Baltimore Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts, who played college baseball at the University of South Carolina, acknowledged Tuesday that he has used steroids, but insisted that he only tried it once in 2003 and understands that it was “a terrible decision.” The All-Star came clean after being named in former Sen. George Mitchell’s report on steroid use in Major League Baseball.

In a statement to Associated Press Roberts said:

“In 2003, when I took one shot of steroids, I immediately realized that this was not what I stood for or anything that I wanted to continue doing. I never used steroids, human growth hormone or any other performance enhancing drugs prior to or since that single incident. I can honestly say before God, myself, my family and all of my fans, that steroids or any performance-enhancing drugs have never had any effect on what I have worked so hard to accomplish in the game of baseball.”

Admitted.  Apologized.  Forgiven.

Now let’s play some ball — in April, anyway.

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Photo: Baltimore Sun