First of all let me just say-- I do not believe what Andy Pettite did was right-- because it was far from it.
But I do feel that what just took place was the best way anyone could have possibly handled the situation he has found himself in. It took a lot of guts to get up and face one of the toughest media markets head on and tell the truth and admit his failures (without lawyers I might add).
Andy admitted what he did was wrong and never once tried to make excuses for it. I strongly believe Andy when he said that he did HGH to try and heal himself because he felt a strong obligation to contribute to his team after signing a contract worth millions of dollars. Andy could have easily gone into surgery and collected his check a la Carl Pavano, but he didn't. He chose to try something different under the advice of someone in whom he had trusted. Was it the right decision? Not even close. But can you blame him for wanting to be on the field and earn his money? I cannot.
And please, can we also remember that Andy Petitte was never accused of using anabolic steroids and only HGH. People who want to be gigantic and strong all while feeding their ego's do not take HGH; they take Winstrol, D-BOL and the numerous other designer steroids designed for that specific purpose . When people take these drugs they cycle with hormones designed to minimize the unwanted side effects that the anabolics cause, they research, they weight train and they do it for a lot longer than Andy Pettite ever did. Andy has never been a muscle head bent on gaining an entire new physique. He did it because he felt an obligation to his fans, his teammates, and the people signing his checks to do what he was getting paid to do-- throw strikes.
I can't blame Andy, but I also will never say what he did was right. We are all human--and we all make mistakes-- and if you don't believe me-- I challenge you to think of someone who hasn't. At least Andy was honest when he got caught.
He will make it through this. And we will still support him.
Peter Abraham has the audio from the entire press conference (Thanks, Pete):
