This from the Rangers:
STATEMENT BY RON WASHINGTON
I am here today to apologize for a huge mistake I made during the first half of the season in 2009.
I am not here to make excuses. There are none.
I am not here to ask for sympathy. That would be asking too much.
I fully understand that I disappointed a lot of people----my family, my players, coaches, as well as the team's leadership, especially Nolan Ryan and Jon Daniels, as well as young people who may have looked up to me.
I am truly sorry for my careless, dangerous, and frankly, stupid, behavior last year.
Clearly, you have never seen me speak from a script before. But this is a time that I need to get the words exactly right.
Here's the biggest question: how and why did this happen?
That's a question I have had to face in numerous sessions with counselors. I've learned a lot about myself personally, and I recognize that this episode was an attempt to dodge personal anxieties and personal issues I needed to confront.
That was the wrong way to do it. It was self-serving, and believe me, not worth it. I know you will ask, and so here's the answer: this was the one and only time I used this drug.
I made a huge mistake, and it almost caused me to lose everything I have worked for all of my life.
Shortly after I did this, MLB notified me that I would have a routine drug test. Before even taking the test, I notified the league about the drug use. Right after that test, I told Jon Daniels and Nolan Ryan about my shameful behavior. I offered them my resignation.
They asked a lot of difficult questions. Remarkably, these two men, after a lot of thought and prayer, allowed me to stay here through last season.
However, they also directed me to immediately begin MLB's drug treatment program, which is a thorough and exhaustive process, and it includes the administration of drug tests at least three times a week.
I am proud to report to you that I have completed that program.
I am not proud to admit this terrible error.
This morning, I talked to our players. I assured them that this will never happen again, and I asked them to forgive me. In the true spirit of a "team," they seemed to embrace me not only as a manager but as a human being. I won't let you down again. Please know that I will personally take on the challenge of telling young people my story and my mistake. I don't know what form that will take, but I am committed to do that.
I am hopeful that our fans, both Rangers fans and Major League Baseball fans, will accept this heartfelt and humble attempt to say: I'm so sorry for what I did.
SURPRISE, Ariz. — Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington failed a Major League Baseball test for cocaine last season, but has apologized and will keep his job. "I made a huge mistake and it almost caused me to lose everything I have worked for all of my life," Washington said at a news conference Wednesday. "I am not here to make excuses. There are none."
Washington said he used cocaine only once and called it "stupid" and "shameful" behavior. The 57-year-old manager meet with his players earlier in the day and told them about testing positive in July.
The failed test was first reported by SI.com.
Washington said he told the commissioner's office and Rangers management about his cocaine use before he underwent a routine drug test. He said he offered to resign.
"We certainly had discussions about that," team president Nolan Ryan said. "He came forward and said he would resign. He understood the consequences. We had a lot of discussions and a lot of soul searching on it."
"He stood up to it. We felt like he was sincere and forthright," he said. "We are very disappointed by this. We are upset we were put in this position."
Washington's contract was extended last year for 2010 before the drug test. His contract expires after this year, which will be his fourth with Texas. The Rangers, out of the playoffs since 1999, stayed in postseason contention until late in the year and finished 87-75.
Washington has been subject to increased testing since he failed, and said he has passed every subsequent test. He said he has completed the MLB drug treatment program.
"Here's the biggest question: How and why did this happen?" Washington said. "That's a question I have had to face in numerous sessions with counselors."
STATEMENT BY RON WASHINGTON
I am here today to apologize for a huge mistake I made during the first half of the season in 2009.
I am not here to make excuses. There are none.
I am not here to ask for sympathy. That would be asking too much.
I fully understand that I disappointed a lot of people----my family, my players, coaches, as well as the team's leadership, especially Nolan Ryan and Jon Daniels, as well as young people who may have looked up to me.
I am truly sorry for my careless, dangerous, and frankly, stupid, behavior last year.
Clearly, you have never seen me speak from a script before. But this is a time that I need to get the words exactly right.
Here's the biggest question: how and why did this happen?
That's a question I have had to face in numerous sessions with counselors. I've learned a lot about myself personally, and I recognize that this episode was an attempt to dodge personal anxieties and personal issues I needed to confront.
That was the wrong way to do it. It was self-serving, and believe me, not worth it. I know you will ask, and so here's the answer: this was the one and only time I used this drug.
I made a huge mistake, and it almost caused me to lose everything I have worked for all of my life.
Shortly after I did this, MLB notified me that I would have a routine drug test. Before even taking the test, I notified the league about the drug use. Right after that test, I told Jon Daniels and Nolan Ryan about my shameful behavior. I offered them my resignation.
They asked a lot of difficult questions. Remarkably, these two men, after a lot of thought and prayer, allowed me to stay here through last season.
However, they also directed me to immediately begin MLB's drug treatment program, which is a thorough and exhaustive process, and it includes the administration of drug tests at least three times a week.
I am proud to report to you that I have completed that program.
I am not proud to admit this terrible error.
This morning, I talked to our players. I assured them that this will never happen again, and I asked them to forgive me. In the true spirit of a "team," they seemed to embrace me not only as a manager but as a human being. I won't let you down again. Please know that I will personally take on the challenge of telling young people my story and my mistake. I don't know what form that will take, but I am committed to do that.
I am hopeful that our fans, both Rangers fans and Major League Baseball fans, will accept this heartfelt and humble attempt to say: I'm so sorry for what I did.
SURPRISE, Ariz. — Texas Rangers manager Ron Washington failed a Major League Baseball test for cocaine last season, but has apologized and will keep his job. "I made a huge mistake and it almost caused me to lose everything I have worked for all of my life," Washington said at a news conference Wednesday. "I am not here to make excuses. There are none."
Washington said he used cocaine only once and called it "stupid" and "shameful" behavior. The 57-year-old manager meet with his players earlier in the day and told them about testing positive in July.
The failed test was first reported by SI.com.
Washington said he told the commissioner's office and Rangers management about his cocaine use before he underwent a routine drug test. He said he offered to resign.
"We certainly had discussions about that," team president Nolan Ryan said. "He came forward and said he would resign. He understood the consequences. We had a lot of discussions and a lot of soul searching on it."
"He stood up to it. We felt like he was sincere and forthright," he said. "We are very disappointed by this. We are upset we were put in this position."
Washington's contract was extended last year for 2010 before the drug test. His contract expires after this year, which will be his fourth with Texas. The Rangers, out of the playoffs since 1999, stayed in postseason contention until late in the year and finished 87-75.
Washington has been subject to increased testing since he failed, and said he has passed every subsequent test. He said he has completed the MLB drug treatment program.
"Here's the biggest question: How and why did this happen?" Washington said. "That's a question I have had to face in numerous sessions with counselors."
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