Major League Baseball

MLB granted A-Rod permission to take testosterone in '07

Published Jul. 2, 2014 4:45 p.m. ET

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Some interesting information came to light Wednesday as a new book revealed that Alex Rodriguez was given permission from Major League Baseball to use performance-enhancing drugs.

The book "Blood Sport: Alex Rodriguez, Biogenesis and the Quest to End Baseball's Steroid Era" by Tim Elfrink and Gus Garcia-Roberts, which had excerpts published in Sports Illustrated, detailed how A-Rod applied for a therapeutic use exemption (TUE) for the use of substances banned by MLB.

This process is part of baseball's performance-enhancing drug policy. Basically, an expert medical panel will advise a mutually agreed upon doctor who will review every application for a TUE, and if an exemption is granted, the player can't be punished for use of the drug. Exemptions are good for only one year.

Prior to A-Rod's 2007 MVP season, he requested a TUE for testosterone which has been a banned substance since 2003. The request was approved two days before the slugger arrived at spring training. This means that throughout the entire season, in which Rodriguez hit 54 homers and 156 RBI, and slashed a .314/.422/.645 line, he did so while having permission from MLB to use an anabolic steroid. After the '07 season, Rodriguez signed a 10-year $275 million agreement with the Yankees.

After scoring his big contract in December of 2007, A-Rod continued to apply for exemptions, including two in January of 2008. Sports Illustrated detailed the following:

Rodriguez wanted to use clomiphene citrate (Clomid), a drug designed to increase fertility in women. It is also prescribed to men who suffer from hypogonadism -— a testosterone deficiency — to block the production of estrogen in their bodies. The drug is popular with bodybuilders at the end of steroid cycles because it can also stimulate the body to make more testosterone.

Rodriguez also requested permission to use human chorionic gonadotropin, a hormone known as HCG, popularly — and misguidedly — used for weight loss and also to produce testosterone. Both HCG and clomiphene citrate were banned with the 2008 season.

A-Rod was granted the use of the clomiphene citrate, becoming one of only three major leaguers allowed to take drugs that increased testosterone levels that year.

In light of the revealing news, MLB released a statement:

All decisions regarding whether a player shall receive a therapeutic use exemption (TUE) under the Joint Drug Program are made by the Independent Program Administrator (IPA) in consultation with outside medical experts, with no input by either the Office of the Commissioner or the Players Association. The process is confidentially administered by the IPA, and MLB and the MLBPA are not even made aware of which players applied for TUEs.

The TUE process under the Joint Drug Program is comparable to the process under the World Anti-Doping Code. The standard for receiving a TUE for a medication listed as a performance-enhancing substance is stringent, with only a few such TUEs being issued each year by the IPA. MLB and the MLBPA annually review the TUE process to make sure it meets the most up-to-date standards for the issuance of TUEs.

As recommended by the Mitchell Report, since 2008 MLB and the MLBPA have publicly issued the IPA's annual report, which documents how many TUEs were granted for each category of medication. We believe this high level of transparency helps to ensure the proper operation of the TUE process.

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