunning, a former major league pitcher, said Wednesday that an unidentified senator placed a hold on the bill, meaning it's stalled indefinitely.
According to Palmeiro's lawyers, he tested negative for steroids in 2003 and 2004; after he was informed he failed a test in May, he took a second test that month, which was negative.
Palmeiro, 41, had just two hits in 26 at-bats after returning from his suspension and was booed by spectators at Baltimore and on the road. He was sent home to Texas to rehabilitate injuries; the Orioles eventually told him not to return to the team.
On the Net:
Palmeiro documents:
www.rptranscripts.com
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