NEW YORK — Alex Rodriguez's reputation is in tatters, his credibility shredded. Having admitted that he, too, cheated in baseball's steroids era, the New York Yankees star must go about rebuilding his image in the eyes of teammates, opponents and fans.

Following a weekend Sports Illustrated report that he flunked a drug test six years ago, baseball's highest-paid player told ESPN on Monday he used banned substances while playing with the Texas Rangers from 2001-03 to justify his 10-year, $252 million contract.

"If you're a fan of major league baseball, I think it tarnishes an entire era, to some degree," President Barack Obama said during his first presidential news conference.

Rodriguez was apologetic but was not forthcoming with details.

He sidestepped a question about how he obtained the banned drugs and said he didn't even know what substance he was guilty of using.