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NEW YORK (CBS) ― A-Rod or A-Roids?

A shocking report released Saturday says the Yankees' superstar third baseman flunked a steroid test in 2003, the year before they became illegal.

The testing process was being tried out, and results were – like a medical record – supposed to be kept confidential.

Sports Illustrated has released the records, however, after vetting their story with five independent sources.

It was during Alex Rodriguez's MVP season with the Texas Rangers that Sports Illustrated Magazine claims he tested positive for two performance-enhancing anabolic steroids: Testosterone and Primobolan.

When the writer of the Sports Illustrated article, Selena Roberts, appeared Saturday on MLB Network, she did not reveal her sources for the story, but talked about what happened when she confronted Rodriguez with the allegations in a face-to-face meeting in a gym in Miami on Thursday.

"I did say to him, 'this is the evidence we have, what's your response to that? Is there something you want to say?'" Roberts says. "Now his first response was, 'you'll have to talk to the union.'

"I went further. I said, 'is it possible that this is a mistake, is there something else that could have happened with your sample? What else could have gone on here Alex?' I said, 'I'm just trying to find out what's going on,'" Roberts says. "And that's when he said, 'I'm not saying anything.'"

When Alex Rodriguez allegedly tested positive in 2003, it was along with 104 other players. The results were supposed to stay secret, and because so many players were implicated, Major League Baseball started mandatory tests – with penalties for positive results – in 2004.

That is the year that Rodriguez started with the Yankess, and that is the year, according to Sports Illustrated, that Rodriguez was apparently tipped off in advance of what was supposed to be an unannounced drug test.

The man who allegedly warned him was Chief Operating Officer of the Players' Union, Gene Orza.

"Why would Orza tip someone off before the test, unless he felt someone was using," Roberts asks.

Three years later, on December 13, 2007, the Mitchell Report was released and some of the biggest names in the game were swept up in a steroid scandal – and Rodriguez was not among them. A few days later, CBS Evening News' Katie Couric sat down with Rodriguez.

"For the record, have you ever used steroids, human growth hormone, or any other performance-enhancing substance?" Couric asked Rodriguez.

His response was short and to-the-point. "No."

"Have you ever been tempted to use any of those things?" Couric then asked.

"No."

For now, Rodriguez does not confirm or deny the report, leaving fans to wonder, wait... and debate.

The results of the testing of 1,198 players were meant to be anonymous under the agreement between the commissioner's office and the union. SI reported that Rodriguez's testing information was found after federal agents, with search warrants, seized the 2003 results from Comprehensive Drug Testing, Inc., in Long Beach, Calif.

That was one of two labs used by baseball in connection with the testing. The seizure in April 2004 was part of the government's investigation into 10 baseball players linked to the BALCO scandal, the magazine reported. Rodriguez has not been connected to BALCO.

Primobolan, also known as methenolone, is an injected or orally administered drug. It improves strength and maintains lean muscle with minimal bulk development and few side effects. Bonds tested positive three times for methenolone, according to court documents unsealed by a federal judge Wednesday.

Primobolan is not an approved prescription drug in the United States. Testosterone can be taken legally with a prescription.

CBS 2's Dave Carlin contributed to this report.

(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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