Fernando Tatis Sr. Ridicules Son’s Suspension As a ‘Catastrophe’

Fernando Tatis Jr.’s 80-game suspension for failing a PED drug test rocked the baseball world over the weekend. Now, his father is speaking up about the situation, calling his son’s suspension “a catastrophe.”

As a guest on The Midday Show in the Dominican Republic, Fernando Tatis Sr.—who played for five different teams during his 11-year MLB career—lamented his son’s failed test, saying that the result stemmed from Tatis Jr.’s use of trofobol meant to treat a ringworm that appeared on the side of his neck, according to ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez. The medication is not sold in the United States and includes clostebol—the anabolic steroid that the Padres’ shortstop tested positive for—as one of its main ingredients.

Tatis Sr. said that the situation “could’ve been managed” better by the league, insisting that the substance his son tested positive for does not provide a competitive advantage.

“This is a catastrophe that has taken place, not just for Jr., but for all of baseball. There are millions of fans who are gonna stop watching baseball now,” Tatis Sr. said. “It’s a total disappointment for Dominican fans, fans throughout the world, for something so insignificant that wasn’t worth it. It’s a topical. What came out positive in Jr.’s body is something that doesn’t give you strength, first of all, doesn’t amplify your [weight-training] regimen, that’s second, doesn’t have any testosterone, that’s third, doesn’t contain absolutely anything that would give you an edge in the game. What has occurred is a catastrophe for baseball.”

Clostebol is a synthetic anabolic-androgenic steroid, commonly known as an anabolic steroid, that mimics the male sex hormone testosterone. It’s the same substance that Freddy Galvis and Dee Strange-Gordon were suspended for in 2012 and ’16, respectively.

Tatis Jr.’s failed drug test came as he was rehabbing from a left wrist injury that was believed to have occurred during an offseason motorcycle accident.