Football
Associated Press 17y

Mitchell expects player interviews to start promptly

NEW YORK -- Former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell
said he expects interviews with active players to begin promptly as
part of his investigation into steroids in baseball.

Mitchell sent a letter to the players' association in late March
requesting the interviews, which the union confirmed April 3.
Lawyers for the union, commissioner's office and Mitchell's staff
met later in April to discuss possible interviews, along with
Mitchell's request for medical records.

"In the course of our work, we have gathered thousands of pages
of documents and conducted hundreds of interviews of individuals
with current or past connections to professional baseball,
including many former players," Mitchell said Friday in an e-mail
to The Associated Press.

"I have just recently requested that interviews of current
players begin promptly, which is one of the final phases of our
investigation. We expect to meet soon with the players whose
interviews we have requested, but to the extent that we are not
able to, we will deal with the issue at that time."

Mitchell also may gain evidence that federal prosecutors have
gathered in their case against former New York Mets bat boy Kirk
Radomski, The Washington Post reported Friday.

Radomski, who pleaded guilty to felony charges of distributing
steroids and laundering money, has agreed to cooperate with the
ongoing federal steroids investigation, as well as Mitchell's
inquiry.

The 37-year-old has admitted providing steroids, human growth
hormone, amphetamines and other drugs to "dozens of current and
former Major League Baseball players and associates," U.S.
Attorney Scott Schools said in a statement.

"Are documents, etcetera, going to be turned over?" Assistant
U.S. Attorney Matt Parrella was quoted as saying by the Post.
"That's part of the concept, but I can't lay out a schedule or
roster of documents. We will make an evaluation item by item."

Mitchell also wouldn't specify what data he hopes to receive.

"I am committed to completing the remaining work and to issuing
the report as soon as possible," he said in Friday's e-mail to the
AP. "With regard to Mr. Radomski, I have stated that we look
forward to working with federal law enforcement toward our shared
goal of dealing effectively with illegal performance-enhancing drug
use in baseball. Our work in that regard is only one aspect of the
broader effort in this investigation."

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