Steve Wilstein

Last updated
Steve Wilstein
Born (1948-09-01) September 1, 1948 (age 75)
Alma mater University of Wisconsin-Madison (1970)
Occupation(s) Sportswriter, author, photographer
Employer(s)United Press International, Associated Press (AP)
Notable workExposing Mark McGwire's use of androstenedione

Steve Wilstein (born September 1, 1948) is an American sportswriter, author and photographer.

Contents

Wilstein reported Mark McGwire’s use of the testosterone booster androstenedione during the home run race in 1998, the first news story to expose and corroborate the use of anabolic steroids in baseball. Wilstein’s stories and columns led to revelations that resulted in Congressional hearings, drug-testing in the major leagues for the first time, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ban on androstenedione, and the federal Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2004. His work was cited as pivotal by former Sen. George Mitchell in his 2007 report to the commissioner of baseball on steroids in the sport, after a 20-month probe, and was chronicled in the books Game of Shadows [1] and Juicing the Game, and detailed in the ESPN the Magazine series, “Who Knew?” [2] In 2009, the Seattle chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America nominated Wilstein for the Hall of Fame's J.G. Taylor Spink award "for meritorious contributions to baseball writing". [3] In 2010, Wilstein was featured in filmmaker Ken Burns' PBS baseball documentary, "The Tenth Inning". [4] In 2021, Wilstein was featured in the podcast series “Crushed” by “Religion of Sports.” [5]

Wilstein is the author of "The AP Sports Writing Handbook", [6] which is used as a primary text in many college journalism classes. Wilstein continues to provide commentary about developments in the “Steroid Era,” although he retired from the AP in 2005.

Major League Baseball's "Steroid Era"

The use of steroids by players had been only hinted at until Wilstein’s story on August 21, 1998, when McGwire and the Chicago Cubs’ Sammy Sosa were closing in on Roger Maris’ 1961 record of 61 homers in one season—a chase that captivated the country. After Wilstein saw the bottle of androstenedione in McGwire’s open locker while covering the chase, McGwire first denied using it, then admitted he’d been taking it for more than a year when confronted by Wilstein’s colleague at the AP, Nancy Armour. McGwire commented, "Everybody that I know in the game of baseball uses the same stuff I use." [2]

Wilstein's story focused on the disparity of steroid rules in different sports. Andro, sold at the time as an over-the-counter supplement that boosted testosterone levels, was allowed in baseball but not in the Olympics, the NFL, pro tennis and all US NCAA college sports. Shot putter Randy Barnes, the 1996 Olympic gold medalist and world record-holder, had recently drawn a lifetime ban for using andro, reported Wilstein, who had written extensively about steroids in the Olympics since the mid-1980s. [7]

"The ensuing AP news story led to renewed scrutiny of the use of 'andro' and other substances by major league players," the Mitchell Report said. "... [C]ommissioner [Bud] Selig and others in baseball have said that this incident more than any other caused them to focus on the use of performance-enhancing substances as a possible problem". [8]

Wilstein had witnessed an episode of “roid rage” by Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson after a preliminary heat at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and watched from the finish line as Johnson beat Carl Lewis in the 100-meter final. Johnson soon lost his gold and was sent home in disgrace after testing positive for an anabolic steroid.[ citation needed ] Andro, Wilstein wrote in the story about McGwire, “is seen outside baseball as cheating and potentially dangerous.” [7]

The story set off a controversy that has gone on for more than a decade of follow-ups by Wilstein and those who joined in about steroids and the related sports and social issues, among them McGwire's former “Bash Brother,” Jose Canseco, in his tell-all books, and reporters covering the BALCO federal investigation in San Francisco.

McGwire was the first among numerous stars on various teams - including pitcher Roger Clemens, sluggers Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez and Rafael Palmeiro, and former MVP Ken Caminiti—whose reputations and records were tainted as revelations appeared about their alleged or admitted performance-enhancing drug use.

