A-Rod tells MLB panel he was duped into taking steroids

Doping-accused Yankees star Alex Rodriguez has told the panel which is hearing his appeal that he was duped into taking steroids.

According to the New York Daily News, the embattled Yankee and his lawyers have presented a case based partly on the idea that Rodriguez believed the substances he procured from the Biogenesis anti-aging clinic were innocent legal supplements.

Such claims have met minimal success in courtrooms, but they sometimes work in the confidential confines of a sport's drug program, the report said.

Olympic sports have the highest standard of what is loosely termed 'strict liability,' where an athlete is almost always held responsible for substances found in his or her specimen regardless of intent, the report added.

However, baseball's drug policy allows players to challenge doping bans by proving a positive drug test was not due to fault or negligence, and numerous players have turned to that strategy, the report further said.

The hearing is expected to take up the rest of this week but can't continue next week because of scheduling conflicts and may resume later in the month or, if that is not sufficient time, in November, according to the report.