Curt Schilling is the last person you would ask if you wanted to keep something quiet, right? Well today on "The Herd" with Colin Cowherd Schilling made a very big accusation: some Red Sox officials encouraged him to use performance-enhancing drugs in 2008.
During the conversation, transcribed by WEEI Boston which brought my attention to the story, Schilling said:
At the end of my career, in 2008 when I had gotten hurt, there was a conversation that I was involved in in which it was brought to my attention that this is a potential path I might want to pursue.
Schilling used the classic "official style" description to avoid identifying parties – i.e. "it was brought to my attention" versus "the official named __________ brought to my attention". Pressed to be more specific, Schilling declined to specifically name who it was:
…former members of the organization — they’re no longer there. It was an incredibly uncomfortable conversation. Because it came up in the midst of a group of people. The other people weren’t in the conversation but they could clearly hear the conversation. And it was suggested to me that at my age and in my situation, why not? What did I have to lose? Because if I wasn’t going to get healthy, it didn’t matter. And if I did get healthy, great.
So who could it be? A "member of the organization" could be an athletic trainer, third base coach, or even the bat boy. That means this this either could be a really big story or it could be nothing and Schilling is looking for attention.
Interestingly, Colin Cowherd's show homepage that features many conversations from today's show is missing Schilling's conversation.
This story should not be much of a surprise. We know that use of PEDs was alive in major league baseball in 2012, so an offer made to a rehabbing player in 2008 seems appropriate. Unless Schilling offers more information – and maybe Major League Baseball will press him for some – this is nothing new or surprising. As a fan, I just hope Schilling declined to take them.
