When Alex Rodriguez's cousin indicted Yankees icon for paying him $5,000,000 to blank out his PED involvement: "For not exposing Rodriguez's dealings"

In 2013, Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees was on top of the world. He was in the sixth season of a 10-year, $275 million deal, and although waning, was still viewed as one of the best baseball players of the modern age.

That image came to a crashing end when, in August of that year, some harsh revelations surfaced. According to reports, A-Rod had been using Miami-based clinic Biogenesis of America to supply him with performance-enhancing drugs.

Apparently, Alex Rodriguez had been using his cousin, Yuri Sucart, as a middle man between himself and clinician Tony Bosch, who was giving A-Rod the drugs. As such, Alex Rodriguez was suspended from August 2013 through the end of the 2014 MLB season.

"Alex Rodriguez ratted out PED users, lied to Yankees: new bombshell documents. The former Yankees third baseman revealed to federal agents in 2014 he had been told by Biogenesis founder Anthony Bosch that Manny Ramirez, Ryan Braun and one other All-Star player were also" - Daily PinPoint

At the time, the New York Yankees third baseman was paying Bosch about $12,000 for a concoction of performance enhancing drugs. During the investigation, A-Rod also exposed other big-time MLB names who were using PEDs.

According to ESPN, the relationship between Rodriguez and Sucart was a complicated one. As per A-Rod's accounts, Sucart had spent between $250,000 and $500,000 of A-Rod's money without his approval, leading A-Rod to relieve him of his services.

Moreover, it was also reported that Sucart asked his big-league cousin for $5 million on Christmas Eve 2012 in return for not outing A-Rod for his connection to Bosch. This proposal was alledgedly made after Sucart had denied a deal with his cousin earlier that month.

"REPORT: Alex Rodriguez Paid Cousin Yuri Sucart to Keep Quiet About PED Use" - Everything MLB

Sucart, a Dominican national, was sentenced to seven months in 2015 following charges being brought against him in the Biogensis scandal.

Rodriguez began his career with the Seattle Mariners, where he would win four Silver Sluggers in six years. In 2001, he was dealt to the Texas Rangers, where he would lead MLB in homers for three straight seasons, and won his first career MVP Award during his tenure in Texas.

Alex Rodriguez' shady dealings with his cousin further damages credibility

Years later, A-Rod's PED use has made it very difficult for him to gain entry into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Widely regarded as a cheater, the shady dealings with his cousin only further damages the name of a man who truly could have had it all.