Pettitte admits to HGH use

By on December 15th, 2007 6:24 PM
This entry was posted on Saturday, December 15th, 2007 at 6:24 pm and is filed under Baseball, Yankees Rumors & News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

In a shocking admission of guilt, Andy Pettitte released a statement today confirming the incriminating information revealed by former trainer Brian McNamee in the Mitchell Report – that in 2002, McNamee had injected Pettitte while the pitcher attempted to return from an elbow injury.

Via ESPN.com:

pettitte_steroids.jpgPettitte said he tried HGH on two occasions, stressing he did it to heal faster and not enhance his performance. He emphasized he never used steroids.

“If what I did was an error in judgment on my part, I apologize,” Pettitte said Saturday in a statement released by his agent. “I accept responsibility for those two days.”
…
“In 2002 I was injured. I had heard that human growth hormone could promote faster healing for my elbow,” Pettitte said in the statement released to The Associated Press by agent Randy Hendricks.

“I felt an obligation to get back to my team as soon as possible. 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.

“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,” he said. “I wasn’t looking for an edge. I was looking to heal.”

Pettitte was not linked to steroids in the report, and said he never had never used them.

“I have the utmost respect for baseball and have always tried to live my life in a way that would be honorable,” he said. “If I have let down people that care about me, I am sorry, but I hope that you will listen to me carefully and understand that two days of perhaps bad judgment should not ruin a lifetime of hard work and dedication.

“I have tried to do things the right way my entire life, and, again, ask that you put those two days in the proper context. People that know me will know that what I say is true,” he said.

I openly admit, I am not a Yankee fan, and in fact, hate the franchise, however, I think fans should applaud a high profile player like Pettitte for standing up and facing the consequences for what he’s done. His admission makes the statements by players such as David Justice and Roger Clemens seem all the more cowardly. In particular, this development delivers a harsh blow to the credibility of Clemens. So much so that one has to wonder if their friendship can endure.

There are currently 4 responses to “Pettitte admits to HGH use”

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  1. 1 On December 15th, 2007, Steve said:

    Nice of him to admit it but I still don’t buy it. Nice bit of PR work Though. “I just used it 2 times” Sure kid. They all seem to use this for medical purposes excuse. I have never heard of a doctor giving HGH for elbow injuries. I call BS. But his people are doing a great job of spinning this. I give Giambi props for just being a man and coming clean.

  2. 2 On December 15th, 2007, Sara said:

    Steve, I couldn’t agree more. Although, who knows? Maybe HGH means Healing Growth Hormone, right? These guys are cowards, they have been making millions of dollars off adoring and loyal fans, and they are turning out to be frauds. Something has to be done about that, and if anyone has issues with the punishment aspect, please contact Pete Rose, he can probably explain it best.
    Two times my arse!!!

  3. 3 On December 16th, 2007, Marc said:

    It’s better to confess than hide it.

    Nice picture! Hehe.

  4. 4 On December 16th, 2007, gozer said:

    i’m inclined to take pettitte at his word. his comments are consistent with those given by the trainer – that he only injected andy a couple of times before he got cold feet. i think it’s admirable that he’s come clean here, especially since he’s basically throwing his best friend under the bus. there doesn’t appear to be any evidence against clemens or pettitte besides McNamee’s word, so both could’ve easily denied the charges and backed each other up. instead pettitte’s basically told roger he’s on his own.

    don’t forget, you can chime in on this discussion in our new online forum! check it out.

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