MLB: Tigers’ Rodriguez says he contracted Zika virus
Detroit Tigers closer Francisco Rodriguez says he contracted the Zika virus over the off-season in his home country of Venezuela and advises potential Olympic athletes to educate themselves about the virus before heading to Rio de Janeiro.
Rodriguez told ESPN.com on Tuesday that he wouldn’t blame athletes for skipping the Olympics, and that “if they have plans to have kids in the future, you’ve got to think about it.”
Zika is a mosquito-borne virus linked to severe birth defects and possible neurological problems in adults.
Rodriguez says he was laid up for about two weeks with head and body aches, sore joints and other symptoms. It took about two months until he felt normal again.
The World Health Organization last week rejected a call from 150 health experts to consider postponing or moving the Olympics.
“It’s something people have to be careful with and worry about,” Rodriguez said.
“There’s no vaccine for it. It’s not like you take a shot and (improve) . . . It could be global.” Byrd gets season-long suspension Marlon Byrd’s second strike with performance-enhancing drugs will cost him a season, and maybe his career.
The 38-year-old Cleveland Indians outfielder was suspended 162 games without pay by Major League Baseball on Wednesday after testing positive for Ipamorelin, a growth hormone releasing peptide. Byrd, who believes the source was a tainted supplement, said in a statement he won’t appeal.
Byrd served a 50-game suspension after testing positive in 2012 for Tamoxifen, a medication used by body builders but also to treat breast cancer in women and men.