San Diego Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. looks on during the second inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Petco Park. Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

Fernando Tatis Sr. says son's positive PED test caused by 'fungus due to haircut'

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports
By Darryn Albert | Last updated 8/15/22

When it comes to bad excuses, Fernando Tatis Sr. may have just topped “he was hacked” and “the dog ate his homework.”

The retired MLB slugger spoke this week to baseball insider Hector Gomez and offered an extremely peculiar explanation for the recent positive PED test of his son, Fernando Tatis Jr. of the San Diego Padres.

Tatis Sr. said that his son contracted a fungus during a haircut and used a spray called “trofobol” to treat it.

Fernando Tatis Sr.: "What involves him (Tatis Jr.) is a steroid that contains a spray called trofobol… He got a fungus due to a haircut. His mistake was not reading what it contains, which is what apparently makes him guilty of something totally unknown".

— Héctor Gómez (@hgomez27) August 15, 2022

It got even weirder from there as Tatis Sr. claimed his son used the spray for his skin only and not to enhance performance. Tatis Sr. also said millions of fans would now stop watching baseball because of Tatis Jr’s suspension.

Fernando Tatis Sr: "It was a mistake that could have been handled differently, destroy the image of a player for such a small thing, for a situation like this. Is a catastrophe not just for Tatis Jr, but for all baseball. There’s millions of fans that will stop watching baseball"

— Héctor Gómez (@hgomez27) August 15, 2022

Fernando Tatis Sr.: "All of this has happened because of something that is not worth this issue. This is something for the skin, that’s something that’s not performance enhancing and has no testosterone. It has nothing to help you improve in the game."

— Héctor Gómez (@hgomez27) August 15, 2022

Tatis Jr. received an 80-game suspension from Major League Baseball last week after he tested positive for a banned anabolic steroid called Clostebol (per the release from the MLB commissioner’s office). As for “trofobol,” an online search for that term returns less than 300 total results (though some Dominican websites do list “Trofobol Spray” as a product for sale).

The All-Star slugger Tatis Jr. had a similar explanation for his positive test, blaming it on a medication used to treat ringworm (which is a type of fungal infection). Whatever the real reason for the positive test though, this is not the first time Tatis Sr. has done some bizarre damage control for his son.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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