Pelosi Statement on Mitchell Report on Steroid Use i...( WASHINGTON Dec. 13 -- Speaker Na...),Health

WASHINGTON, Dec. 13, /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement on the report issued this afternoon by former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, which found widespread use of steroids and other illegal substances in Major League Baseball:

"The Mitchell Report tells a troubling story of how many of our children's heroes cheated the game of baseball and the fans of our national pastime by using steroids and other illegal substances.

"While the players are the public faces of the sport, Senator Mitchell made clear that blame for baseball's steroids era rests not just with those on the field. Each player who used an illegal, performance-enhancing substance bears personal responsibility for his actions, but the scope of cheating within baseball could not have grown and continued without the complicity or the willful ignorance of everyone involved.

"The use of steroids sets a terrible example for young people in our country by encouraging behavior that is both physically and morally destructive.

"It is now the duty of the entire baseball community-the Commissioner, the owners, and the players-to work to put an end to the steroids era, to regain the trust of the fans, and to restore baseball to its rightful place as the national pastime."