NEW YORK -- Curt Schilling says that Barry Bonds and
Mark McGwire's refusals to address accusations of steroids use are
tantamount to admissions.
"If someone wrote that stuff about me and I didn't sue their
[butt] off, am I not admitting that there's some legitimacy to
it?" he said on HBO's "Costas Now."
When asked about Schilling's remarks before the Giants played
the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday night, Bonds responded: "Don't
worry, my day will come.''
Schilling said "this will be the steroids era forever" and
proposed that Jose Canseco and Rafael Palmeiro should be punished
for steroids use.
"Jose Canseco admitted he cheated his entire career,"
Schilling said. "Everything he ever did should be wiped clean. I
think his MVP should go back and should go to the runner-up."
Reached by The Boston Globe at his home in Southern California, Canseco said, "I could care less what Schilling thinks. ... Nobody takes him seriously. People around baseball all feel the same way about him."
Schilling also had similar feelings about Palmeiro, saying, "The year he tested positive,
nothing he did that year should count, which I think would take
away 3,000 hits for him."
Schilling discussed accusations by Bonds' former mistress,
Kimberly Bell, who testified before a grand jury that Bonds told
her of his steroid use in 2000. She also said Bonds gave her
$80,000 in cash to buy a house, the proceeds of which allegedly
came from a paid autograph session that authorities also are
investigating as going unreported to the Internal Revenue Service.
"If I wrote a book about Bob Costas and in that book I wrote
about Bob Costas' girlfriend being on the road, and Bob Costas
giving that girlfriend card show money and I outlined your daily
steroid regimen, I've got to believe your first line of defense is
to sue my [butt] off," Schilling said.
"It goes to the Mark McGwire thing in Congress. I mean, I'm a
huge Mark McGwire fan. But I just always thought it was very
simple: If you did something and someone asks you if you did it and
you didn't do it, you say no. Any other answer than no is some form
of yes, isn't it?"
Bonds' lawyer, Michael Rains, in the past accused Bell of trying
to extort money from his client and using the platform to promote a
book that never was published, but Bonds has not filed suit against
her. Rains did not immediately return a telephone message
Wednesday.
Bonds also said Wednesday that Costas was a "midget who knows
[nothing] about baseball."
In March 2006, Bonds did sue two San Francisco Chronicle
reporters who published a book claiming the Giants slugger used
steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs, but Bonds dropped
the suit three months later. Bonds had claimed the authors should
be blocked from making money on the book because it used illegally
obtained grand jury testimony.
During a March 2005 congressional hearing, McGwire repeatedly
refused to answer questions about his alleged steroids use.
Schilling also testified during the hearing and was more muted in
his steroids comments.
"I think while I agree it's a problem, I think the issue was
grossly overstated by some people, including myself," he said
then.
Schilling said the circumstances of testifying caused him to be
reticent.
"When you're sitting in front of Congress and you're under
oath, you'd better be damn sure if you're going to mention a name
that you are 100 percent guaranteed sure somebody did something,"
he said during the HBO interview.
Schilling said he thinks some players still are using
performing-enhancing drugs.
"There were teams that had a subculture of it. Obviously, guys
are still getting caught, which shows me that even with all of the
safety nets in place, people are still doing it," he said. "My
understanding is that steroids and HGH, one of the main benefits of
them is regeneration. If I can show up Sept. 1 and feel April
fresh, I've got a huge advantage, not just that day but on
everybody. And I think that's why a lot of pitchers have been
caught."
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.