"For more than a decade there has been widespread illegal use of anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing substances by players in Major League Baseball," Mitchell said at a midtown news conference. "Club officials have routinely discussed the possibility of such substance use when evaluating players.
"Everyone involved in baseball over the past two decades - commissioners, club officials, the players' association and players - shares to some extent the responsibility for the steroids era. There was a collective failure to recognize the problem as it emerged and to deal with it early on."
The report named stars and role players. In addition to Clemens, big stars such as Barry Bonds, Miguel Tejada, Gary Sheffield, Andy Pettitte, Eric Gagne and Jason Giambi were named. Past stars such as former Phillie Lenny Dykstra, Kevin Brown and Mo Vaughn were named.
Role players such as former Phillies backup catcher Gary Bennett were also named.
The report numbered 409 pages and included a number of exhibits - canceled checks, personal notes and mail receipts - from Kirk Radomski, the former New York Mets clubhouse attendant who cooperated with Mitchell after pleading guilty to charges of illegally distributing performance-enhancing substances.
While acknowledging that the use of steroids has decreased in baseball since the sport adopted a testing program in 2003, Mitchell made a number of suggestions on how to better the program.
Mitchell said baseball should create a department of investigations led by a senior executive who reports directly to the president of Major League Baseball to respond promptly and aggressively to allegations of illegal use or possession of performance-enhancing substances.
He said that department should work closely with law enforcement officials.