Washington Post baseball writer Thomas Boswell in 1988 and the Los Angeles Times’ Bob Nightengale in 1995 had touched on the baseball steroids issue, but without specifics were largely ignored. “Instead of sparking a wave of follow-up articles or investigations to ferret out the details of steroid use in baseball … sports writers essentially left the story alone,” Editor & Publisher writer Joe Strupp wrote in a 2006 report headlined, “Sports writers say they dropped the ball on steroids in major league sports.” [9]

Strupp noted in an earlier E&P report in 2006 that “Wilstein’s discovery marked the first real press probe into which substances and supplements baseball players were using, and what effect they were having on their accomplishments, abilities and health.” “But then a funny thing happened,” Strupp wrote in his account of the media's response. “Instead of being praised for discovering a questionable act by a baseball star in the middle of a record-breaking season, Wilstein was vilified.” [10]

Wilstein "noticed a bottle of androstenedione and opened up a can of worms," USA Today baseball columnist Hal Bodley wrote in 2005. "This was baseball's feel-good story that no one, including Selig and the union, wanted tainted by a performance-enhancing supplement few of us knew anything about." [11]

On January 11, 2010, Wilstein's suspicions and Jose Canseco's allegations of McGwire's steroid use were confirmed by Mark McGwire in a statement to and interview with the Associated Press [12] and later interviews with Bob Costas and others by McGwire. [13] [14] Upon the news, many sports columnists and media spoke of Wilstein's vindication and CNN asked Wilstein to provide his views in an op-ed piece. Wilstein wrote that McGwire should be banned from Major League Baseball for life and that his acts hurt baseball more than those of Pete Rose. [15]

Personal life

Wilstein graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1970 with a political science degree and began his career in journalism a year later working for United Press International as a sports writer from 1971 through 1978. [10]

Journalism awards

His awards include the National Headliner Award for a feature on boxer Jerry Quarry’s brain damage, the John Hancock business writing award for coverage of the 1987 stock market crash, and three AP Managing Editors awards for features on injured New York Jets player Dennis Byrd, illegal sports gambling’s ties to organized crime, and former Los Angeles Dodger Glenn Burke’s struggle with AIDS. Wilstein won a record 20 AP Sports Editors awards for his work covering the Olympics, Super Bowls, World Series, college football bowl games, the Grand Slam of tennis, sports business, race and gender in sports and other issues.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark McGwire</span> American baseball player and coach

Mark David McGwire, nicknamed "Big Mac", is an American former professional baseball first baseman who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1986 to 2001 for the Oakland Athletics and the St. Louis Cardinals. He won two World Series championships, one with Oakland as a player in 1989 and one with St. Louis as a coach in 2011. One of the most prolific home run hitters in baseball history, McGwire hit 583 home runs during his career, which ranked 5th-most in MLB history at the time of his retirement and currently ranks 11th. He holds the major-league career record for at bats per home run ratio (10.6), and is the former record holder for both home runs in a single season and home runs hit by a rookie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Randy Barnes</span> American shot putter

Eric Randolph Barnes is an American former shot putter who held the outdoor world record for the event from 1990 to 2021. He won silver at the 1988 Olympics and gold at the 1996 Olympics. Only three throwers have been within 40 centimetres (16 in) of his outdoor world record since it was set. Barnes was banned for 27 months in 1990 for anabolic steroid usage, before he received a lifetime ban in 1998 after testing positive for androstenedione.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Androstenedione</span> Endogenous weak androgen

Androstenedione, or 4-androstenedione, also known as androst-4-ene-3,17-dione, is an endogenous weak androgen steroid hormone and intermediate in the biosynthesis of estrone and of testosterone from dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). It is closely related to androstenediol (androst-5-ene-3β,17β-diol).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nandrolone</span> Anabolic steroid

Nandrolone, also known as 19-nortestosterone, is an endogenous androgen which exists in the male body at a ratio of 1:50 compared to testosterone. It is also an anabolic steroid (AAS) which is medically used in the form of esters such as nandrolone decanoate and nandrolone phenylpropionate. Nandrolone esters are used in the treatment of anemias, cachexia, osteoporosis, breast cancer, and for other indications. They are not used by mouth and instead are given by injection into muscle or fat.

