San Diego Padres slugger Fernando Tatis Jr. appeared before reporters on Tuesday and apologized for his 80-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball’s PED policy. After weeks of strange excuses, Tatis was contrite and seemingly sincere as he apologized to the franchise, his teammates, his country, his family, and Padres fans.
“I’ve failed to the front office of the San Diego Padres,” said Tatis, Jr. “I have failed to every fan of this city. I’ve failed to my country. I’ve failed my family, my parents. I’m really sorry for my mistakes. I’ve seen how my dreams have turned into my worst nightmares.”
Tatis had initially blamed the violation on “a medication to treat ringworm that contained Clostebol” and then his father said that he “got a fungus due to a haircut.” Tatis Jr. finally came clean on Tuesday, saying that he took Trofobol to deal with a skin infection and that it was not prescribed to him by the Padres’ medical staff.
He said he began taking the treatment Trofobol in June. It came from back home in the Dominican.
“It was a stupid mistake, it was me being reckless…I’m regretting all of that.”
— Darnay Tripp (@DarnayTripp) August 23, 2022
There have been multiple reports that Padres brass and his teammates were pissed off at him. And while that might be true, Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove told reporters on Tuesday that while some fans might not forgive him, the team is ready to move forward with him.
Joe Musgrove talks about Fernando Tatis, Jr. addressing the clubhouse today: pic.twitter.com/rCFBKzyLK6
— 97.3 The Fan (@973TheFanSD) August 23, 2022
“I know it’s not an easy conversation to have,” said Musgrove. “For him to come in and face the team, face-to-face, and be honest with us, I think that’s what everyone wanted. Just a little bit of clarity. It was some tough love to an extent. Obviously, everyone’s got a different perspective on it and different feelings about it all. But this is something that, people make mistakes, man. It’s something that we’re definitely not going to hold over his head for the rest of his career. I know there’s fans out there that will and people are gonna feel the way they want to feel. But something I stressed to him was the most important people are the people that are in this room and our staff and the people you’re gonna be playing with.
He came in and I thought he did a really good job of explaining to us what happened and telling us how sorry he was and the remorse that he showed. It’s not an easy conversation to have but I think the first step to mending things in here and preparing everybody for when he does come back.”
