Jose Canseco: Mark McGwire STILL Lying About Steroids
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Jose Canseco says Mark McGwire is still lying about his use of steroids and his former manager Tony La Russa isn't telling the truth either.
McGwire admitted Monday that he used steroids for a decade, including when he hit 70 homers in 1998, but denied Canseco's claims that he injected himself and McGwire with steroids in bathroom stalls.
"I've defended Mark, I know a lot of good things about him," Canseco told ESPN 1000 radio in Chicago on Tuesday. "I can't believe he just called me a a liar. Umm, there's something very strange going on here.
"I even polygraphed that I injected him, and I passed it completely. So I want to challenge him on national TV to a polygraph examination. I want to see him call me a liar under a polygraph examination."
In Canseco's 2005 book, "Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits, and How Baseball Got Big," Canseco claimed he introduced McGwire and other stars to steroids and performance-enhancing drugs. He wrote about injecting himself and McGwire in bathroom stalls, and how the effects of the drugs were the reason he hit 462 career home runs.
Canseco and McGwire helped lead the Athletics to a World Series sweep in 1989.
"Jose is out there doing what he's doing, but I'm not going to stoop down to his level," McGwire told ESPN on Tuesday. "None of that stuff happened. He knows it. I know it. I'm not going to stoop down to that level."
La Russa was McGwire's manager for nearly all of his 16-year career in both Oakland and St. Louis. He was also his fiercest defender, especially after The Associated Press reported McGwire used androstenedione during his record-breaking season in '98. Andro, as it was known, was made a controlled substance until 2004, when it also was banned by baseball.
The manager said he didn't know until Monday that McGwire used steroids.
"That's a blatant lie," Canseco said. "There are some things here that are so ridiculous, and so disrespectful for the public and the media to believe. I just can't believe it. I'm in total shock. These guys remind me of politicians that go up and just lie to the public and expect to get elected."
McGwire, who retired in 2001, had been widely ridiculed since he evaded questions before a congressional committee five years ago, repeatedly saying he wasn't there to address his past. His confession was sparked by the Cardinals' decision in October to hire him as hitting coach.
Canseco has said he is considering filing a class-action lawsuit against Major League Baseball and the players' association. He says he's been ostracized for going public with tales of steroids use in the sport.
"I've proved it. I'm 100 percent accurate," he told the radio station. "I never exaggerate, I told it the way it actually happened. I'm the only one who told it the way it actually happened."
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The Associated Press 01/13/10 01:40 AM ET Associated Press