A-Rod has denied it in the past, but under oath, the government reportedly got a confession out of the Yankees' star.
Alex Rodriguez has denied that he had any association with Biogenesis or the performance-enhancing drugs the anti-aging clinic sold. He denied it during the investigation by Major League Baseball, and while suspended, even at one point suing both Baseball and the MLB Players Association for their handling of the case that he considered a witch hunt. Now, the Miami Herald reports that A-Rod admitted to PED use to the Drug Enforcement Administration back in January.
The Herald had access to a 15-page synopsis of A-Rod's meeting with the DEA, and from that they report that Rodriguez admitted to the use of "substances prohibited by Major League Baseball" between late 2010 and October 2012. Rodriguez also explained how Anthony Bosch, the man behind Biogenesis, explained to A-Rod how to beat Baseball's drug tests in order to get away with his use.
For this confession, Rodriguez reportedly received immunity. Obviously, he did not get it from Baseball, but losing a season is superior to having the government chasing after you.
But in a Drug Enforcement Administration conference room back in January, facing federal agents and prosecutors who granted him immunity, baseball's highest-paid player admitted everything:
Yes, he bought performance-enhancing drugs from Biogenesis of America, paying roughly $12,000 a month to Anthony Bosch, the fake doctor who owned the clinic. Yes, Bosch gave him pre-filled syringes for hormone injections into the ballplayer's stomach, and even drew blood from him in the men's room of a South Beach nightclub. And yes, the ballplayer's cousin, Yuri Sucart, was his steroid go-fer.
Rodriguez has been reinstated by the Yankees and Major League Baseball after serving what turned out to be a 162-game suspension. The DEA is no longer after him if everything in this report is to believed, and Bud Selig is set to happily retire after making A-Rod the face of Biogenesis in 2013. This confession likely doesn't change anyone's viewpoint of A-Rod, but the fact it's out there might finally allow fans to move past what has seemed like a never-ending story for the 20-year veteran.