You and all baseball or Cubs fans remember the doping controversy around Sammy Sosa. If you have seen the show ‘Long Gone Summer’ then you already know how Sosa almost admitted to using drugs. However, Sosa denies steroid use until now. He now claims that people misquoted and misinterpreted him. Sosa also questioned the ability of people to derive inferences from his words.
Despite almost admitting to drug use in Long Gone Summer which aired on ESPN, he denies using drugs. The 30-for-30 aired on ESPN on June 14 with Sosa almost admitting taking performance-enhancing steroids. Subsequently, on June 15 Sosa flipped on his own comments in an interview by Sports Talk Live with David Kaplan.
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Sammy Sosa Denies Steroid Use
Sammy Sosa says that English is his second language so he is unable to convey his thoughts properly. Hence, Sosa claims that the confusion is just due to a language and communication barrier. Kaplan asked him about how Cubs owners asked him to admit to using performance-enhancing steroids. To this, Sosa said that everyone did it at that time so the why are the cubs worrying about him so much. Sosa was referring to his era which was called the ‘Steroid Era’ due to rampant drug use.
Sosa’s fans on twitter see his defensive retort as admission to using steroids. Sosa clarifies that he means nothing else from his words apart from exactly what he said. He says that people should stop implying what he means because he means nothing. Sosa has categorically stated that he wasn’t implying anything and that he never used steroids.
Never found Positive
Sosa says that throughout his career he was never found positive for steroids during dope tests. He says that he was not once found positive. Sosa informed Kaplan than all he wanted to say that everyone has personal issues in Baseball. He also informed Kaplan that nobody on his team wanted to play with him.
Mark McGwire has confessed 10 years ago to using performance-enhancing steroids during his baseball career. Sosa defended himself saying that just because Mark confessed doesn’t mean that he needs to stand trial too. In 2005, Sosa said that he never used steroids even in front of the congress. The bone of contention is that in 2003, he was amongst the 104 players who were positive in MLB’s survey. A New York Times report put out in 2009 supports this. People believed that after the new documentary, Sosa might finally admit to using steroids. However, it is obvious that Sosa is sticking to his stance of never using drugs.
Final Thoughts
Sosa in the interview informs Kaplan that he is one of those who always stays on the right side of things. He said that he fights to make sure his name remains clear and that nobody accuses him of using steroids. You will have to come to a nuanced conclusion regarding this. Some evidence suggests that Sosa used drugs but he denies it.
