NEW YORK (Reuters) - A congressional committee is to review testimony from seven-times All Star right-fielder Sammy Sosa after a newspaper report said the player had tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003.
Sosa gave sworn testimony to The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in 2005 stating that he had not used performance-enhancing drugs.
On Tuesday, the New York Times cited "lawyers with knowledge of the drug testing results" of 2003 as naming Sosa among 104 players who tested positive in 2003.
Edolphus Towns, chairman of the congressional committee released a statement on Wednesday saying that a review would be undertaken.
"According to media reports published this week, Sammy Sosa allegedly tested positive in 2003 for having used a performance-enhancing drug. This Committee heard sworn testimony from Mr Sosa in 2005 when he stated that he had not previously used performance-enhancing drugs.
"The Oversight and Government Reform Committee always takes seriously suggestions that a witness misled the Committee while testifying under oath. Investigators will begin a review of this matter and, upon learning the results, I will determine appropriate next steps," said Towns in the statement released on the committee's website (oversight.house.gov).
Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees confirmed in February that he was one of those who tested positive in 2003.
Although there were no penalties for a positive test in 2003, confidential testing was conducted by Major League Baseball in agreement with the players' union to determine if random testing should be introduced in the following year.
Results of the tests were obtained by the government in conjunction with the investigation into the San Francisco laboratory BALCO and its alleged link with Barry Bonds, baseball's home run record holder.
Sosa, who is now retired, played for the Chicago Cubs in 2003 and the team's current general manager Jim Hendry said there was a need for context.
"We all assume there was an era when a lot of people took things that would now be illegal but the rules weren't set up stringent enough to enforce it at the time," he told MLB.com.
"I think you have to judge people for the era they were in. Unless all the facts are in, speculation is a waste of time. You'll never be able to go back and figure out who did what for sure. I'm not condoning it at all. As long as there is competitive athletics and people can get away with things, they'll try to get a competitive edge," he said.
In 2007, the Mitchell Report cited the use of steroids and Human Growth Hormone among all 30 major league teams. The report named more than 80 players as using performance-enhancing drugs in baseball but Sosa was not among them.
(Reporting by Simon Evans in Miami; Editing by John Mehaffey)
Source: Reuters
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