Friday, November 22, 2013

Mariano Rivera on A-Rod's behavior: 'I would have done it too'

He might not be one of the first major leaguers you would expect to come to Alex Rodriguez's defense but Mariano Rivera professed support for his embattled former Yankees teammate and said he would have defended himself the same way if a similar situation had it ever developed.

"I would have done it, too," Rivera said Thursday during a ceremony in New York City to rename a section of Broadway "Mariano Rivera Way" for one day. "Everybody has to defend themselves. In a situation like that, it's hard. We're still human beings.

"He has a right to defend himself, that's all I can tell you."


Rodriguez is currently embroiled in a battle with Major League Baseball, which has levied a 211-game suspension against the third baseman for his alleged involvement with performance-enhancing drugs connected to the Biogenesis case. Rodriguez stormed out of the hearing on Wednesday, then took his plea to the public, appearing for a lengthy interview on WFAN, where he declared his innocence.

The non-confrontational Rivera isn't speculating about the possibility that A-Rod used PEDs and said he believes Rodriguez. 

"I don't want to second-guess no one," he said. "If he tells me something, I'm going to believe him. But again, that's me. He's my friend. He tells me something, I'm going to believe him."



If the retired Rivera's unsolicited support was a sign he is planning to continue working with the Yankees in some capacity, the Hall of Fame closer offered a plain-and-simple, "No."

When asked why, Rivera laughed.

"I don't want to," he said.

2 comments:

  1. The media needs to go after Bud Selig who has disgraced baseball way worse than any player during his run as the owners yes man.Get an independent commissoner who is on the side of baseball and not the owners or players but the fan and the game.

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  2. Selig should have been forced to testify. How can A-Rod have passed every drug test he has taken and still be accused by Selig with "evidence", but he won't testify. What is Selig hiding--the fact that he is lying or that the "evidence" is trumped up charges based on a proven liar like owner of Biogenesis.

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