Baseball community reacts to arrest of former player

BASEBALL

The baseball community is reeling after the arrest of a former professional player for allegedly giving steroids and other banned substances to young students at his private academy.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said Tuesday the ex-KBO player, surnamed Lee, was detained on charges of injecting anabolic steroids and growth hormones into seven teenage players and one adult player.

One KBO official said he “could never imagine” an amateur player would receive a steroid injection at a private academy. Though the KBO only governs professional baseball and testing amateurs is not in its jurisdiction, the league office is looking into ways to test draft-eligible players.

“We’re in talks with KADA about conducting random doping tests on players who enter our draft and giving student-athletes anti-doping training,” the KBO official added.

The Korea Pro Baseball Players Alumni Association (Kpbaa) apologized for the incident involving one of its members, saying it “was unacceptable, not just in the world of sports but in society in general.”

“We feel deeply responsible for this case,” the Kpbaa said. “We’ll do our best to prevent a recurrence and to help establish the spirit of fair play.”

Yonhap