Since the late 1980s, many athletes have been linked to steroids and PEDs use. Perhaps, baseball is the sport with the greatest steroid controversies. Some of the biggest and greatest names in baseball have been linked to steroids use, especially in the BALCO scandal.

The most famous being Barry Bonds, who is well known for breaking Hank Aaron’s home run record. These days, he is also known for another thing, his association with steroids. Bonds, no matter how great his records are in baseball, could never get a contract with any MLB teams and spent all his 2008 with no activity.

In 2003, Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative was accused of supplying anabolic steroids, HGH and other performance-enhancing drugs to professional players in the MLB and in US Track and Field. Some of those athletes include Jason Giambi, Bill Romanowski and Marion Jones.

Added to the BALCO scandal was the list of 104 players who failed the drug test in 2003. The list was supposed to be kept confidential until federal authorities illegally seized the list during a BALCO related search.

Regardless of the advantages it could bring to an athlete’s professional career, the side effects could not be ignored. Its life-long effect in the reputation of professional sports can also be detrimental.

From Bleacher Report:

A new era of baseball is in progress. Pitchers with 210 strikeouts a season, hitters getting over 500 home runs a year with 40 stolen bases. All regular statistics nowadays, but are they legit?

Ever since the late 1980s many sports figures (mostly baseball) have been linked to PED’s (Performance Enhancing Drugs). Some of these athletes include the biggest names in baseball. Even though the testing and tolerance level has grown stricter and stricter over the years drug use has continued to increase

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The use of anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs are considered cheating in sports. These substances may give athletes the unfair advantage over competitors, who usually work mostly through their own efforts.

Some famous athletes fell from grace because of steroids use. Here are a few of them:

Marion Jones, a former world champion in track and field, won five medals during the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. She was recently released from a six-month imprisonment from March to September 2008 for admitting guilty to a perjury charge. She lied in two grand juries about her steroid use. Her name was also linked to the BALCO scandal and all her medals and winning records were stripped away from her.

Just like Marion Jones, Barry Bonds was also involved in the BALCO scandal. The seven-timer MVP awardee is considered one of the greatest baseball players of all time. However, he spent his 2008 baseball season without any activity.

Many athletes think that they could just get away with it. Many athletes are not stopped from taking anabolic steroids to improve their overall performance.

However, once they are caught, their careers are over or it may suffer from never-ending criticisms. Fans may even lose trust and confidence in the athlete and in the game.

From Test Country:

Steroid use in sports is cheating in the eyes of sports authorities. That is because the use of anabolic steroids and other similar drugs enhances the performance of an athlete and gives the athlete an unfair advantage over others working mostly through their own efforts. It violates the honor-bound code that sportsmen are supposed to follow.

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J.C. Romero, the Philadelphia Phillies star who was suspended for steroid abuse last August, has taken legal action against the makers and distributors of nutritional supplements. The star pitcher alleged that they are responsible for his positive test.

Romero filed a 27-page lawsuit on Monday in New Jersey Superior Court in Camden County. In the lawsuit, he blamed the product 6-OXO Extreme for traces of androstenedione found in his urine on Aug. 26, 2008. The lawsuit also includes various other counts, including negligence, intentional misrepresentation and consumer fraud.

GNC, Vitamin Shoppe, Ergopharm and Proviant Technologies are the four defendants named under the lawsuit. Among these, the latter two companies are owned and operated by Patrick Arnold, an Illinois-based chemist who is in federal prison for having role in the BALCO affair. When asked about the lawsuit, Arnold did not give any statement.

Romero said, “I purchased an over-the-counter supplement that I was told and believed would not cause me to test positive.” “These events have hurt me deeply and placed a cloud over my career, accomplishments and family. It is my hope that I can finally start to put this event behind me and protect the interests of others who rely on manufacturers and retailers to be honest about their products.”

From New York Daily News:

Suspended Phillies reliever J.C. Romero is suing the makers and distributors of nutritional supplements that he says are responsible for his positive steroid test last August.

The 27-page lawsuit, filed Monday in New Jersey Superior Court in Camden County, blames the product 6-OXO Extreme for traces of androstenedione found in the pitcher’s urine on Aug. 26, 2008.

The numerous counts in the lawsuit include negligence, intentional misrepresentation and consumer fraud. The four defendants named are GNC, Vitamin Shoppe, Ergopharm and Proviant Technologies.

