WASHINGTON — On Capitol Hill instead of a baseball field, wearing business suits instead of uniforms, they walked into the room, stars all, forced by subpoena to testify before Congress about whether they cheated by using steroids.

Heads turned, strobes flashed and necks craned to get a glimpse of baseball's humbled heroes on a day of extraordinary theater.

Five current and former players, three of them among the 10 leading home run hitters in history, bemoaned steroids as a problem for their sport but denied the drugs are widely used.

Mark McGwire hemmed and hawed, his voice choked with emotion, his eyes nearly filled with tears. Time after time, he refused to answer the question everyone wanted to know: Did he take illegal steroids when he hit a then-record 70 home runs in 1998 or at any other time?

No matter how hard the congressmen tried, McGwire wouldn't say.

Jose Canseco — whose best-selling book, "Juiced," drew lawmakers' attention — said anew that he used performance-enhancing drugs as a player. Baltimore Orioles teammates Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro said they haven't.

McGwire in the past has denied using steroids but under oath repeatedly declined to respond directly. Peering at lawmakers over reading glasses, his goatee flecked with gray, McGwire was pressed to say whether he had taken performance-enhancing substances or whether he could provide details about use by other players. He responded repeatedly, "I'm not here to talk about the past."

Asked by Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., whether he was asserting his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself, McGwire said: "I'm not here to talk about the past. I'm here to be positive about this subject."

Asked whether use of steroids was cheating, McGwire said: "That's not for me to determine."

Earlier, he said he knew that steroid use could be dangerous and pledged to discourage young athletes from using them.

All of the players offered condolences to the parents of two young baseball players who committed suicide after using steroids. The parents testified, too, along with medical experts who talked about the health risks of steroids.

"Players that are guilty of taking steroids are not only cheaters — you are cowards," said Donald Hooton of Plano, Texas, whose son, Taylor, was 17 when he hanged himself in July 2003.

Canseco's book included claims that he injected McGwire with steroids when they were teammates with the Oakland Athletics and that Palmeiro used the drugs. In a tense scene, they sat at the same table, never directly addressing each other. During a break, Canseco was left out while the other players huddled.