Little Leaguers stand by Mac, not pills
Posted: Tuesday August 25, 1998 09:17 PM
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McGwire says that everything he takes is natural AP |
WILLIAMSPORT, Pennsylvania (AP) -- At the Little League World Series, the
players still idolize Mark McGwire
but aren't ready to start swallowing performance-enhancing pills.
"I think he's strong enough already, so I don't think he should be
getting any extra help," said R.J. Johansen, a 12-year-old outfielder from
Toms River, New Jersey.
When asked if he would take androstenedione, the testosterone-producing
pill that McGwire is using, Johansen drew the line.
"I don't think I would, 'cause they're mostly like drugs," said Johansen,
who listed McGwire as his favorite ballplayer on an ESPN survey taken
before the World Series.
For more than a year, McGwire has been using androstenedione, which is
legal in major league baseball but banned in the NFL, the Olympics and the
NCAA.
McGwire says that everything he takes is natural. But the drug's ability
to raise levels of the male hormone, which builds lean muscle mass and
promotes recovery after injury, is seen by some outside baseball as
cheating and potentially dangerous.
A few parents here agreed.
"Would I want my son to take any of that stuff? Absolutely not," said Dee
Dee Johansen, R.J.'s mother. "How do they know whether this stuff will be
safe five, 10, 15 years down the road? Is winning that important?"
"Everything's got to be natural," said Bill Frank, a high school baseball
coach and father of Toms River player Brad Frank, a McGwire devotee. "If
you dedicate yourself to a sport, you don't need any drugs. Old-fashioned
hard work makes you better."
Brad apparently is listening.
"To me, it's stupid. It can be unhealthy, No. 1. It can hurt you in the
future. And it's not natural," the youth said.
Despite their reservations, both Ms. Johansen and Bill Frank acknowledged
that McGwire isn't doing anything illegal.
"Am I disappointed? Yes, because he could do without it," Ms. Johansen
said. "But not enough to say he's not a good role model."
The news didn't sway Toms River infielder Joe Franceschini.
"He's still my favorite," he said. "He's a great player."
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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