A-Rod To Sports Illustrated: 'I Want To Be A Role Model'
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Alex Rodriguez is potentially facing a lengthy suspension -- perhaps even a lifetime ban -- for his alleged part in Major League Baseball's latest performance-enhancing drugs scandal.
He's also on the cover of this week's Sports Illustrated magazine.
Whenever A-Rod speaks, we listen, and his latest quote is guaranteed to dominate the headlines: "I want to be a role model."
"I have two daughters at home, and I'm sensitive to that, and above all, I want to be a role model, continue to be a role model — especially to my girls," A-Rod told SI, according to an excerpt published by CBSSports.com. "So all the noise sometimes gets on my nerves, but that's it. I can't let it get any further than that. I have a job to do."
The cover features the embattled Yankees third baseman sitting on a bench in his workout clothes, next to the title "The Last Days of A-Rod."
The New York Daily News reported that if A-Rod refuses to negotiate with the league, he could get a lifetime ban for his reported role with Biogenesis, the Florida clinic accused of distributing PEDs. Many believe that even a shorter suspension -- one that runs through 2014 -- would end his career, thanks to a recent history of injuries, the latest punctuated by offseason hip surgery.
A-Rod, who insists he's ready to return to the playing field, told Sports Illustrated writer S.L. Price that he has his supporters.
"I think in my 20s it would've been, like, I want to show you doubters or haters -- I don't even like using those words," he said. "I think today my supporters feel me. Our fan-base feels me. My biggest two fans are my daughters: They feel me."
The 38-year-old has denied the Biogenesis accusations. He previously admitted to using PEDs from 2001-03 while playing for the Texas Rangers.
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