SAN DIEGO — San Diego’s superstar Fernando Tatis Jr, who has been suspended for 80 games after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs spoke out publicly for the first time since his suspension. The 23-year-old addressed the media apologizing to his teammates and the fans.
When did you have a test that was positive?
Let me clarify on the ringworm story. I've been dealing with [a] skin infection... for the course of the years. During that period of time, then I got tested, I got this medication [and] it was not from my medical staff back over here or the Padres. Then, soon later I tested positive... but at the end of the day, there's no excuses. There's no excuses. I need to do a way better job on what is going was going on inside my body. And there's no excuse for these actions.
What do you want to say to the fans, some of who are still here wearing your jersey and others who maybe have kids that aren't sure they can look up to you anymore? What do you want to say?
That I understand...I understand how they feel. I was a fan, I grew up watching this game. If my favorite player would have done something like I've done, I would feel the same way. I would have felt disappointed... I truly understand how they feel, but one thing is I'm going to make for sure is when I come back, I gain their trust again and I regain that pure love that they gave me all the way from the beginning.
Why didn't you reach out to someone at the Padres to make sure this is something you could take?
It was a stupid mistake; it was me being reckless. It was me going to the people like knowing they can help me, regretting all of that, but at the end of the day, like I mentioned, there's no excuses and there's no other ones to blame.
How receptive were your teammates who spoke to them and how do you start to move forward with them going forward?
They were disappointed, everybody’s disappointed, I'm disappointed in myself, but I feel like we will have a strong talk we share stuff that is tough love, you know. I feel like we put everything on the table that needed to be out there and it's going to start slowly one step at a time to regain their trust again.
WATCH: The full press conference from Tuesday, August 23: