HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — After years of denial, Mark McGwire has finally admitted to using steroids during the course of his storied baseball career.
"It's very emotional, it's telling family members, friends and coaches, you know, it's former teammates to try to get a hold of, you know, that I'm coming clean and being honest," he told the Associated Press. "It's the first time they've ever heard me, you know, talk about this. I hid it from everybody."
McGwire has stayed out of the spotlight since 2005 when refused to discuss allegations that he used steroids during a Congressional hearing on the topic. On Monday, he confessed that he used steroids on and off for nearly a decade, including his historic 1998 season when he established a since-broken record of 70 home runs in a season.
"You don't know that you'll ever have to talk about the skeleton in your closet on a national level," he told AP. "I did this for health purposes. There's no way I did this for any type of strength use."
"I wish I had never played during the steroid era," he added.
There has been speculation that McGwire would confess to using steroids ever since October when he signed on as the St. Louis Cardinals' new hitting coach.
"I never knew when, but I always knew this day would come," he said. "It's time for me to talk about the past and to confirm what people have suspected."
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