For Big Mac, there's good news, and there's bad news.
First, the bad news: he probably won't be going to Cooperstown.
On the bright side, he probably isn't going to jail either.
In not-so-shocking news, former St. Louis Cardinal first baseman (and current Cardinal hitting coach) Mark McGwire came clean yesterday, admitting in a statement to the Associated Press that he used steroids on and off for nearly a decade, including during his magical 1998 season when he and slugger Sammy Sosa's historic home-run chase captivated the nation. McGwire also admitted to using human growth hormone during his career. While the scores of sports writers who opted not to expose the obvious influx of steroid-use at its peak in the 1990s continue to demonize the very athletes they formerly praised as icons, very few have taken the time to evaluate the legal aspect of the situation.
McGwire testified before the Committee on Government Reform of the House of Representatives on March 17, 2005, where he declined to answer questions about whether he used steroids during his career in Major League Baseball. When questioned about his suspected use, McGwire neither confirmed nor denied using performance-enhancing drugs, claiming his lawyers had advised him not to answer such questions and instead repeating the line "I'm not here to talk about the past."
Though McGwire's behavior did little to improve his credibility in the eyes of baseball fans, it should be enough to help him avoid any perjury charges. Perjury requires knowingly lying under oath, and by avoiding the issue, McGwire avoided committing the crime. McGwire said he then sought immunity, which would have allowed him to implicate himself without the risk of being prosecuted, but Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez decided the privilege wasn't justified.
Last night, McGwire was interviewed by Bob Costas on the MLB Network, claiming that after failing to get immunity, he had little choice but to opt not to talk about his past steroid-use while under oath:
"Our lawyers were down there trying to get immunity for me. I wanted to talk. I wanted to get this off my chest. Well, we didn't get immunity. Here I was in a situation where I had two scenarios: Possible prosecution or possible grand-jury testimonies. Well you know what happens when there's a possible prosecution? You bring in [your whole family, your friends...]...anybody around you. How the heck am I going to bring those people in for some stupid act that I did? So you know what I did? We agreed not to talk about the past. And it was not enjoyable to do that [...] But I had to do what I had to do to protect myself, to protect my family and to protect my friends. Anybody who was in my shoes that had those scenarios set out in front of them would have done the same exact thing."
The full transcript of the interview can be found here.
Even if McGwire had denied using steroids while under oath, he'd probably be in the clear regarding any potential perjury charges at this point. Under Title 18 of the U.S. Code (Section 1001), there's a five-year statute of limitations for federal perjury charges, meaning that McGwire would have to face perjury charges by March 17, 2010 for any statements made during his 2005 Congressional apperance. The amount of evidence the government would be able to gather for a potential indictment by then is unclear, though there are some other former players who would probably be of some assistance. Just today, McGwire's former teammate Jose Canseco claimed the two injected each other with steroids while with the Oakland Athletics between 1986 and 1992. Canseco has accused McGwire and several other players of steroid use multiple times in the past, even writing two books on the issue.
If McGwire had told the truth regarding his steroid use, he could have theoretically faced criminal charges under the Anabolic Steroid Control Act. Enacted in 1990, the Act criminalized non-medical use of anabolic steroids. However, several prominent athletes have admitted to performance-enhancing drug use since then, and none have been prosecuted under the Act. (The Act was amended in 2004 to further clarify the definition of anabolic steroids.)
Telling the truth would have likely aided federal authorities in their investigation of the steroid issue in recent years, though that probably would have meant revealing the steroid habits of friends and teammates. Despite his efforts, McGwire's legacy has been heavily tarnished within the baseball world. Though he hit 583 home runs during his 16-year career, McGwire has fallen far short of being elected to the Hall of Fame in his four years of eligibility, appearing on only 23.7 percent of the Baseball Writers Association of America's ballots in the 2010 voting (to be elected, players must appear on 75 percent of the ballots).
Partially to attempt to improve the former-All-Star's image, Cardinal manager Tony La Russa hired McGwire as the team's hitting coach in October. It is believed the organization wanted McGwire to address his steroid issue before the team begins spring training next month.
There was no official MLB policy regarding steroid use before 2002, and use of performance-enhancing drugs is widely speculated to have been rampant during the 1990s and the early 2000s. Heightened suspicions and allegations lead to testing, which has become gradually stricter throughout the last decade. After between five and seven percent of players tested positive during random drug tests in 2003, new policies were instituted in 2004 and then again in 2005. Banned substances currently include steroids, steroid precursors, masking agents and diuretics. Random testing is done throughout the offseason, and every player faces an unannounced test at least once each year. First-time offenders face 50-game unpaid suspensions, while third-time offenders face a lifetime suspension from MLB.
Vermont Law professor Michael McCann breaks down these and related McGwire legal issues in greater detail over at SI.com.
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