Alex Rodriguez may have lost much following his performance-enhancing drugs scandal, but the hardest part was telling his two daughters.
In a preview of his upcoming appearance on the “Undeniable Show with Joe Buck,” the former Yankees player got candid about life following his admission of using performance-enhancing drugs in 2014.
“This thing cost me over $40M and it cost me my reputation and it may have cost me the Hall of Fame and a number of other things,” the former baseball star said. “And I remember sitting there at night — at 4, 5 o’clock in the morning — I probably did this a hundred nights, and I would look up with tears and say, ‘How the f did I get myself in this position. I’m the only jackass that has pocket aces and figures out a way to lose the hand.’”
That said, the 42-year-old revealed that the “hardest part” was coming clean to his two daughters — Ella Alexander, 9, and Natasha Alexander, 12.
“When I sit down with the girls, they’re gonna be listening to me but they’re gonna be looking at you. And chances are I’m not gonna make it past first base because I’m gonna probably start breaking down — and sure enough I almost didn’t get out of first plate,” he recalled of a conversation he had with his then-wife Cynthia,
“And doing that, admitting that to them and then having them embrace me and hug me and to a degree forgive me, as I look forward, Joe, I think about, you know, I never want to put myself in a position that I have to explain myself to my daughters ever again.”
When asked why he began using the banned drugs, Rodriguez claimed he was having the worst year of his career. “I think I had 6 home runs.”
“I mean I was awful, right? But after having 2 hip surgeries I just wanted to get back on the field and give the Yankees their money’s worth,” he added. “And I just needed to do anything — it was my responsibility to the fan base, to management, to ownership to get out there and play. And I was in too much pain. I couldn’t play,” he continued, adding that even when you add all those things together, “that doesn’t give you an excuse to break the rules.
“There’s so many frustrating things when you look back at that,” he continued. “I mean how stupid can you be?”
For more, catch Rodriguez’s extended interview on “Undeniable Show with Joe Buck” on Wednesday, Oct. 18 on Audience Network. Check local listings for more information.