In competitive sports, doping is the use of banned athletic performance-enhancing drugs by athletic competitors, as a way of cheating. The term doping is widely used by organizations that regulate sporting competitions. The use of drugs to enhance performance is considered unethical, and is prohibited by most international sports organizations, including the International Olympic Committee. Furthermore, athletes taking explicit measures to evade detection exacerbate the ethical violation with overt deception and cheating.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting</span> Elections to the Baseball Hall of Fame

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Patrick Arnold is an American organic chemist known for introducing androstenedione, 1-androstenediol, and methylhexanamine into the dietary supplement market, and for creating the designer steroid tetrahydrogestrinone, also known as THG and "the clear". THG, along with two other anabolic steroids that Arnold manufactured, not banned at the time of their creation, were hard-to-detect drugs at the heart of the BALCO professional sports doping scandal. BALCO distributed these worldwide to world-class athletes in a wide variety of sports ranging from track and field to professional baseball and football.

<i>Mitchell Report</i> 2007 document about doping in the MLB

The Report to the Commissioner of Baseball of an Independent Investigation into the Illegal Use of Steroids and Other Performance Enhancing Substances by Players in Major League Baseball, informally known as the Mitchell Report, is the result of former Democratic United States Senator from Maine George J. Mitchell's 20-month investigation into the use of anabolic steroids and human growth hormone (HGH) in Major League Baseball (MLB). The 409-page report, released on December 13, 2007, covers the history of the use of illegal performance-enhancing substances by players and the effectiveness of the MLB Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. The report also advances certain recommendations regarding the handling of past illegal drug use and future prevention practices. In addition, the report names 89 MLB players who are alleged to have used steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anabolic steroid</span> Steroidal androgen that is structurally related and has similar effects to testosterone

Anabolic steroids, also known as anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS), are a class of drugs that are structurally related to testosterone, the main male sex hormone, and produce effects by binding to the androgen receptor. Anabolic steroids have a number of medical uses, but are also used by athletes to increase muscle size, strength, and performance.

Since their discovery, anabolic steroids (AAS) have been widely used as performance-enhancing drugs to improve performance in sports, to improve one's physical appearance, as self-medication to recover from injury, and as an anti-aging aid. Use of anabolic steroids for purposes other than treating medical conditions is controversial and, in some cases, illegal. Major sports organizations have moved to ban the use of anabolic steroids. There is a wide range of health concerns for users. Legislation in many countries restricts and criminalizes AAS possession and trade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dienedione</span> Chemical compound

Dienedione, also known as estra-4,9-diene-3,17-dione, is a synthetic, orally active anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) of the 19-nortestosterone group that was never introduced for medical use. It is thought to be a prohormone of dienolone. The drug became a controlled substance in the US on January 4, 2010, and is classified as a Schedule III anabolic steroid under the United States Controlled Substances Act. Previous to this, it was sold as a bodybuilding supplement within the United States, and often mistakenly marketed as a prohormone for trenbolone, a veterinary steroid. Prior to its scheduling, it was part of a number of supplements that were seized during FDA enforcement of Bodybuilding.com for selling unapproved new drugs. The actual active metabolite, dienolone, is almost identical to trenbolone structurally, but lacks the C11 double bond.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1-Androstenedione</span> Chemical compound

1-Androstenedione, or 5α-androst-1-ene-3,17-dione, also known as 4,5α-dihydro-δ1-4-androstenedione, is a synthetic androgen and anabolic steroid. It is a 5α-reduced isomer of the endogenous steroid 4-androstenedione and acts as an androgen prohormone of 1-testosterone (4,5α-dihydro-δ1-testosterone), a derivative of dihydrotestosterone (DHT).

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<i>Summer of 98</i>

Summer of ’98: When Homers Flew, Records Fell, and Baseball Reclaimed America is a 1999 book written by Mike Lupica, a sports columnist for the New York Daily News and an ESPN analyst. The book follows the 1998 baseball season that featured Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa chasing Roger Maris's home run record. Lupica’s book approaches the subject in a three generational context where his father, himself, and his son are all passionate baseball fans following the home run competition.

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The Bash Brothers are a duo of former baseball players consisting of Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire. Both prolific home run hitters, the two were teammates in Major League Baseball (MLB) for seven seasons with the Oakland Athletics, helping the team win a World Series title in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">19-Nor-5-androstenediol</span> Chemical compound

19-Nor-5-androstenediol, also known as estr-5-ene-3β,17β-diol, is a synthetic, orally active anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) and a derivative of 19-nortestosterone (nandrolone) that was never introduced for medical use. It is an androgen prohormone of nandrolone and of other 19-norandrostanes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">19-Nor-5-androstenedione</span> Synthetic, orally active anabolic steroid

19-Nor-5-androstenedione, also known as estr-5-ene-3,17-dione, is a synthetic, orally active anabolic-androgenic steroid (AAS) and a derivative of 19-nortestosterone (nandrolone) that was never introduced for medical use. It is an androgen prohormone of nandrolone and of other 19-norandrostanes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheating in baseball</span> Deliberate violation of baseball rules

Baseball personnel have cheated by deliberately violating or circumventing the game's rules to gain an unfair advantage against an opponent. Examples of cheating include doctoring the ball, doctoring bats, electronic sign stealing, and the use of performance-enhancing substances. Other actions, such as fielders attempting to mislead baserunners about the location of the ball, are considered gamesmanship and are not in violation of the rules.

References

  1. ↑ Fainaru-Wada, Mark; Williams, Lance (7 May 2006). "Game of Shadows". The New York Times .
  2. 1 2 "Who Knew?". ESPN . November 9, 2005. Part III 1998-2001 Cause and Effect. Archived from the original on 1 October 2022. Retrieved 2010-12-22.
  3. ↑ Araton, Harvey (17 June 2009). "A Hall of Fame Find by a Sports Reporter". The New York Times . Archived from the original on 26 November 2022. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  4. ↑ Shapiro, Craig (5 October 2010). "'Baseball: The Tenth Inning' knocks it right out of the park". The Virginian-Pilot . Archived from the original on 10 July 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  5. ↑ Chapter 2: The Snoop. Crushed. Religion of Sports. 8 April 2021. Archived from the original on 24 March 2022. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  6. ↑ Wilstein, Steve (2002). Associated Press Sports Writing Handbook. New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN   9780071372183.
  7. 1 2 Wilstein, Steve (21 August 1998). "Drug OK in Baseball, Not Olympics". Associated Press . Archived from the original on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  8. ↑ George J. Mitchell (13 December 2007). REPORT TO THE COMMISSIONER OF BASEBALL OF AN INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION INTO THE ILLEGAL USE OF STEROIDS AND OTHER PERFORMANCE ENHANCING SUBSTANCES BY PLAYERS IN MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL (PDF) (Report). Office of the Commissioner of Baseball. p. 77. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 April 2023. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  9. ↑ Strupp, Joe (1 October 2006). "Sportswriters Say They Dropped the Ball on Steroids in Major League Sports". Editor & Publisher . Archived from the original on 2009-04-06.
  10. 1 2 Strupp, Joe (1 July 2006). "Reporter Wilstein, who sparked steroids probe, steps back". Editor & Publisher . Archived from the original on 2006-11-02. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
  11. ↑ Bodley, Hal (21 February 2005). "MLB, teams, even media share blame". USA Today . Archived from the original on 23 October 2012.
  12. ↑ Jenkins, Bruce (14 August 2010). "McGwire truthful in emotions, not words". The San Francisco Chronicle . Archived from the original on 16 January 2010.
  13. ↑ Kepner, Tyler (11 January 2010). "McGwire Admits That He Used Steroids". The New York Times . Archived from the original on 14 January 2010. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  14. ↑ Pearlman, Jeff (12 January 2010). "Mark McGwire doesn't get it". CNN . Archived from the original on 14 January 2010. Retrieved 22 April 2023.
  15. ↑ Wilstein, Steve (12 January 2010). "Ban McGwire from baseball". CNN . Archived from the original on 15 January 2010.
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