The Biogenesis scandal, which unfolded in 2013, was a dark chapter in the sport’s history. It centered around the Biogenesis of America clinic in Miami, Florida. Its where performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) were allegedly distributed to several prominent MLB players. At the heart of this controversy was the former Yankees great Alex Rodriguez.
A-Rod had earlier admitted the use of PEDs back in 2009. After that, he went under intense scrutiny and faced multiple suspensions. However, ESPN recently got their hands on classified reports of the DEA investigation that went on during the scandal. The reports have disclosed new pieces of information related to the Yankees great, which has caused an uproar among fans.
Alex Rodriguez Admitted To Lying To Yankees During DEA Investigation
In 2013, DEA launched a full-fledged investigation into the Biogenesis scandal. The entire MLB community came under scrutiny as legal forces joined hands to find out the root cause of the scandal. The center of the whole investigation remained the Yankees then-shortstop Alex Rodriguez. He had confessed to using PEDs back in 2009 and was one of the first ones to be called upon for questioning. Meanwhile, as per documents received by ESPN, A-Rod was the one who gave out names of MLB players who used PEDs along with him. He ratted out Manny Ramirez and Ryan Braun during the interrogation. Alex did that as he enjoyed a witness protection kind of deal.
Apparently, whatever Alex Rodriguez said during the interrogation could not be used against him during the investigation. Further, the shortstop confessed to lying to Yankees’ then-president Randy Levine about his relationship with PED distributor and the main accused of the scandal, Anthony Bosch. Apparently, A-Rod took cash from Yank’s traveling secretary to pay Bosch for those performance-enhancing drugs. He named one more player who never made it to the official investigation since he tested negative for PEDs. In the aftermath of that investigation, Alex Rodriguez, Manny Ramirez, and Ryan Braun faced suspensions. The Yankee shortstop sat out for the entire 2014 season. Whereas Braun had to skip the 2013 season. Ramirez, on the other hand, was banned for 100 games in 2011, but he chose to retire then and there itself.
A-Rod’s Own Turned Against Him Over PED Business!
According to ESPN’s bombshell report, Alex Rodriguez used his older cousin Yuri Sucart Sr. to carry out the PED arrangement business on his behalf. Apparently, Yuri contacted Anthony Bosch on A-Rod’s behalf to obtain the banned drugs. However, the relationship turned sour as Yuri got extensively involved in the business. As per Rodriguez’s official testimony, his cousin blackmailed him for $5 million while threatening to expose his illegal activities to MLB authorities.
Alex Rodriguez also revealed that Yuri supplied PEDs to him from various sources for over a decade. The cousin soon began to handle the Yankees shortstop’s money when things went spiraling down. Yuri allegedly tossed $250,000 to $500,000 of A-Rod’s money without his knowledge or consent, which led the former to terminate his relationship with Yuri in 2012. Sucart was finally convicted in 2015. He was sentenced to seven months of jail time and faced a permanent ban from MLB facilities.