Superstar Houston Astros baseball player, Miguel Tejada, finally faced the courts in Washington D.C. after a long month of waiting for his federal sentencing. Last month, Tejada, a five-time All-Star shortstop, pleaded guilty to a case of misdemeanor for withholding information about his former teammates’ use of performance-enhancing drugs.

Before his sentencing, Tejada told reporters that he didn’t know what will happen and that his lawyer didn’t tell him anything about his sentencing. While federal prosecutors recommended probation in Tejada’s case, it was up to Federal Magistrate Judge Alan Kay what Tejada’s sentencing would be. U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Taylor submitted a 10-page memo requesting that Tejada be sentenced to community service and probation, focusing on outreach programs and youth education. While Tejada’s hopes for probation have been boosted by this memo, Tejada was not assuming that Judge Kay will go with Taylor’s recommendation and was not taking anything for granted.

Tejada says that he appreciated the support he was getting from the Houston Astros ever since his problems began, which was when he was mentioned in the Mitchell report (Senator George Mitchell’s analysis and assessment on the use of performance enhancing drugs in the MLB) together with former teammates Andy Pettitte and Roger Clemens.

The Mitchell report cited Adam Piatt who claimed that he discussed human growth hormones (HGH) and steroids with Tejada when they were teammates in the Oakland A’s. Piatt also mentioned that he received two checks amounting to $6,300 for the purchase of HGH. Tejada, however, said that he threw away the HGH without using any of it. Piatt’s acknowledgements contradicted what Tejadas told the congressional investigators on Aug 26, 2005 regarding Rafael Palmeiro’s statements in Congress. Palmeiro told congress that he tested positive for steroids due to tainted B-12 vitamins, which he allegedly got from Tejada. Tejada, however, denied that he ever discussed HGH or steroids. This was way back in 2005.

Last month, four years after his 2005 statements, Tejada pleaded guilty to lying to congress on August 26, 2005 when he denied having ever discussed performance-enhancing drugs. He also gave a tearful apology to his teammates, fans, and congress in a read statement at the Minute Made Park. He also gave another apology at the Osceola County Stadium in Kissimmee before the Houston Astros’ full-squad workout. Since his public apologies, Astros owner Drayton McLane, manager Cecil Cooper, and his Astros teammates has supported Tejada.

Tejada’s sentencing was subject to a maximum of one-year imprisonment and a maximum fine of $100,000. However, during the 23-minute hearing, Tejada was sentenced to one-year probation for misleading Congress. Judge Kay decided that it was best to go with Prosecutor Attorney Taylor’s recommendation and plea bargain for a lighter punishment of community service and probation.

In addition to the one-year probation, Tejada was also sentenced to 100 hours of community service and a fine of $5,000. A native of Dominican Republic, Tejada’s immigration status as permanent resident of the U.S. was not affected by his sentencing. He also does not face any travel restrictions and is not subject to drug testing typically required of convicts on probation.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS