Andy Pettitte deserves the sports athlete PR move of the year. Why? Well, for the past couple of years, we've seen a lot of athletes struggle with admitting to performance-enhancing drug use. Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi and Rafael Palmeiro to name a few.
For Bonds, his drug use was a misunderstanding, to Giambi it was something to admit only while under oath and to Palmeiro it was a complete denial that came back to burn him.
Then there was Mark McGwire, who seemingly incriminated himself in front on Congress by not offering any insight professing he wasn't there to talk about the past.
While his teammate and training partner Roger Clemens quickly lashed out against his name appearing in the Mitchell Report (through his lawyer), Pettitte took three days before admitting he took HGH. A move on that on its face was bold, yet respected. With no proof as to the specific times Pettite might have taken the hormone, he offered up that he used it twice and before it was banned by baseball.
So while it might have been against the rules of an ethical society, it technically wasn't cheating. Plenty of doctors will tell you that HGH used twice doesn"t aid recovery and make you stronger. Rather, it needs to be used consistently over time. So if Pettitte really used it twice, he must have had an ethical problem with it instead of receiving a good quick fix.
Given Clemens denial, there's no chance he comes back in 2008 because we all know it will only be about the Mitchell Report.
But Pettitte, who signed a one-year, $16 million deal with the Yankees last week, is good to go now. His statement wasn't a book full, but it was enough for now. There's not much more to talk about and beyond some taunting in Boston and a few other places, Pettitte will be able to concentrate on a season. That is until an enterprising reporter--if it ever happens--digs up evidence that Pettitte used for more than those two days.
Sign of the Times
This week's Sports Illustrated features a surprising four full pages on hockey. The rub? It's an advertorial.
Questions? Comments? SportsBiz@cnbc.com