The star Phillies pitcher was tested positive for androstenedione on Aug. 26, 2008 and received a 50-game suspension order, which was not made public until January of this year. MLB announced his ban later in January. Despite of his suspension, Romero was allowed to work out with the Phillies in spring training session and in pregame practices without being paid.

Gary Wadler, a New York internist affiliated with the World Anti-Doping Agency stated that Romero situation had highlighted a well-known problem with the under-regulated supplement industry.

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It seems that the hot controversy encircling Roger Clemens and Brian McNamee has reached to a new turning point when McNamee’s lawyers said in a document filed in a Texas federal court that Clemens should talk to prosecutors in regard of defamation suit. They said that the prosecutors had forced McNamee to talk to former Sen. George Mitchell and not with his longtime trainer.

The document was a counter response to a motion filed by Clemens‘ attorney Rusty Hardin last month. In the motion, they asked U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison to review his decision of dismissing most of Clemens‘ defamation suit. The winner of seven times, Clemens filed the suit soon after the release of the Mitchell Report in December 2007.

It is to remind that in the Mitchell Report McNamee had admitted that he injected Clemens with steroids and human growth hormone numerous times from 1998-2001.

One of McNamee’s attorneys, Richard Emery said, “The thrust of our response is that Clemens is trying to blame Brian for what he is angry at the government prosecutors for doing - that is, compelling Brian to talk to them and tell the truth.”

He also said that the prosecutors compelled McNamee to talk and it was not his fault that they (prosecutors) made the report publicly. Clemens and his lawyers are pointing their fingers at the wrong person.

Hardin had argued in court filings that McNamee should not be protected with absolute immunity. He also pointed out that Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Parrella, who had led much of the BALCO testing, gave argument that the intention behind the government’s steroid probe was to nail distributors and not athletes or users during the hearing of Tammy Thomas, the cyclist convicted of perjury last year, case. “McNamee’s statements to Mitchell about Clemens‘ alleged steroid use play no role in exposing and prosecuting drug distribution rings,” Hardin argued.

However, McNamee’s lawyers countered with the point that the prosecutors did not tell cooperating witnesses, the purpose or scope of their investigations.

From New York Daily News:

Roger Clemens should pick a fight with the prosecutors who forced Brian McNamee to talk to former Sen. George Mitchell, and not with his longtime trainer, McNamee’s lawyers said in a document filed in a Texas federal court late Wednesday.

The document was a response to a motion filed by Clemens’ attorney Rusty Hardin last month that asked U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison to reconsider his decision to dismiss most of Clemens’ defamation suit. The seven-time Cy Young winner filed the suit shortly after the Mitchell Report was released in December 2007 — in which McNamee told Mitchell and his investigators that he injected Clemens with steroids and human growth hormone numerous times between 1998-2001 — and it questioned granting McNamee immunity for the statements he made to Mitchell for his report on drug use in baseball.

“No private citizen, approached by the government, could know such things. It is for this reason that the law does not require a witness to be omniscient to be covered by absolute immunity,” says the filing.

According to Emery, Clemens could file a suit known as a “Bivens Action” against the government for abuse of authority. He further added, “If they did file that suit, at least they would have someone to point the finger at that has power. Brian has no power.”

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The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) said that it would decide whether a revealing book by British sprinter Dwain Chambers, who was banned for his doping issues, brought disrepute conditions for the sports area. The IAAF council said this in a meeting held in the month of March in Berlin, which is the site of this year’s world athletics championships.

Chambers recently published his autobiography in which he gave detailed information about his extensive use of banned substances. He became the first high-profile offender of the BALCO doping lab scandal when he tested positive for previously undetectable steroid THG in 2003. However, the 30-year-old sprinter successfully returned to the track after two-year suspension and won the European indoor sprint title earlier this month.

IAAF spokesman Nick Davies said, “We have asked our legal experts to look at this book and whether it brings the sport into disrepute.” He also added, “If indeed it does then this matter will be dealt with at the council meeting.”

From Reuters:

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) will decide this week whether a revealing book by British sprinter Dwain Chambers, banned in the past for doping, has brought the sport into disrepute.

The IAAF council is meeting on March 21-22 in Berlin, site of this year’s world athletics championships in August.

Chambers, the first high-profile offender in the BALCO doping lab scandal when he tested positive in 2003 for the previously undetectable steroid THG, recently published his autobiography, detailing his extensive use of banned substances.

The 30-year-old has successfully returned to competition after a two-year ban, winning the European indoor sprint title earlier this month.

“We have asked our legal experts to look at this book and whether it brings the sport into disrepute,” IAAF spokesman Nick Davies said.

“If indeed it does then this matter will be dealt with at the council meeting,” added Davies.

In his autobiography “Race Against Me”, Chambers speaks openly about doping and the effect on his health as well as his performance.

Chambers in his autobiography “Race Against Me,” spoke openly and clearly about his usage of steroid and its effect on his health and performance. “Barely four months into my ‘programme’ to become the fastest man in the world and I was on drugs nearly every day. At this point I was practically a walking junkie. I was on the lot and the sophisticated modern-day tests detected nothing,” he says.

Chambers further added, “On Christmas Day, as I sat in the bathroom with ‘The Clear’ (THG), I realized I had been taking drugs – more than 300 different concoctions — for 12 months. A year on the programme cost $30,000.”

However, the sprinter’s return is welcomed by various major European organizations. Berlin’s Golden League organizers said that he was welcome to compete in their prestigious June event. But it seems that IAAF wants to extend the suspension penalty. The revised doping code that will come into effect by this year has a two-year ban for the first-time offenders and may be lifetime suspension for second time cheaters.

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Before any of the steroids controversy ever happened to the Major League Baseball the crackdown on steroids had already begun. Called “Operation Equine,” an investigation on steroids trafficking was conducted by FBI agents Greg Stejskal and Bill Randall in 1989. This tells us that steroids use had been extensive even before the report of George Mitchell was released to the press.

Operation Equine was created when the late Bo Schembechler, Michigan’s coach tipped the FBI of the prevalent steroids use in college football. Stejskal and Randall went undercover and the investigations resulted to convictions of 70 dealers. This was a precursor to the use of performance enhancing drugs that would later on be uncovered by the Mitchell Report. The full account of this investigation will be aired in Discovery Channel on Tuesday.

From The Daily News:

“It’s amazing to see the snowball effect all these years later. I believed in (Operation Equine) and I think it’s come full circle,” Randall told the Daily News on Sunday while grilling steaks outdoors at his suburban Michigan home. “The thrust of Equine was to get traffickers, which is kind of unfortunate. I think we could have gone further, but the problem was the mind-set then. It was like, ‘It’s just steroids.’”

When Schembechler approached Stejskal - who was the head of the FBI’s Ann Arbor, Mich., office - in 1989 and discussed his suspicions of doping by rival Michigan State football players, Stejskal began an investigation that seemed like it would be short-lived at the time. But a call from President George H.W. Bush’s office to the bureau prolonged the probe, and soon the investigation was as far-reaching as Florida, Mexico, California and Canada.

One of the dealers who were convicted as a result of the investigation was said to have been the supplier of steroids to Mark McGwire. Stejskal shared with The News the lack of support they received back then during the investigation. They had warned the MLB and they turned a deaf ear. Back then prosecutors dismissed their investigation; ironically some of them were from the Northern District of California, where the prosecution of BALCO is.

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Just a week ago, questions about the jurors on Barry Bonds’ trial was all over the news. Everyone back then was quiet confident that the perjury trial will be pushing through. Unfortunately, the prosecution had requested that the trial be moved due to lack of evidence. Their appeal on an evidentiary ruling will probably push the trial down a few more months. The trial is expected to be around June or July. There have been mixed opinions on the actions of the prosecution.

From Daily News:

Peter Keane, a law professor at Golden Gate University and a close observer of the BALCO trial, was surprised by the late-game delay, which he called “foolish.”

“A bush league stunt like this on the eve of the trial tells me they aren’t comfortable with what they got,” Keane says. “To pull a play like this makes them look like they don’t know what they are doing.”

At issue is Anderson’s refusal to testify, despite extraordinary pressure placed upon him by prosecutors, who declined to comment on their decisions.

Not until after Anderson formally lodged his refusal on Friday did prosecutors notify the U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston that they will appeal her recent decision to exclude a pile of evidence unless Anderson can validate it under oath.

That body of material includes doping calendars and positive drug tests, but without interpretation from Anderson, Illston says, the evidence is “classic hearsay.”

In the defense of the prosecution, they will be having a hard time convincing the jurors without the said urine samples which tested positive for anabolic steroids. No one could link these samples to Bonds except Anderson himself. Since Anderson still won’t testify, the samples are rather useless. Maybe the prosecution still needs time to convince the trainer to cooperate. Regardless of the reason, the prosecutions decision to delay the trial makes them look back and rather unprepared.

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Federal prosecutors on the Barry Bonds case have brought in more witnesses to testify against the former Giants catcher. While Greg Anderson, Bonds’ former trainer still doesn’t want to show up in court, several close friends of Bonds will be used as government witnesses to testify that the athlete had indeed used anabolic steroids in his career.

