Blue Jays' Colabello has no idea how steroid ended up in his system
Tells Jays broadcaster he has passed 20 drug tests in the past 4 seasons
Chris Colabello is emphatic that he never intentionally cheated.
The Toronto Blue Jays first baseman spoke out in an interview on Tuesday, five days after Major League Baseball suspended him for 80 games after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance.
"I would never, have never, will never, compromise the integrity of baseball. Ever. In my life," said Colabello in a tearful interview broadcast on Sportsnet, the team's home broadcaster. "Whether that means taking a performance-enhancing supplement, I just wouldn't do it. I don't do it. I haven't done it. I won't do it."
Colabello tested positive for dehydrochlormethyltestosterone, with the Blue Jays player putting an emphasis on the small amount found.
"I didn't actually test positive for the drug itself," said Colabello in the 10-minute interview. "I tested positive for a long-term metabolite that supposedly is generated from DHCMT for short."
Colabello said he doesn't question the science of the test or that trace amounts of the metabolite were found in his urine. Instead, he points to the fact that it was a trace amount of a metabolite — the byproduct of a PED — that he tested positive for. He also claimed to have passed 20 other drug tests, including one during Toronto's playoff run last season.
In the interview, Colabello said any nutritional supplements he took were provided by the Blue Jays and certified by a MLB-approved independent nutritional organization. After testing positive, he had all manner of medication and creams – including his dog's medicine – analyzed to try to find a reason for the result.
"It would be so awesome for me if I could stand here in front of you and tell you that I did this," Colabello told Sportsnet. "I know how the world works. I know how things are. I'm not naive or stupid. I've seen the way this has played out. Guys have done this stuff in the past, they've come out and said 'I'm really sorry guys, I didn't mean to' or 'I made a mistake.' And then people move on. They wipe their hands of it and they forgive people. But I can't stand in front of a camera and apologize."
with files from CBC Sports