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In August 2009, ahead of Boston Red Sox veteran David Ortiz's press conference at Yankee Stadium to address his failed PED test, New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez empathized with Ortiz's situation. Ortiz was one of the 104 players in the league who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003.
Back then, Rodriguez was able to resonate with Ortiz's emotions because he had been in a similar situation just six months prior in February 2009.
Ahead of Big Papi's 2009 press conference, Alex Rodriguez said:
"I've been there, done that and lived it. Whatever he did, I hope he feels better about it, because I certainly did once I had my press conference."
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"QUICK: what's going to get more press on the nightly news - Sotomayor's confirmation, or a David Ortiz steroid press conference?" - @Courtney Fallon
Later, during the press conference, David Ortiz vehemently denied ever using steroids and attributed his 2003 positive test to over-the-counter supplements.
David Ortiz was unaware of banned substances in the over-the-counter supplements he took in the early 2000s
Rodriguez confessed to using performance-enhancing drugs during his press conference in February 2009. However, David Ortiz asserted that he was unaware of any prohibited drugs in the over-the-counter supplements he took.
In his statement in August 2009, David Ortiz said:
"I definitely was a little bit careless back in those days when I was buying supplements and vitamins over the counter — legal supplements, legal vitamins over the counter — but I never buy steroids or used steroids. I never thought buying supplements and vitamins was going to hurt anybody’s feelings. If it happened, I’m sorry about that.
"I’m not here to make any excuses or anything. I used a lot of supplements and vitamins. I even had companies sending me supplements back then. I never used or buy any steroids. I want to apologize to the fans for the distraction to my teammates, our manager."
"Extra Bases blog: Ortiz says he 'never used steroids', but acknowledged he was 'careless' with supplements." - @Boston.com Red Sox News
Ortiz went on to play for seven more years and finally retired from the MLB at 40 in 2016. In July 2022, Ortiz was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame with 77.9% of the vote.
