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Terror Fears; Alex Rodriguez Suspended

Aired August 05, 2013 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: In some of the world's most dangerous places, hundreds of inmates are on the run after coordinated prison breaks. And now an apparent plot from al Qaeda has the world on edge and many wondering, coincidence or connection? I'm Brooke Baldwin. The news is now.

He cheated. He lied and now baseball's most expensive star may be about to go to war with his league. Nightmare on the boardwalk --

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was looking for blood. That guy was -- that guy -- his intention was to kill people.

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BALDWIN: What motivated a driver to ram his car into a crowd of beachgoers?

Plus, police say a man bought a round of shots for a woman who later caused a deadly accident. Well, now he's facing charges. We're on the case. And -- schoolteacher by day, Burqa avenger by night, what this new cartoon character is fighting for?

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BALDWIN: And here we go, hour two. Great being with you here. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

And we are watching, we are waiting for the news from Major League Baseball because they will be issuing a news release any minute now here. All indications are that it will spell out the punishment for New York Yankees superstar slugger here Alex Rodriguez for his links to a clinic in Southern Florida that provided performance-enhancing drugs, PEDs.

Rodriguez has been in the minor leagues. He's been rehabbing an injury. A couple of days ago, he implied that his star status and his mega-contract, keep in mind this guy signed triple digits in the millions back when he joined the Yankees in 2007, this is all what he says is part of the reason the league may try to keep him off the field.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEX RODRIGUEZ, NEW YORK YANKEES: There's more than one party that benefits from me not ever stepping back on the field. And that's not my teammates. And it is not the Yankee fans.

QUESTION: Who is it?

QUESTION: Who is it? Who benefits from --

(CROSSTALK)

RODRIGUEZ: I can't tell you. I can't tell you that right now, and I hope I never have to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: This all goes back to earlier this year when "The Miami New Times" newspaper linked Rodriguez and a group of other players to this Biogenesis anti-aging clinic. This is just outside of Miami where documents, allegedly, were found that named a number of Major League players.

So as we await the word from Bud Selig -- he's the commissioner of Major League Baseball -- from his office, let's talk about it with some people who know sports very, very well, who know baseball really better than anyone.

We have Rachel Nichols for us. She is standing by for us in New York for this news. Jason Carroll is in Chicago, where A-Rod has vowed to show up to play the White Sox tonight. Will Carroll is the lead writer for the Bleacher Report. Ben Reiter is a staff writer for "Sports Illustrated."

We have all of you.

Rachel, let me just -- let me go to you first. What do we know so far?

RACHEL NICHOLS, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Lucky number 13 for Major League Baseball, not very lucky for the players involved. We're expecting them to announce the suspensions of 13 players, largest sports performance-enhancing sports -- in U.S. sports history, drugs.

It is just amazing, the breadth of this scandal. And of those 13 players, Brooke, 12 of them, we're expecting them to accept their suspensions, 50 games apiece. Major League Baseball has done a thorough investigation of this Miami clinic. They laid out the evidence for these players. Twelve of the 13 said hey, you know what? You got me. We're expecting them to accept their suspensions.

We all know who number 13 is. That is Alex Rodriguez. He has denied any wrongdoing here. He is expected to appeal his suspension. And an interesting report has surfaced in the last hour from T.J. Quinn at ESPN saying that the Major League Baseball Players Association made a late approach to the league office today on behalf of A-Rod, trying to work out some kind of late settlement and that he was rebuffed by Major League Baseball. They said, no, this is what you're getting. That press conference you showed just a few minutes ago, a little scorched earth there. It's going to be a battle from here on out. We can expect a major, major soap opera to unfold here.

BALDWIN: So as we expect this fight for lucky/unlucky number 13, Rachel Nichols, Jason Carroll, let's go to you because I was reading Yankees manager Joe Girardi quoting, "If he's in there, I'm going to play him," talking about A-Rod playing the White Sox tonight. I know people are expecting boos. Set the scene for me in Chicago.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, he is pencilled in to play tonight, and expecting there to be a lot of jeers and maybe some cheers as he enters the stadium later on this evening.

Earlier this weekend, when we were with Rodriguez there in Trenton, New Jersey, he made it very clear that he wanted to be back on the field. He wanted to be with his teammates and that he had actually gotten some support from his teammates as well.

When this suspension, the likely suspension comes down at any minute now, it's not something that's unsuspected in terms of from the A-Rod camp or from Rodriguez himself. I spoke to a representative from the Rodriguez camp who said that once the suspension comes down, they're automatically going to appeal.

And while they are appealing, he's going to be allowed to play. And, you know, that's rubbing a lot of fans the wrong way. Even as I was heading down here in the airport, I spoke to one fan who said, look, this guy is paid so much money and has done such a disgrace to the game, it's time for him to hang up his hat.

But then again when I out here doing live reports, I ran across one Rodriguez fan who said, look, give the guy a second chance. He's being held to a different standard than other ballplayers. What we have right now in terms of the game, it's a waiting game to see what MLB decides to do specifically in terms of that suspension.

BALDWIN: Jason, let me jump in. I think Rachel Nichols is about to break the news.

Rachel, what are you learning in the last 60 seconds that we haven't been talking?

NICHOLS: You may have just seen me leaning over my desk. I was reading a press release from Major League Baseball.

They have announced the suspensions of the 12 players that I was mentioning, the players who have accepted their 50-game suspensions. They have not included Alex Rodriguez on that statement, so we are still waiting for the A-Rod portion of this.

But it is notable, 12 players suspended for using performance- enhancing drugs, several star players on that list including Jhonny Peralta of the Detroit Tigers, including Nelson Cruz of the Texas Rangers, guys who are basically saying, I give. You caught me. And they are accepting these suspensions.

That is huge. We are still awaiting word of what's going to go on with Alex Rodriguez, but interesting to see this trickle out the way it is. I mentioned that ESPN report that Major League Baseball Players Association had approached baseball about working out a last- minute settlement for A-Rod. That report said that that settlement offer was rebuffed, but we will have to see what happens here as we await this trickling out.

BALDWIN: OK. I'm ping-ponging between the two of you, because now I hear Jason Carroll, as you're reporting the 12 of the 13 accepting, Jason Carroll, you have news on A-Rod specifically?

J. CARROLL: Yes, and this is it. This is the suspension coming down. This is the announcement officially from Major League Baseball. Just going to read part of it to you for you now.

The headline, Yankee Rodriguez, disciplined. New York third baseman suspended 211 regular season games through the 2014 season. I'm going to read part of it to you here, this, again, the official statement from Major League Baseball. Commissioner Allan Selig announced today that third baseman Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees has been suspended without pay for the remainder of the 2013 championship season and postseason and the entire 2014 championship season for violations to the joint drug prevention and treatment program and the basic agreement.

Again, this is what we were talking about. This is what was expected. It goes on to say Rodriguez is disciplined under the joint drug prevention and treatment program. It's based on his use and possession of numerous forms of prohibited performance-enhancing substances, including testosterone and human growth hormone over the course of multiple years.

So this is the official announcement from Major League Baseball. Alex Rodriguez suspended through the 2014 season which basically means he would not be eligible to play until 2015. That would make him nearly 40 years old, but once again, this announcement not unexpected with the Rodriguez camp. I spoke to the Rodriguez people several times. They expected this type of suspension to come down.

They will automatically appeal. And under this type of suspension --

BALDWIN: He can play.

J. CARROLL: -- he will be allowed to appeal and should be allowed to play while he appeals the suspension as well.

BALDWIN: Jason broke the news. Rachel broke the news.

Will Carroll, let me go to you next, because now we're hearing that basically he can't play until he's just about 40, which I know in baseball is old. What's your reaction to this? Do you feel like the punishment fit the crime?

WILL CARROLL, BLEACHER REPORT: That remains to be seen. What will be interesting is seeing how they justify those. There are some details in that statement saying he was disciplined under both the joint drug agreement and the basic agreement. Under the joint drug agreement, we have certain suspensions that can be laid out. Mostly we know those as the 50-game and 100-game suspensions. There are a couple others for use and possession, another term they used in that press release.

How they do that and how they break that down is going to be very important to the arbitration hearing. Now we have got to wait to see when this arbitration hearing happens. And interestingly, this might be Alex Rodriguez coming back tonight to kind of rub it in the Yankees' face.

Remember, they have a disability contract on him. If he plays at all, it wipes that out. Had he not played at all this season, they could have recovered a major portion of his salary.

BALDWIN: Ben Reiter, "Sports Illustrated," your reaction and also I know just in talking to different people and reading all these different articles, I know a lot of people, unless you are an A-Rod fan, and there are a lot of A-Rod fans out there, but a lot of people saying this guy he is making a gazillion bucks, he's still owed so much by the Yankees. If he's rubbing it in the Yankees' face, just why do people care? They want this to go away. A lot of people do.

BEN REITER, "SPORTS ILLUSTRATED": Well, A-Rod is today the same thing he's been for his entire life. That is an outlier -- 12 players, you know, took their suspensions, 50 games. A-Rod, the 13th, did not.

Let's remember, though, Alex Rodriguez is in a very different position from the rest of the punished players, even All-Stars like Nelson Cruz and Jhonny Peralta. He's 38 years old. His best days are behind him. He's already made $350 million in his career.

Yes, he has $100 million thereabouts left on his contract, and he'd like to get every penny of that, but he is also fighting for what's left, any shred of his dignity and his legacy. That starts to explain why Alex Rodriguez is fighting the suspension where everyone else did not and why this thing is just getting started when it comes to A-Rod.

BALDWIN: Let me just -- on what you're saying, Rachel, let me just go back to you. He's talking about dignity and legacy. We know that A- Rod was a mega-slugger. Last time he was really hitting, he was batting in the .100s, that the best is over. Where does he go once he goes back to play in 2015?

NICHOLS: Obviously he's going to play a little bit before then. But what's so interesting, Brooke, and it's exactly what you're talking about, if you look at the statement that Jason was reading from, they talk -- start to get out some details here.

These are details baseball has not put out before just a few minutes ago. They're talking specifically what they're getting A-Rod on. They say over multiple years he used steroids, he used HGH, and these are the kinds of details that we're not getting from the players who agreed to their suspensions, people like Ryan Braun, basically just got away with hey, mistakes were made. We're not getting specifics on those guys.

Baseball obviously going to war with A-Rod, and here is the first punch. They're saying here's what he did. Here's how long he was doing it for. Here's how long he was cheating the game. That feeds into the legacy issue that you're talking about. And that's part of what we're going to see trickle out over the next 30 to 40 to 50 days as this arbitration goes through. There's going to be leaks. We have seen that already. It's supposed to be a private process. It's obviously not been a private process. The dirty details are going to come out.

And that is going to be hits to A-Rod's legacy that baseball was trying to tell him, hey, you can avoid some of that if you just agree to a suspension. He didn't want to do that. And now we're going to start hearing some of these details and some of the evidence. It's going to be interesting to see how the arbitrator handles all of that because some of it's going to be very, very specific.

BALDWIN: Ben, Rachel talks about hits and hits to his legacy. Does this go beyond A-Rod? Does this go beyond baseball?

REITER: Yes, I think it does. I think we should take a moment to spare a thought for the players who were not penalized today.

Gio Gonzalez of the Washington Nationals, his name has been linked to Biogenesis from the beginning. He was not penalized. A few others as well. This is really a thing that has tarnished the game as a whole. I'm not sure if Gio Gonzalez is very different from anybody else who's played baseball this year or really for the past generation. He's been deemed not guilty. That doesn't necessarily make him innocent in the public eye. And perhaps he can never truly clear his name.

BALDWIN: You know, I know a lot of people really put a lot of these professional athletes up on pedestals and, Will, let me just direct this to you. I read an interesting article in The Daily Beast this morning talking about how the bubble has burst for some of these athletes, how we view them.

This was written by Nick Gillespie, who writes this "Use a statin to reduce your cholesterol, an SSRI to level your moods, Viagra in the boudoir, Adderall to goose your SAT -- that's just being a responsible citizen. But use steroids and HGH and pep pills to make yourself run faster, jump higher, or grow stronger in pursuit of Olympian perfection, well, that's just wrong."

Will, does he have a point?

W. CARROLL: He absolutely does.

You know, when you take a look at TV advertisements for drugs like AndroGel and Axiron, that's exactly what they just accused Alex Rodriguez of using. HGH, well, there's a lot of kids that are on that for short stature. Alex Rodriguez doesn't need it for that. And certainly we have drawn a line in the sand. But you're exactly right, we use a pill for this, a pill for that. But if it's an athlete trying to use a pill to get better or just get back on the field, that's different. We have held these athletes to a far different standard than we have held ourselves.

BALDWIN: Rachel, what about the managers who have overlooked this over time? Does anything happen to them?

NICHOLS: You know, the culture is changing. And you can't really pick out any one person if you consider just how widespread this has been over a period of time. I don't think there's any question now we're seeing a backlash against steroid and HGH users in baseball. And to say that it didn't used to be that way is an understatement. It used to be that baseball protected its own.

And now we are seeing other people in the clubhouse from managers to the players saying you know what? Go after these guys. We don't want them in the game. And there's a reason we don't just let them cheat. We don't just let them use HGH or steroids. It's because not only does that change the playing field for everybody else and create an arms race for other players who don't want to put those drugs in their body or pressure to do so just to compete, but it does trickle down.

