October 10, 2008
Tony Mandarich gave an interview with Free Press reporter Shannon Shelton for his book scheduled in stores March 2009. Tony Mandarich is the NFL player who played for MSU in college and was in the Rose Bowl in the late 90s. He's one of the better known NFL players but is also one of the most controversial, due his stints with drug use and steroid use. His latest amount of bullshit has come from his use of anabolic steroids. He's pretty much done in the NFL, and is a joke of his old self, so now that he feels he has nothing in national football league left, he is going for steroids. He has to tell all in his book about his steroid use bacause he's not making money any other way.
The truth is after these steroid allegations, it's unlikely any NFL team will take him, so this book is his way out of the NFL for life. Yea he's a steroid and drug junky but at least he's this much of a joke that he has to publish a book slamming anabolic steroids and not his misgivings about his talent.
QUESTION: What type of reaction have you gotten thus far about the book and its admissions?
ANSWER: In the interview with “Inside the NFL,” I was obviously candid about what I’ve done, mistakes I’ve made and how I’ve tried to fix those mistakes. After we did the interview, I was told that they had so much good content that they planned to break it into a two-part series. My concern was that they’d put all the sensationalistic parts in Part I, and the information about my recovery in Part II.
I expected negative reactions, but I got a lot of positive reaction for standing up and being honest.
I didn’t have any motive. I want to help others suffering through drug and alcohol addiction and provide a warning that no matter what level you’re at — Pop Warner, high school, college, NFL — no one is bulletproof. My motive is to help people who are hurting, and that comes out in the second show.
I have no intention to point the finger at anyone other than myself. This is not a Jose Canseco-style book.
Q: What’s the reaction from Michigan State, if any?
A: The personal contacts I’ve received have pleasantly surprised me. I heard from former MSU players and that made me feel good. I’m a huge Michigan State supporter. I love the school, the program, the coaching staff and I love George Perles. George taught me a lot of great life-lasting lessons.
Q : Have you spoken with George about the book?
A: I last talked to him two years ago when I was on campus and appeared with him on a pregame radio show. Before that, I hadn’t talked to him since I was a player. So that’s 30 minutes in the last 20 years.
Q: What was your experience while taking steroids?
A: They obviously work if you’re already athletic. Steroids make you stronger. I don’t think they make you more athletic if you aren’t already. As much as they have a strong physical effect, they have just as much psychologically. I remember I was taking steroids once for eight weeks and then I went off. On my first day off, I thought, “Oh my god, I’m already getting weaker, I’m already getting smaller.” That’s how much they can affect you psychologically.
Q: Did anyone at MSU know what you were doing?
A: There was a time when some trainers sat me down and asked me point-blank if I was using steroids. I denied it. They did their due diligence and they explained the consequences to me if I was using. I lied to them. But at no point did I talk to any coaches about it.
Q: How did you pass the drug tests, including the one before the 1988 Rose Bowl?
A: “It was easy. I cheated on one test, but in my five years at MSU, I was only tested five times. There was no test when we went to the Cherry Bowl. At the All-American Bowl, I got off the drugs and got clean before I went to Birmingham, Ala., and had to take the test. We didn’t go to a bowl in my junior year.
At the Rose Bowl, they tested us twice. Again, I got off drugs and went clean and passed the first test. Then there was a surprise test, and I knew I was (in trouble). I had to improvise. The story of what I did is amusing because it was so simple. I won’t tell you because it’s in the book.
Testing is more advanced today, but back then, it was Mickey Mouse.
Q: Once you left for the NFL, more focus was placed on MSU in terms of steroid use. Did a culture of steroid use exist in East Lansing?
A: It was a very awkward time. Even though I was in Green Bay by then, it was interesting that they went after me and MSU only. I personally knew players at Michigan and other Big Ten schools that were doing it. While I didn’t expect a Detroit paper to go to Madison, Wis., to investigate that program, I wondered why they only went after MSU.
