New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez made an unexpected visit to 500 students at a Baltimore County school to deliver an anti-steroid message Tuesday, months after admitting publicly that he used performance-enhancing drugs earlier in his career.
At the time of his admission, Rodriguez vowed to turn his past transgressions into a positive lesson for young athletes and he apparently is attempting to uphold that promise by discreetly speaking to select students this season. It's under the agreement, however, that the talks are not covered by the media.
After previously addressing groups in New York City and Texas, he presented his anti-steroids message at Milford Mill Academy on Tuesday, hours before Rodriguez's Yankees played the Orioles at Camden Yards.
He talked for about 10 minutes and answered several questions from Milford Mill athletes, who did not know the identity of their guest speaker until shortly before the three-time American League Most Valuable Player stepped to the podium.
"When I sat down, they asked me a question about, 'Who do you know who's a big star who took steroids?'" said Tyrek Cheeseboro, a Milford Mill senior and football captain. "I was going over names, and I said, 'A-Rod.'"
Prior to Tuesday night's game, Rodriguez declined to discuss the specifics of the morning assembly.
"One of the things I said in spring training is I wanted to turn a negative into a positive, and I meant that," said Rodriguez, who has admitted to using steroids from 2001 to 2003 while with the Texas Rangers. "And then the other thing I kind of vowed to myself is I wanted to play more and talk less. So that's that."
In partnership with Don Hooton, perhaps the best-known anti-steroids advocate in the country and co-founder of the Taylor Hooton Foundation, Rodriguez has been speaking to students twice a month for the past three months, without advance promotion.
The media was informed about Tuesday's event by a news release from St. Joseph Medical Center's Powered By Me!, an anti-steroid initiative that sponsored a similar talk in 2007 by Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts, who also has admitted to using steroids.
In his address to the students, Rodriguez mentioned his steroid use and the freedom that has come with discussing it publicly.
"I am here today simply because I made a mistake," Rodriguez said, according to a transcript provided by Powered By Me! "Now, how many of you here have made a mistake? Well, I'm here because I made a mistake, and one of my missions in life is to turn a negative into a positive.
"And to actually tell the truth, it feels pretty darn good and liberating. It is very important to me professionally and spiritually. At the end of the day when we look into the mirror, we learn from our mistakes, it's something we should feel proud of and become a better version of ourselves."
Rodriguez, according to Powered By Me!, opened his remarks with the following: "As a kid, my favorite player was Cal Ripken Jr. Has anyone here heard of him?"
His opening line followed a "hush" from the crowd when Rodriguez's name was announced, according to athletic director Joseph A. Sargent.
"It was kind of a surprise," said senior LaTasha Dunston, 17, who plays volleyball and basketball, and runs track and field. "You wouldn't expect for him to be as humble about the situation. ... It was good because not only is he a really good role model, he's a good role model that messed up and is willing to turn around."
Milford Mill principal Nathaniel J. Gibson and Sargent kept Rodriguez's appearance a secret for about a month.
"It was tough," Sargent said. "We wanted to have a nice surprise for our athletes."
Also speaking Tuesday was Hooton, who rose to national prominence in March 2005 when he testified before the U.S. congressional panel on performance-enhancing drugs in sports. Hooton's foundation was established to honor his 17-year-old son, a high school athlete in Plano, Texas, who abused performance-enhancing drugs and eventually committed suicide in 2003.
Rodriguez and Hooton have been working together for several months, appearing together at each of Rodriguez's talks.
The Baltimore appearance was spurred by Congressman Elijah Cummings, a co-sponsor of Powered By Me! and a vocal opponent of performance-enhancing drugs who suggested in February that Rodriguez tell his story before a congressional panel, but he never did.
Cummings had since extended an invitation for Rodriguez to speak at one of the organization's programs, and the two met for several minutes Tuesday before Rodriguez's talk.
"During our conversation, he said he would go for the rest of his life trying to make sure young people did not get involved in banned substances, that it was his duty as a role model to do that," Cummings said. "I really felt that he was very sincere, and I think I'm pretty good at reading folks. I think he feels a little sense of embarrassment over what happened."
Gibson believes Rodriguez's presentation resonated with his students.
"The powerful thing about it was he took time," said Gibson, who wore a black pinstripe suit as a nod to the Yankee. "Being a star of his caliber, just to take time to come back and tell his story and be a witness for our students to not make the same mistake, and to educate them ... was a powerful message."
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Originally Posted by The Korean