We have seen over and over again that when pro players do this, then college players do it to try to get into the pro game. And when college players do it, high school players do it to try to get into getting college scholarships. And the damage done to these young bodies we have seen over and over again suicide rates among teenagers taking steroids, all kinds of other very, very serious issues that we're trying to stop sort of on a national level that goes way beyond Alex Rodriguez or any of the players involved today.

BALDWIN: You're right. This is bigger than Rodriguez. This is bigger than baseball. All of you, thank you. We're not going to go too far from this.

Jason Carroll, Rachel Nichols, Will Carroll, and Ben Reiter, thank you very much.

Before we go to break, I want to play a little sound from the last time Alex Rodriguez talked to CNN. And when we come back, we have a reporter in the thick of things in Times Square. We will see how regular folks, Yankee fans or not, are reacting to the A-Rod news, suspended 211 games, the news just down from Major League Baseball.

We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Back to our breaking news on the slugger, the New York Yankee third baseman, Alex Rodriguez. We have now learned from Major League Baseball, I'm quoting part of this press release, he's discipline under the joint prevention and treatment program based on his use and possession of numerous forms of prohibited performance-enhancing substances. They go on to specify them, and he will be suspended for 211 games.

We're going to cover the fan reaction, we're going to cover legal here.

But first let me go back to Jason Carroll who is in Chicago because the Yankees will be playing the White Sox tonight. You know, we expect to see A-Rod on that third base for the Yankees.

But, Jason, you talked to Rodriguez pretty recently. Tell me about that conversation.

J. CARROLL: And this very subject came up, the subject of suspension. It was at that point still looming over his head. He knew that this was a possibility, that he would be suspended through the 2014 season.

He knew that even then when I spoke to him a little bit more than a week ago. And so much has been talked about, his legacy, what he feels about the game, how well he can play the game. And I asked him specifically about that. Once again, with the suspension looming over his head, how well he thought he could play at this point and what he thought his legacy ultimately would be.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RODRIGUEZ: There's no hiding it. I'm no longer -- I'm not a spring chicken anymore. I'm not 28. I'm going to be 38 here in July.

But I do feel like I can contribute. I think I can be a portion of the middle lineup, a big right-handed bat for our team. But I'm in a different stage of my career. Is it realistic to go out and hit 40, 50 home runs? I don't think so. Or can I go out and have nights like I did last night and do that, you know, several times a week? I think so.

J. CARROLL: Is it too early to talk about legacy, nearing 38? What would your -- what would you like your legacy to be?

Rodriguez; You know, first, someone that loved the game and someone that respected the game and someone that loved his teammates and just loves to compete. The one thing that no one can take away from me is the effort that I put forth and how much I love this game.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

J. CARROLL: And that really says it all there, Brooke. After speaking to him, you really get a sense that this is a man who cares very deeply about the game, cares very much about the game. The question is, did he care so much about the game he would be willing to do anything to play it? Again, the suspension through the 2014 season becomes effective Thursday -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: OK. Jason Carroll for us in Chicago.

Poppy Harlow, let me go to you. You are in the middle of New York's Times Square in presumably Yankee country. Who are you talking to?

POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

I mean, a lot of Yankee fans here. And certainly everyone's abuzz talking about this A-Rod news that just broke. A few people next to me that want to talk to us about it.

First of all, Jamie, you're a youth baseball coach, so you have a very unique perspective on this. What do you think this means, this 211- game suspension?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's a fair suspension. He serves as a role model to these young boys and girls who play baseball and softball across the country. We need to send a message to these players that this kind of cheating and whatnot is not acceptable.

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: He's getting 211 games, which he's going to fight. Other 12 players getting 50 games.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right. Yes. I know there's been allegations in the past for many of these different players. It really does tarnish the reputation of Major League Baseball.

HARLOW: What do you think, Justin? You're here with your four kids. You're all baseball fans. What's your take on this?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a little perspective in that Barry Bonds, we're from the Bay Area in California. And we had Barry Bonds have to step out because of drugs. The reality is that he abused the system.

He cheated. He was caught. And now we have A-Rod who is going to lose I believe it's $32 million in salary. To him, it's a drop in the bucket. But the key point is here what is the message that's being sent to children?

HARLOW: Good point.

Let's talk to some of the kids here. Brooke, we're going to get to the money angle in just a minute, because this is big money we're talking about.

