Alex Rodriguez once opened up about feeling 'the weight of the world' on him which induced him to use PEDs

On Feb 7, 2009 Sports Illustrated reported that Alex Rodriguez had tested positive for PEDs. After the scandal broke about the star taking illegal substances to improve his performances, many MLB fans were disappointed in the player.

However, Rodriguez was quick to give an interview to let everyone know what his thought process was during the time he took the drugs. In a 2009 interview with ESPN, A-Rod spoke about what led him to take steroids.

Alex Rodriguez said the following:

"When I arrived in Texas in 2001, I felt like I had all the weight of the world on top of me and I needed to perform, and perform at a high level every day. Back then, [baseball] was a different culture. It was very loose. I was young. I was stupid. I was naive."

The New York Yankees legend continued by saying:

"And I wanted to prove to everyone that I was worth being one of the greatest players of all time."

Although Rodriguez's admission of taking PEDs could be considered brave, back then there was more backlash than anything. Former president Barack Obama described the admission as depressing. Tom Hicks, the owner of the Texas Rangers, said that he felt betrayed by Rodriguez. Other players also reacted to his comments.

When Derek Jeter revealed how he really felt about Alex Rodriguez's statements about taking PEDs

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When Alex Rodriguez admitted to taking steroids, he talked about how the culture was different back then. He indirectly stated that every player was involved with PEDs at the time.

Even now, the sentiment that the era was different and that everybody was taking some kind of PED is believed. However, Derek Jeter said that those statements were just not true.

Jeter disagreed with Alex Rodriguez's statement of the culture being different and said the following:

"One thing that is irritating and it really upsets me a lot is when you hear everybody say, 'It was the steroid era. Everybody was doing it.' You know, that's not true. Everybody was not doing it," he told reporters following a team workout.

"I think it sends the wrong message to fans, to baseball fans. I think it sends the wrong message to kids, saying that everybody was doing it, because that's just not the truth.

"I understand there's a lot of people who are big-name players that have come out and allegedly done this and done that, but everybody wasn't doing it."

Jeter made it clear that he did not agree with his former teammates' statements. He then went ahead to express his frustrations about attending the press conference that followed Alex Rodriguez's admission to taking PEDs.

PEDs marred the reputations of many of the greatest players of that era and most regret taking them.