Rodriguez, 12 Other Players Suspended by MLB for Violating Antidoping Rules

Major League Baseball (MLB) suspended the New York Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez and 12 other players on Monday for violating the league’s antidoping rules, according to The New York Times.

Rodriguez said he will appeal his suspension, which is scheduled to begin Thursday, and runs for 211 games, through the 2014 season. MLB said the ruling was based on his use and possession of numerous forms of prohibited, performance-enhancing substances over many years. Rodriguez can play until his appeal is heard by an arbitrator. An appeal is unlikely before November, the article notes.

The other 12 players accepted 50-game suspensions. They included Nelson Cruz of the Texas Rangers, Everth Cabrera of the San Diego Padres and Jhonny Peralta of the Detroit Tigers.

In a statement, Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig said, “Upon learning that players were linked to the use of performance-enhancing drugs, we vigorously pursued evidence that linked those individuals to violations of our program. We conducted a thorough, aggressive investigation guided by facts so that we could justly enforce our rules.”

The suspended players are connected with a Miami-area clinic, Biogenesis of America, which is now closed. In January, a Florida newspaper reported Rodriguez obtained performance-enhancing drugs from Biogenesis. MLB filed a suit against Biogenesis for allegedly providing performance-enhancing drugs to players, and advising them on how to pass drug tests. The clinic’s owner, Tony Bosch, reached an agreement to cooperate with a MLB investigation.