Among the list of witnesses are Kathy Hoskins and her brother Steve Hoskins, both childhood friends of Bonds. The defense was already aware that Steve would be testifying although they have just recently learned of Kathy’s participation. Kathy used to be Bonds’ assistant and personal shopper, and had traveled with him in several occasions.

From San Francisco Chronicle:

And for the first time, prosecutors said they have a witness who says she saw Bonds being injected by Anderson - Hoskins, who is also the sister of Bonds’ former longtime business manager, Steve Hoskins, another key government witness.

In 2003, Steve Hoskins secretly tape-recorded a conversation in which Anderson described the regimen of undetectable drugs he was giving Bonds, the government says.

In Friday’s filing, prosecutors did not assert that the injection Bonds allegedly received from Anderson contained banned drugs. Nevertheless, the claim is significant, because in his testimony before the grand jury that investigated BALCO, Bonds said he had never received an injection of any kind from Anderson, saying he had received injections only from doctors.

Kim Bell, Bonds‘ former girlfriend will also be standing in as a witness although the defense has claimed that she would be doing it in order to publicize her tell-all book. Bell claimed that Bonds admitted to her that he had been injecting with anabolic steroids and that she had also noticed steroid side effects including back acne and shrunken testicles.

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First there was Roger Clemens who was charged with doping. Then there was Barry Bonds who was charged with doping and lying, and was probably taken by surprise when his supposedly destroyed urine sample resurfaced and yielded positive results. And now there is Alex Rodriguez, the baseball superstar who is now under public judgment because the documents that listed supposedly confidential test results in 2003 were found along with his positive steroid test. You think that the rest of the 104 listed positive should be the only ones scared. Apparently, that is not the case. Even those that tested negative back then could be subject to some re-analyzing. Remember Bonds testing negative at first then positive after a few years? The feds might be considering the same in this case.

From Daily News:

Even those who tested negative could be subject to re-testing as a result of the Players’ Association’s failure to destroy the spreadsheet with the names of those who tested positive.

There are believed to be 525 negative urine samples in the hands of the government in addition to the 104 positive samples.

After the testing process was completed in 2003, union officials had the right to destroy the documents that connected names to actual urine samples. Sources close to the union defend its inaction, saying it would have been improper to destroy urine samples and test documents because they were potential evidence in the ongoing BALCO probe.

The laboratory that did the tests should have destroyed the samples whether positive or negative. It didn’t though and now we have 525 urine samples to analyze with more modern tests. That could mean over a hundred more Barry Bonds.

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Alex Rodriguez is a Major League Baseball player who used to play for the Texas Rangers and the Seattle Mariners. He plays third baseman for the New York Yankees, is the youngest player to ever hit 500 home runs, has the most number of home runs and total bases, and is one of the best all-around players in present baseball. Rodriguez levels with the likes of baseball legends Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron and Pete Rose. So why is he in the news? Just recently, a sports magazine reported that the baseball superstar had tested positive for anabolic steroids back in 2003 while playing for the Rangers. That was the time when he started reaping the seeds that led to his status as the most-talented player in MLB. It was actually okay to be test positive since there was no penalty back then. It was supposedly a forgotten result except the master list for the players turned up during the BALCO investigation and the physical samples (which were supposed to be destroyed) were found by the FBI during a raid on the diagnostics laboratory that held the tests.

From Washington Post:

According to the report, Rodriguez was one of 104 players on a list of positive tests that year, when baseball instituted “survey” testing to determine the extent of steroid use in the game. Those supposedly anonymous results were seized in April 2004 by federal agents investigating the Balco steroid ring, which did not involve Rodriguez. The legality of that seizure is the subject of a case in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Pasadena, Calif.

A message left for Rodriguez’s publicist yesterday was not returned, but Rodriguez, who has repeatedly denied having used steroids, is quoted by SI.com as declining comment. “You’ll have to ask the union,” he reportedly said. “I’m not saying anything.”

Rob Manfred, Major League Baseball’s executive vice president for labor relations, would not discuss the validity of the story, saying in a statement that the 2003 survey testing was “intended to be non-disciplinary and anonymous.”

Rodriguez won’t be facing any disciplinary action, no legal sanction or any penalty unlike his baseball counterpart, Barry Bonds. Unfortunately, this positive test will most likely give him a negative impression among the Major League officials and teams, and will affect his position as the highest-paid player in baseball.

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