Reaction to A-Rod's admission

"I think it's depressing news on top of what's been a flurry of depressing items when it comes to Major League Baseball. And if you're a fan of Major League Baseball, I think it tarnishes an entire era, to some degree. And it's unfortunate, because I think there were a lot of ballplayers who played it straight. And, you know, the thing I'm probably most concerned about is the message that it sends to our kids. What I'm pleased about is Major League Baseball seems to finally be taking this seriously, to recognize how big of a problem this is for the sport, and that our kids hopefully are watching and saying: You know what? There are no shortcuts. That when you try to take shortcuts, you may end up tarnishing your entire career, and that your integrity's not worth it. That's the message I hope is communicated." " President Barack Obama.

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"This whole episode has caught me totally by surprise. I feel personally betrayed, I feel deceived by Alex." " Texas Rangers owner Tom Hicks.

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"I'm sad for him, because I know what it's going to do for him, what he has to carry with him, what he's going to have to put up with for the rest of his life. It's something you can't take an eraser to. Now it becomes part of your history." " Rich Hofman, Rodriguez's high school baseball coach at Westminster Christian.

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"He's fricking human, he made a horrible choice and he'll have to deal with it. Do whatever you want, speculate on whatever you want but the guy 'manned up,' admitted his mistake, that's enough for me. Nothing we can do about it at this point but move on as fans and players. I still believe the names of all the positives should be released. That the media chose to only 'out' him is a crime in and of itself." Free agent right-hander Curt Schilling in a blog entry.

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"He claims to be sorry that he used hardcore steroids, but it is obvious that he is only sorry that he got caught. If he was sorry he that he used, he would have admitted it in advance and would not have provided a stone-faced denial to Katie Couric and the American public in 2007 when he claimed he had never used or considered using performance-enhancing drugs. He also would have assisted Congress and Senator Mitchell in their efforts to fix the culture of baseball that he claims led to his cheating. There are obviously many more questions that must be answered." " U.S. Anti-Doping Agency spokeswoman Erin Hannan.

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"While I was disappointed to learn that Alex Rodriguez tested positive for steroid use, I admire him for demonstrating the courage to come forward and be honest. A-Rod is one of the most talented players in Major League Baseball and is therefore a role model to so many young people. We are all guilty of making mistakes, but what distinguishes a true hero is the ability to acknowledge those mistakes and the commitment to learn from them." " Rep. Elijah Cummings, a Maryland Democrat who serves on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee

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"I was a little disappointed in that because A-Rod will probably be the player of the decade in the 2000s, and the player of the decade probably for the 90s is Ken Griffey Jr. And I've just never heard those two guys linked to any kind of enhancement as far as drugs are concerned. So I was a little surprised that A-Rod did that in 2001, 2002 and 2003. I don't want to listen to all this B.S. on ESPN about how he was a kid and didn't know what he was doing and stuff like that. I mean, you did it. You admitted it. Go on with your life." " Pete Rose on SIRIUS XM Radio.

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"We all hope that this information that has come out is going to benefit the game of baseball in the long run. It blindsided me that it was so widespread. We all have to take blame for this. I had never really heard anything in connection to him. When you watch his work ethic, the time he puts in at batting practice and in the weight room, I had no reason to question him. He has the most ability of any player I've seen. It's going to be tough for him but I'm happy that he came out, faced the music and took responsibility for it." " Former Yankees manager Joe Torre, now with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

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"We strongly believe there is no place in baseball for performance-enhancing drugs of any type, and we support the efforts of the commissioner to continually improve the testing process. We urged Alex to be completely open, honest and forthcoming in addressing his use of performance-enhancing drugs. We take him at his word that he was. Although we are disappointed in the mistake he spoke to today, we realize that Alex " like all of us " is a human being not immune to fault. We speak often about the members of this organization being part of a family, and that is never more true than in times of adversity. Alex took a big step by admitting his mistake, and while there is no condoning the use of performance-enhancing drugs, we respect his decision to take accountability for his actions. We support Alex, and we will do everything we can to help him deal with this challenge and prepare for the upcoming season." " New York Yankees' statement.