SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Major League Baseball owners gave commissioner Bud Selig a three-year contract extension through 2012 on Thursday, a move made two days after some congressmen were critical of his leadership in responding to the sport’s drug problem.
Selig, who has been in charge of MLB since 1992, had repeatedly said since December 2006 that he would retire at the end of 2009 and that his mind couldn’t be changed.
“This is clearly it,” he said after the latest extension was approved in a unanimous vote on the final day of a two-day owners’ meeting. “I could say this without equivocation.”
Earlier this week, Selig and union head Donald Fehr testified before a congressional committee that both criticized baseball for its steroids problem and praised the sport for strides made during the past three years. Selig’s contract extension drew immediate criticism from Rep. Cliff Stearns, who had called on Selig to resign last month after the Mitchell Report on drugs in baseball was released.
“The explosion in the use of steroids and other performance enhancing drugs occurred under Selig’s 15-year tenure,” the Florida Republican said. “I have found commissioner Selig’s glacial response to this growing stain on baseball unacceptable and I have called on him to step down. This three-year extension of Selig’s contract is a vote of confidence in his record, which includes taking minimal steps in ridding baseball of these drugs.”
Notes
ASTROS: The FBI said it has opened a preliminary investigation into whether Houston shortstop Miguel Tejada lied to federal authorities when he denied taking steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs. The inquiry, in response to a congressional request, amounts to an initial look at facts surrounding the case. It does not mean charges will be brought against Tejada. It is unclear how long initial fact-finding will take. Making false statements to Congress is a felony.
MLB: A lawyer for Roger Clemens’ accuser was told by a congressional committee staff member that his client was unlikely to be granted immunity for his deposition and testimony at the Feb. 13 hearing before the House Oversight and Reform Committee. Brian McNamee, the former personal trainer who accused the seven-time Cy Young Award winner of using performance-enhancing drugs, reached an agreement with San Francisco-based federal prosecutors last year that he would not be charged with a crime as long as his statements were truthful. McNamee’s claims were a central part of last month’s Mitchell Report on drugs in baseball.
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