New York Yankees slugging third baseman broke his silence today and admitted he had taken steroids. Rodriguez told ESPN in a recorded interview:

"When I arrived in Texas in 2001, I felt an enormous amount of pressure. I felt like I had all the weight of the world on top of me and I needed to perform, and perform at a high level every day," the New York Yankees star said in an interview with ESPN that was broadcast Monday shortly after it was recorded.

"Back then it was a different culture. It was very loose. I was young. I was stupid," he said. "I was naive, and I wanted to prove to everyone that, you know, I was worth, you know — and being one of the greatest players of all time."

For years, their had been rumors linking A-Rod to using performance enhancement drugs, notably Jose Canseco pointing the finger at him in a published book, but for years Rodriguez denies the claim.

Here is the video of the highest paid player in baseball admitting his shady steroid past: