When former Yankees star Johnny Damon stood by Alex Rodriguez despite serious PED allegations

In February 2009, after former New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez held a press conference regarding his steroid abuse, his former teammate Johnny Damon stood by him.

Reports said that he had tested positive for two anabolic steroids, testosterone and Primobolan, during MLB's 2003 survey testing. The accusations against Rodriguez came out six years later in February 2009.

In 2003, the government created a confidential study of 1200 professional baseball players to discover how many had taken steroids. MLB players agreed to the testing on the condition that their identities would be kept secret. The league used the results of the survey to decide whether or not to put in place a mandatory drug testing policy. In the end, 104 athletes came back with a positive result and A-Rod was one of them.

"Yeah he did some bad things," Damon said defending Rodriguez. "He took a steroid. Definitely do not condone that, at all, but there could be a lot worse things he could have been doing out there. He hasn’t done a crime. So there’s worse things that he could have done but you know I’ve known Alex since he was 15 and he’s always been super nice to me and so I’m going to support him and try help him through this time."

Interestingly, in 2003, the legend had a memorable season, achieving many milestones. He won his first American League Most Valuable Player award, hit over 300 career home runs, and received one of the ten Silver Slugger Awards while playing with the Rangers.

Alex Rodriguez was suspended by MLB in 2014

Super Bowl LIV - San Francisco 49ers v Kansas City Chiefs: MIAMI, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 02: Former baseball player Alex Rodriguez looks on before Super Bowl LIV at Hard Rock Stadium on February 02, 2020, in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

On August 5, 2013, MLB suspended former New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez from August 8 through the end of the 2014 season for his role in the Biogenesis Scandal.

The scandal came to light when documents were leaked showing that the now-defunct Biogenesis of America anti-aging clinic in Coral Gables, Florida had supplied MLB players with PEDs. The scandal resulted in suspensions and investigations of numerous MLB players for their involvement with the clinic.

Initially, A-Rod was suspended for a total of 211 regular-season games plus any possible postseason games. However, he appealed against the suspension and the ban was reduced to 162 games.