Pettitte Admits He Used H.G.H. ‘for Two Days’
Published: December 16, 2007
Two days after being implicated in the use of human growth hormone in George J. Mitchell’s report on performance-enhancing drugs in baseball, Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte acknowledged Saturday that he had tried the substance.
Pettitte is one of the first players named in the Mitchell report to confirm its findings.
“If what I did was an error in judgment on my part, I apologize,” Pettitte said in a statement, his first public comments since the report was released Thursday.
According to the report, Brian McNamee, Pettitte’s former trainer, told Mitchell that he injected Pettitte with human growth hormone on “two to four occasions” in 2002 while Pettitte was recovering from an elbow injury.
In a statement released by his agent, Randy Hendricks, Pettitte said he tried the human growth hormone for “two days” because he believed it would speed his recovery.
“I felt an obligation to get back to my team as soon as possible,” Pettitte said. “For this reason, and only this reason, for two days I tried human growth hormone. Though it was not against baseball rules, I was not comfortable with what I was doing, so I stopped.”
Human growth hormone was not banned by Major League Baseball until before the 2005 season, and a reliable test for H.G.H. is still not available.
Although he admitted to using H.G.H., Pettitte said he never used steroids.
“Everything else written or said about me knowingly using illegal drugs is nonsense, wrong and hurtful,” he said. “I have the utmost respect for baseball and have always tried to live my life in a way that would be honorable. I wasn’t looking for an edge; I was looking to heal.”
Pettitte had previously denied using performance-enhancing drugs. Last year, The Los Angeles Times reported that Pettitte was among the players the former Yankee Jason Grimsley said used performance-enhancing drugs in a federal affidavit.
“I haven’t done anything,” Pettitte said on Oct. 1, 2006. “I guess reports are saying I’ve used performance-enhancing drugs. I’ve never used any drugs to enhance my performance in baseball before. I don’t know what else to say except to say it’s embarrassing my name would be out there.”
Pettitte is among three players to come forward and admit to using performance-enhancing drugs since the Mitchell report was released. On Friday, during his radio show in Sacramento, F. P. Santangelo acknowledged that he took H.G.H., and Gary Bennett told The Washington Post on Friday that he used H.G.H. in 2003.
Earl Ward, McNamee’s lawyer, said that Pettitte’s statement gave credibility to the Mitchell report.
“Brian had always said that Andy was an honest and decent guy, and it doesn’t surprise us that he stepped up and made these admissions,” Ward said in a telephone interview.
Mitchell had requested to meet with Pettitte during his investigation to respond to McNamee’s statements, but, according to the report, Pettitte declined that invitation.
Mitchell, through an investigation spokesman, declined to comment on Pettitte’s admission.
The Yankees and Pettitte formally agreed to a one-year, $16 million contract Wednesday.
“Late this afternoon, Andy Pettitte advised us that he would be making a public statement,” the Yankees spokesman Howard Rubenstein said Saturday night in an e-mail message. “We support his coming forward.”
McNamee’s statements to the Mitchell investigators also linked Roger Clemens and several other former Yankees to performance-enhancing drugs.
McNamee cooperated with Mitchell after federal prosecutors identified him as a client of Kirk Radomski, a former Mets clubhouse attendant who provided performance-enhancing substances to dozens of players named in Mitchell’s report. To avoid prosecution, McNamee agreed to meet with Mitchell.
Along with the details he provided about Pettitte’s use, McNamee told Mitchell’s investigators that he injected Clemens, a close friend of Pettitte’s, with steroids and H.G.H. during the 2000 and 2001 seasons.
Clemens’s lawyer has denied McNamee’s allegations.
The Houston Astros’ owner, Drayton McLane, said Saturday that he still planned to offer Clemens a personal-services contract if he decides to retire — as long as there was no hard evidence that Clemens had taken steroids.
“This is only accusations that somebody made,” McLane told The Associated Press. “That doesn’t mean he’s guilty.”
In his statement, Pettitte tried to emphasize that his use of H.G.H. was limited.
“This is it — two days out of my life; two days out of my entire career, when I was injured and on the disabled list,” Pettitte said.
Scott Boras, one of the most prominent player agents in baseball, echoed Pettitte’s statement about the difference between H.G.H. and steroids.
“Prior to 2005, a doctor had the ability to prescribe H.G.H. for recovery from injury,” said Boras, whose clients Eric Gagné, Kevin Brown, Rick Ankiel and Ron Villone were named in Mitchell’s report. “To link players who used anabolic steroids for performance enhancement with players that had allegedly used H.G.H. prior to 2005, is wrong; those drugs are from two different arenas.”
The owners and the players union agreed to testing for steroids before the 2003 season.
“They are very different and baseball’s rules towards them have been very different,” Boras said. “Medical practitioners widely used H.G.H. to assist many athletes in recovery from injury and would escalate athletes’ ability to recover.”
Boras said he would not address specific claims made against any of his former or current clients, but cited flaws in Mitchell’s report.
“It is based largely on hearsay evidence, and because of that it must be reviewed with great scrutiny,” Boras said.
Mitchell’s spokesman declined to comment on Boras’s statements.
