Bautista backs Colabello's defense of failed PED test
Chris Colabello said he didn't knowingly take the substance that triggered his positive drug test last month, and his teammate Jose Bautista believes him.
The Toronto Blue Jays right fielder commented on his suspended teammate's case Friday after speaking to Dallas-area students about the dangers of performance-enhancing drugs, and said he'd like to see what he called "human error" factor into decisions regarding discipline in certain cases.
"If anything, I'm more concerned about the integrity of the (league's drug-testing) program and what can be done to make sure that those systems that are in place are fully transparent and human error is taken into account," he told Brendan Kennedy of the Toronto Star.
Colabello, who previously received support from another Blue Jays teammate, Kevin Pillar, stated in an interview following his suspension that he didn't know how the substance in question was found in his urine sample.
Related - Pillar: MLB has 'soul-searching' to do after Colabello ban
Bautista's words are particularly interesting given his comments about the state of PED testing last month, shortly before Colabello's suspension was announced. At the time, the 35-year-old expressed satisfaction with the success rate of the system.
"It's going to be impossible to find a 100 percent level playing field. But it seems like we're at 98-99 percent," the 35-year-old told FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal on April 21. "That seems to be good enough. And the guys who are willing to risk it ... there are always going to be a few rotten apples, no matter where you are."
On the subject of his suspended teammate, Bautista clarified that he recognizes a substance - in this case, a steroid created by East German doctors - made it into Colabello's body somehow, meaning he must pay the price with a suspension. The six-time All-Star simply wants someone like Colabello, who Bautista says has "integrity," to not be done in by what he believes is a technicality without any sort of clarity along the way.
"The issue still exists that for some reason that substance was in his body, so that has to be cleared up as well," Bautista said Friday. "So I'm not trying to say just because he's a nice guy he can get away with just saying he didn't do it. But I think that it needs to be looked at in more detail and applied to his individual situation to make sure that everything that was done was fully transparent and that the testing was not compromised in any way."