Ron Washington apologises for using Cocaine in 2009 season
Putting his own career as well as Texas Rangers’ campaign in a jeopardy manager Ron Washington first admitted using cocaine in the 2009 season and then apologised for it.
However, Major League Baseball is still going to conduct an additional testing on him in the near future. Washington also offered to resign after he was found guilty via a random drug testing exercise by the Major League Baseball. However, Club president Nolan Ryan, and general manager Jon Daniels have decided to give him another chance and did not accept his offer.
"I apologize for a huge mistake I made," Washington said in a news conference. "I'm not here to make excuses. I'm not here for sympathy. That would be asking too much. I'm truly sorry for my careless, dangerous and, frankly, stupid behavior last year."
Now, he is going through the rehab program of the MLB, which has rigorous schedules attached to it including testing three times a week. And, though he did go through the program a couple of weeks back, but, the league has decided to make him do the testing once again to test his integrity.
"I was in total shock. Then I was mad," Club president Nolan Ryan said in an interview to ESPNDallas.com. "Then I was very disappointed. I went through an array of emotions."
After a lot of soul-searching the club decided not to accept Washington’s resignation. Quite, obviously after his brilliant performance in the season gone by Washington was the right pick for 2010.
"We think of him as part of our family," Ryan said. "Just because somebody in your family makes a mistake doesn't mean you quit loving them. We'll move forward." Ryan added. "He's going to be judged on the season and how team plays for him and our evaluation of the job he does."
In the presence of his wife Gerry, Washington, admitted of the offence and later apologized for it.
"I didn't have much to say, other than the fact that I was sorry for what happened," Washington said. "I hope they will allow me to continue to lead them. They embraced it. And if you look around the room, you'll see the support they have for me because they know the support I have for them."
Though an offense committed once is unlawful, Washington said that he used the banned drug only once and will never use it again. Exactly this honesty pleased the club authorities.
"We felt like he was sincere and forthright," Ryan said. "With the way he has responded, we truly believe this was a one-time incident that he just used bad judgment on."
He was all teary-eyed during the press conference as he was escorted by his wife, Club President Nolan Ryan, and some other players. However, he didn’t answer why he committed the offense.
"That's a question I have had to face in numerous sessions with counselors," Washington said. "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."
In the end, Washington was stressing on the fact that he committed the offense only once and will never repeat it.