News source ：http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/16/sports/baseball/16pettitte.html?_r=1&ref=baseball&oref=slogin
Two days after being implicated in the use of human growth hormone in George J. Mitchell’s report on performance-enhancing drugs in baseball, Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte acknowledged Saturday that he had tried the substance.
Pettitte is one of the first players named in the Mitchell report to confirm its findings.
“If what I did was an error in judgment on my part, I apologize,” Pettitte said in a statement, his first public comments since the report was released Thursday.
According to the report, Brian McNamee, Pettitte’s former trainer, told Mitchell that he injected Pettitte with human growth hormone on “two to four occasions” in 2002 while Pettitte was recovering from an elbow injury.
In a statement released by his agent, Randy Hendricks, Pettitte said he tried the human growth hormone for “two days” because he believed it would speed his recovery.
“I felt an obligation to get back to my team as soon as possible,” Pettitte said. “For this reason, and only this reason, for two days I tried human growth hormone. Though it was not against baseball rules, I was not comfortable with what I was doing, so I stopped.”
Human growth hormone was not banned by Major League Baseball until before the 2005 season, and a reliable test for H.G.H. is still not available.
Although he admitted to using H.G.H., Pettitte said he never used steroids.
“Everything else written or said about me knowingly using illegal drugs is nonsense, wrong and hurtful,” he said. “I have the utmost respect for baseball and have always tried to live my life in a way that would be honorable. I wasn’t looking for an edge; I was looking to heal.”
Pettitte had previously denied using performance-enhancing drugs. Last year, The Los Angeles Times reported that Pettitte was among the players the former Yankee Jason Grimsley said used performance-enhancing drugs in a federal affidavit.
“I haven’t done anything,” Pettitte said on Oct. 1, 2006. “I guess reports are saying I’ve used performance-enhancing drugs. I’ve never used any drugs to enhance my performance in baseball before. I don’t know what else to say except to say it’s embarrassing my name would be out there.”
Pettitte is among three players to come forward and admit to using performance-enhancing drugs since the Mitchell report was released. On Friday, during his radio show in Sacramento, F. P. Santangelo acknowledged that he took H.G.H., and Gary Bennett told The Washington Post on Friday that he used H.G.H. in 2003.
Earl Ward, McNamee’s lawyer, said that Pettitte’s statement gave credibility to the Mitchell report.
“Brian had always said that Andy was an honest and decent guy, and it doesn’t surprise us that he stepped up and made these admissions,” Ward said in a telephone interview.
Mitchell had requested to meet with Pettitte during his investigation to respond to McNamee’s statements, but, according to the report, Pettitte declined that invitation.
Mitchell, through an investigation spokesman, declined to comment on Pettitte’s admission.
The Yankees and Pettitte formally agreed to a one-year, $16 million contract Wednesday.
“Late this afternoon, Andy Pettitte advised us that he would be making a public statement,” the Yankees spokesman Howard Rubenstein said Saturday night in an e-mail message. “We support his coming forward.”
McNamee’s statements to the Mitchell investigators also linked Roger Clemens and several other former Yankees to performance-enhancing drugs.
McNamee cooperated with Mitchell after federal prosecutors identified him as a client of Kirk Radomski, a former Mets clubhouse attendant who provided performance-enhancing substances to dozens of players named in Mitchell’s report. To avoid prosecution, McNamee agreed to meet with Mitchell.
Along with the details he provided about Pettitte’s use, McNamee told Mitchell’s investigators that he injected Clemens, a close friend of Pettitte’s, with steroids and H.G.H. during the 2000 and 2001 seasons.
Clemens’s lawyer has denied McNamee’s allegations.
The Houston Astros’ owner, Drayton McLane, said Saturday that he still planned to offer Clemens a personal-services contract if he decides to retire — as long as there was no hard evidence that Clemens had taken steroids.
“This is only accusations that somebody made,” McLane told The Associated Press. “That doesn’t mean he’s guilty.”
In his statement, Pettitte tried to emphasize that his use of H.G.H. was limited.
“This is it — two days out of my life; two days out of my entire career, when I was injured and on the disabled list,” Pettitte said.
Scott Boras, one of the most prominent player agents in baseball, echoed Pettitte’s statement about the difference between H.G.H. and steroids.
“Prior to 2005, a doctor had the ability to prescribe H.G.H. for recovery from injury,” said Boras, whose clients Eric Gagné, Kevin Brown, Rick Ankiel and Ron Villone were named in Mitchell’s report. “To link players who used anabolic steroids for performance enhancement with players that had allegedly used H.G.H. prior to 2005, is wrong; those drugs are from two different arenas.”
The owners and the players union agreed to testing for steroids before the 2003 season.
“They are very different and baseball’s rules towards them have been very different,” Boras said. “Medical practitioners widely used H.G.H. to assist many athletes in recovery from injury and would escalate athletes’ ability to recover.”
Boras said he would not address specific claims made against any of his former or current clients, but cited flaws in Mitchell’s report.
“It is based largely on hearsay evidence, and because of that it must be reviewed with great scrutiny,” Boras said.
Mitchell’s spokesman declined to comment on Boras’s statements.
News source ：http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/16/sports/baseball/16pettitte.html?_r=1&ref=baseball&oref=slogin
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