Former Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling said on an ESPN Radio interview Wednesday he was encouraged to consider using performance-enhancing drugs near the end of his career.

“At the end of my career, in 2008 when I had gotten hurt, there was a conversation that I was involved in, in which it was brought to my attention that this is a potential path I might want to pursue,’’ Schilling said in an interview with Colin Cowherd that focused on the use of PEDs in baseball and recent allegations about several star players.

Schilling did not specifically name the Red Sox, but when asked where he was told that, he replied “in the clubhouse.’’


He was then asked who was involved.

“Former members of the organization,’’ he said. “They’re no longer there. But it was an incredibly uncomfortable conversation because it came up in the midst of a group of people. The other people weren’t in the conversation, but they could clearly hear the conversation, and it was suggested to me that at my age, and in my situation, why not, what did I have to lose? Because if I wasn’t going to get healthy, it didn’t matter, and if I did get healthy, great.

“It caught me off guard, to say the least, but that was an awkward situation.’’

Schilling was 41 when he played his last game in 2007 as a member of the Red Sox’ World Series championship team. He signed a one-year deal with the Red Sox for 2008, but did not pitch because of shoulder problems. He officially retired from baseball in 2009.