Editing Mark McGwire (section)

==Steroid use==
In a 1998 article by [[Associated Press]] writer [[Steve Wilstein]], McGwire admitted to taking [[androstenedione]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Who Knew? |work=ESPN.com |date=September 11, 2005 |access-date=December 22, 2010 |url=http://www.espn.com/espn/eticket/story?num=8&page=steroids&redirected=true |archive-date=May 14, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514010101/http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=steroids&num=8 |url-status=live }}</ref> an over-the-counter muscle enhancement product that had already been banned by the [[National Football League|NFL]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Sports Section Wiggins suspended for 'andro' use; police conclude Allen investigation |url=https://www.theledger.com/story/news/1998/09/01/the-sports-section-wiggins-suspended-for-andro-use-police-conclude-allen-investigation/26524594007/ |access-date=2025-02-09 |website=The Ledger |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=staff |first=CBSNews com staff CBSNews com |date=1998-08-21 |title=Controversial Pill Part Of Mac's Diet - CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/controversial-pill-part-of-macs-diet/ |access-date=2025-02-09 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US}}</ref> and the [[International Olympic Committee|IOC]];<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite book | vauthors = Reents S | title = Sport and Exercise Pharmacology | date = 2000 | publisher = Human Kinetics | location =Champaign, Ill. | isbn = 978-0-87322-937-1 }}</ref> however, use of the substance was not prohibited by [[Major League Baseball]] at the time, and it was not federally classified as an anabolic steroid in the United States until 2004.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=108_cong_bills&docid=f:s2195enr.txt.pdf |title=WAIS Document Retrieval |access-date=July 7, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090725235620/http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=108_cong_bills |archive-date=July 25, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[Jose Canseco]] released a book, ''[[Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits & How Baseball Got Big]]'', in 2005. In it, he wrote positively about steroids and made various claims—among them, that McGwire had used performance-enhancing drugs since the 1980s and that Canseco had personally injected him with them.

In 2005, McGwire and Canseco were among 11 baseball players and executives subpoenaed to testify at a congressional hearing on steroids. During his testimony on March 17, 2005, McGwire declined to answer questions under oath when he appeared before the [[House Government Reform Committee]]. In a tearful opening statement, McGwire said:

{{Blockquote|Asking me or any other player to answer questions about who took [[steroids]] in front of television cameras will not solve the problem. If a player answers 'No,' he simply will not be believed; if he answers 'Yes,' he risks public scorn and endless government investigations&nbsp;... My lawyers have advised me that I cannot answer these questions without jeopardizing my friends, my family, and myself. I will say, however, that it remains a fact in this country that a man, any man, should be regarded as innocent unless proven guilty.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/03/17/steroids.baseball/ | work=CNN | date=March 18, 2005 | access-date=May 12, 2010 | title=CNN.com | archive-date=February 2, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210202030411/http://www.cnn.com/2005/ALLPOLITICS/03/17/steroids.baseball/ | url-status=live }}</ref>}}

On January 11, 2010, in an interview with [[Bob Costas]], McGwire admitted to [[Banned substances in baseball in the United States|using steroids]] on and off for a decade and said, "I wish I had never touched steroids. It was foolish and it was a mistake. I truly apologize. Looking back, I wish I had never played during the steroid era."<ref name="ESPNAdmission">{{Cite web |last=Weinbaum |first=Willie |date=January 11, 2010 |title=McGwire comes clean, admits steroids use |url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/news/story?id=4816607 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160123210850/http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4816607 |archive-date=January 23, 2016 |access-date=June 25, 2020 |website=[[ESPN]]|agency=[[Associated Press]]}}</ref> He admitted using them in the 1989/90 offseason and then after he was injured in 1993. He admitted using them on occasion throughout the 1990s, including during the 1998 season. McGwire said that he used steroids to recover from injuries.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/news/story?id=4849158|title=Dealer: McGwire wanted to be 'bigger'|work=ESPN.com|date=January 22, 2010|access-date=June 24, 2020|archive-date=June 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200627021634/https://www.espn.com/mlb/news/story?id=4849158|url-status=live}}</ref>

McGwire's decision to admit using steroids was prompted by his decision to become hitting coach of the St. Louis Cardinals. According to McGwire, he took steroids for health reasons rather than to improve performance.<ref name="NYTimes" />

Despite his admission of steroid use, McGwire was criticized for refusing to acknowledge that his record-setting home run output in the late 1990s was aided by steroids. <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/espn/commentary/news/story?id=4818450|title=McGwire still not taking responsibility|work=ESPN.com|first=Tim|last=Keown|date=January 12, 2010|access-date=May 12, 2025}}</ref> Bob Costas said he was "surprised" that although he gave McGwire multiple opportunities to do so, McGwire was never able to make this admission.  <ref name="GBens">{{cite web |last1=Bensinger |first1=Graham |title=Bob Costas: Mark McGwire’s steroids admission omission|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-I_oKXzO8Qg|website=youtube.com |publisher=grahambensinger.com |language=en |format=video |date= February 23, 2022|access-date=May 12, 2025}}</ref> Costas said:
{{Blockquote|I kept trying to gently suggest that, couldn't you see that even though you were a powerful hitter...couldn't you see that you were even better than you had been? Couldn't you see the cluster of Sammy Sosa seasons, Barry Bonds seasons, guys with 18 home runs all of a sudden hitting 45 home runs, can't you see a correlation here?  And he could never acknowledge it. i don't think he's being consciously dishonest, I think he's convinced that that is the truth [that he would have hit the same number of home runs with or without steroids]. But at least he's acknowledged something [taking steroids].  Almost nobody else has acknowledged it. <ref name="GBens" />}}