Steroids in Baseball - Congressional Testimony of Mark McGwire

"My lawyers have advised me that I cannot answer these questions without jeopardizing my friends, my family, or myself," Mr. McGwire said in his opening statement, choking up and appearing close to tears, before a House committee investigating steroid use in baseball.

"Are you taking the Fifth?" Mr. Cummings demanded.
"I'm not here to discuss the past," Mr. McGwire responded. "I'm here to be positive about this subject.""Are you taking the Fifth?" Mr. Cummings demanded.
"I'm not here to discuss the past," Mr. McGwire responded. "I'm here to be positive about this subject."

Representative William Lacy Clay, Democrat of Missouri, said: "Mr. McGwire, we are both fathers of young children. Both my son and daughter love sports and they look up to stars like you. Can we look at those children with a straight face and tell them that great players like you play the game with honesty and integrity?"
Mr. McGwire replied, "Like I said earlier, I'm not going to go into the past and talk about my past."

Mr. McHenry asked the baseball players if using steroids was cheating. "That's not for me to determine," Mr. McGwire replied. Mr. McHenry persisted: "For you, is it cheating? Yes or no." Mr. McGwire repeated, "That's not for me to determine."Mr. McHenry asked the baseball players if using steroids was cheating. "That's not for me to determine," Mr. McGwire replied. Mr. McHenry persisted: "For you, is it cheating? Yes or no." Mr. McGwire repeated, "That's not for me to determine."

Come on, Mr. McGwire. It's an easy question. If steroid use in major league baseball has already been determined to be illegal, why would it not be cheating? In other words, Mr. McGwire, it wasn't cheating in your heart and mind. But it's not too late. You still have time to become a true hero. And you don't have to be juiced to succeed. All you need is a clear conscience.