-
Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees - Source: Getty Images -
Related
Alex Rodriguez initially believed using performance-enhancing drugs would give him an energy boost, the scandal-scarred New York Yankees slugger said on Wednesday.
Rodriguez told a packed news conference at the Yankees training facility that he and his cousin began taking the drugs in 2001.
"My cousin would administer it to me but neither of us knew how to use it properly, proving just how ignorant we both were," Rodriguez said.
"It was at this point we decided to take it twice a month for about six months during the 2001, 2002 and 2003 seasons."
In an interview with ESPN last week, the 33-year-old created a firestorm when he admitted had used performance-enhancing drugs from 2001-2003 when he played for the Texas Rangers.
His comments came in response to a report in Sports Illustrated that he had been one of 104 players who had tested positive in a confidential doping survey in 2003.
Rodriguez said his cousin got the drugs over-the-counter in the Dominican Republic, adding that it was his cousin's "understanding" that it would give Rodriguez "a dramatic energy boost and was otherwise harmless."
"We consulted no one and had no good reason to base that decision. It was pretty evident that we didn't know what we were doing," Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez, baseball's highest paid player, said he and his cousin, whom he did not identify, did everything they could to keep the drug-use to themselves.
"I stopped taking it in 2003 and haven't taken it since," he said.