But, Elias, you're a baseball fan. How old are you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm 13 -- 14.

HARLOW: You have been following this, 14 years old. What's your take?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, I definitely agree with these guys. Baseball is for -- have fun, you know. Drugs, it's just totally unfair, you know. Have fun with the sport. HARLOW: Level playing field?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Level playing field. You can't cheat. It's just unfair to the other players.

HARLOW: All right. Guys, stand by with me. We're going to talk to you more throughout the day.

Brooke, let's take a look at the numbers because this is big money that the Yankees aren't going to have to pay out if they win in arbitration. It's also big money that Alex Rodriguez is facing losing if he loses in arbitration. We know he's going to fight this. Let's look at what he's got left, $9 million approximately left to pay out to him for the rest of this season, about 51 games left. He's going to play some of those before they go into arbitration.

His salary for next year, 2014, which MLB is suspending him for the full year. He will fight that. That salary is $25 million. If you look at the totality of this deal, this is the highest paid player in baseball. Ten-year, $275 million contract. Still left on that, $86 million is still left on that deal. Let's say that he if he does indeed get suspended and doesn't play through next season, comes back in 2015, plays through 2017, his contract, still could make $61 million after this suspension is over, Brooke.

So this is very, very big money that we're talking about here. And he's fighting for reputation. But it's also about money.

BALDWIN: Yes, his legacy, and it is quite a chunk of change, as you pointed out. Poppy Harlow, thank you.

Talk about the biggest contract ever, $275 million that he signed for 10 years in 2007.

But, Sunny Hostin, OK, to you, because I'm thinking legally here, here he is, A-Rod saying yes, I did it, so on what grounds does he have to appeal?

SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, I think it's going to be very difficult. Definitely the appeal is mandated.

This is not going to go to a court. It's going to go to an arbitrator. And it's going to go into arbitration because of the agreement. But I think when you have someone that has already agreed and admitted, rather, that this type of behavior occurred, the arbitration is really much more about the penalty.

It's much more about the harshness of the penalty. We're talking about 211 games spanning into the 2014 season or the entire 2014 season. And so I think any lawyer is going to argue, OK, there was bad behavior here, but he shouldn't be punished 65 games. He shouldn't be punished 50 games. He should be punished perhaps 10 games. I don't know that that's a successful argument when you have 12 other players who have accepted the 50-game penalty.

Many people will believe, and I think an arbitrator will believe, well, this is an acceptance of responsibility, which is what entitles you to less of a penalty. You don't get a lesser penalty by, you know, arguing the point and by grieving the point. So I don't see that there is much to be had by appealing it, except for perhaps protecting his legacy. If there's some sort of arbitration agreement that is stipulated to that we don't all hear about, right, that's confidential, then perhaps in some small way, that somehow protects his legacy.

BALDWIN: OK.

And, Ben Reiter, to you, because all of this talk about A-Rod and I want to talk about someone who is really integral to the team, to the Texas Rangers, and you have Nelson Cruz. And so I have been forwarded through part of his note he's one of the 12 who is being suspended for 50 games. So he, as the Rangers hope, I'm sure, will be back for the playoffs.

He says: "I look forward to regaining the trust and respect of the Rangers organization, my teammates, and the great Rangers fans. I'm grateful for the opportunity to rejoin the team for the playoffs."

Is that a definite? Will he be back?

REITER: It's not a definite. You know, Nelson Cruz's motivations were very different than Alex Rodriguez's. Let's remember that Nelson Cruz is going to be a free agent after this year. So he was highly motivated to just get the suspension done with.

Then he will hit the open market and get another huge contract. That sets him apart from A-Rod. Let's also remember that last year Melky Cabrera was leading the National League in hitting, was then suspended for performance-enhancing drug use. His suspension was over by the time the postseason came around. But the Giants declined to put him back on the roster.

So, yes, Nelson Cruz's suspension will be over by the playoffs. The Tigers seem certain to be there. I mean, the Rangers seem certain to be there. We will have to see if they welcome him back on the team. Same thing goes for Jhonny Peralta, the Tigers' All-Star shortstop, who will also be a free agent next year. The Tigers could certainly use him this season, this October. We will have to see if they decide to bring him back.

BALDWIN: What a year in baseball. Ben Reiter, "Sports Illustrated," Ben, thank you very much.

We move to the other big, big story today. Security officials have told CNN al Qaeda in Yemen is in the final stages of planning a terror attack. So, coming up next, we will talk to a former CIA officer who will tell us about what he knows and how the U.S. is responding next.

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