Sports

SELIG, FEHR SPEAK AT STEROIDS HEARING

WASHINGTON — Three years after exposing Mark McGwire, a congressional committee is now targeting Miguel Tejada. And Roger Clemens is on deck.

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.), the leaders of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, announced today they have asked the Department of Justice to investigate whether Tejada lied to the committee in 2005 about using steroids.

Tejada, now an Astro, was interviewed as part of the committee’s perjury investigation of Rafael Palmeiro. Tejada told the committee he never used steroids, but evidence in the Mitchell Report, released last month, contradicts that.

The announcement by Waxman was made at the beginning of today’s hearing. The rest of the 4-½ hour hearing was mundane and featured none of the fireworks of the March 17, 2005 gathering held by the same committee at which McGwire famously repeated, “I’m not hear to talk about the past.”

The committee will hold another hearing Feb. 13 that will feature testimony from Clemens and his former trainer, Brian McNamee, who has accused Clemens of steroid use. It also will include Andy Pettitte, Chuck Knoblauch and Kirk Radomski, the former Mets clubhouse employee turned steroid dealer.

The other highlights of today’s hearing:

* Former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell was the first to testify. He repeated many of the things stated in his report. He did, however, reiterate his belief in McNamee’s testimony about Clemens. Clemens has vehemently denied McNamee’s charges that he injected Clemens with performance-enhancing drugs. Mitchell cited Pettitte’s confirmation of McNamee’s allegations against him and the fact that McNamee faced jail time if he lied.

“Mr. McNamee had an overwhelming incentive to tell the truth,” Mitchell told the panel.

* Rep. John Tierney (D-Mass.) cited documents the committee obtained from Major League Baseball that show the number of therapeutic-use exemptions (TUE) rose dramatically in 2007. MLB issues a TUE to a player who has a medical condition that requires him to use a banned substance.

Tierney pointed out that more players seem to be getting them, mainly because of attention deficit disorder. In 2006, 35 players had a TUE, 28 because of ADD. This year, 111 players had a TUE, 103 of those were because of ADD.

Commissioner Bud Selig and union leader Donald Fehr each said players need to go through two doctors to get a TUE, but Selig admitted he is reviewing why the number rose so much this year.

“This is one that needs to be dissected,” Selig said.

* Selig said he is considering punishment for players named in the report, as well as team executives who were implicated by Mitchell.

Waxman named Giants general manager Brian Sabean and owner Peter Magowan specifically for not reporting suspicions they had about Barry Bonds and his personal trainer, Greg Anderson.

Selig said he is reviewing the cases.

“It’s a point that is of great concern to me,” Selig said.

* Fehr was pressed about why players did not cooperate with Mitchell’s investigation. Fehr said there were several reasons, including not being allowed due process and the fear their testimony could wind up in the hands of federal investigators with open steroid investigations. Fehr also said players should have received detailed notice from Mitchell about what had been alleged. Mitchell was willing to provide that only if a player first agreed to be interviewed.