Multiple sources confirmed to The Post that the Yankees’ Robinson Cano has not failed a test for illegal performance-enhancing drugs, contradicting a Twitter dispatch by some Charlotte, N.C., television dimwit named Dan Tordjman.
At roughly 1:00 Thursday afternoon, Tordjman — who describes himself in his Twitter page as “a keen observer of NY sports, horse racing and all things Depeche Mode” — tweeted, “Can’t confirm this but I’m hearing that Robinson Cano tested positive for PEDs. Announcement from MLB coming shortly.”
No such announcement came, and none will be coming any time soon. Cano has not failed a test. He is not in the appeals process. There’s nothing happening.
Roughly an hour after he first stirred the pot, Tordjman — a passionate Mets fan, according to his page on the WSOC website — dove for cover, tweeting, “Take a deep breath folks. I stated I ‘could not confirm’ the Cano PED report. Just a rumor. Stay tuned.” And then, an hour after that: “Good God. Everyone calm down. Don’t know how clearly I can state it — I HAVE NO CONFIRMATION THAT CANO PED RUMOR IS TRUE.”
Quality journalism, eh? Such garbage makes a victim out of Cano, the Yankees’ second baseman.
Tordjman could not be reached for comment.
“It’s an aspect of our game,” Scott Boras, Cano’s representative, told The Post’s George King. “Players should not be subject to rumor and innuendo on their integrity. Robinson is a player of great integrity and what a major-league player is all about.”
It makes no difference that Cano is good friends with Melky Cabrera, the former Yankees outfielder who is currently serving a 50-game suspension for his failed test while with the Giants. It wouldn’t matter if Cano took a test Thursday and came up positive. Nor would it be relevant if Cano has found a chemist with a system-beating substance.
All that counts is that Cano found himself as the center of a wholly debunked rumor, one that could impact his reputation and, therefore, his future earning power. And there’s no way to justify that.
Yankees officials, having received assurances from Major League Baseball that Cano doesn’t have a case pending, were livid, understandably. They’re locked into a thrilling race with stunning Baltimore for the American League East title. They don’t need any energy diverted from that cause, especially for something so insipid.
The existence of drug-testing in baseball — undoubtedly a positive development — has created a steady rumor stream about players’ cases being in the hopper. The stream gains strength each time such scuttlebutt proves true, as was the case first with Ryan Braun (who ultimately prevailed in his appeal) and then with Cabrera.
But to throw out such slop on Twitter and then quickly back off it is not journalism. It’s a lethal combination of egotism and cowardice.
Professional sports never will be even remotely rid of cheating. The stakes are too high, and the athletes are too competitive. We have to accept that as reality. Those who fail the tests are as guilty of stupidity as they are of dishonesty. You’d have to be terribly naïve to think that, as we sit here, there aren’t chemists working on new ways to beat the tests.
Yet that doesn’t merit zealotry to find the offenders at all costs. We can’t brand someone as a drug cheat unless, you know, he or she is actually caught.
Here’s hoping this Cano fiasco will make wannabe journalists think twice before throwing something on the sandbox for adults that is Twitter — which is a wonderful tool when used responsibly. Here’s hoping, however much in vain, that not a single person takes Tordjman’s words and decides, “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.” There’s no smoke.
OK, let’s return now to the pennant race. We’ll let you know when Dan Tordjman apologizes for wasting everyone’s time and for impugning Robinson Cano’s good name. That might take a while, though.