In an interview done by Terence Moore, David Justice reiterates that he has never used anabolic steroids or any performance enhancing drugs in his career. Justice is a former player for several Major League Baseball teams but his best games were those with the Atlanta Braves. He was also one of the athletes names by Kirk Radomski in the Mitchell Report and the steroid dealer said that he had sold Justice human growth hormone when the athlete played for the Yankees. In Moore’s column, the writer looks at possible intentions behind Radomski’s actions.

From The Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Radomski doesn’t like Justice. Either that, or the former clubhouse attendant has a vivid imagination. He told George Mitchell that he sold human growth hormone to Justice. That was significant, because Mitchell was in charge of baseball’s investigation into the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Then Radomski told ESPN that he gave Justice a box of HGH and steroids during a ride to the airport after Justice finished playing for the New York Yankees in the 2000 World Series.

Now consider this: Radomski has a recently published book on steroids and baseball. It’s a book with large passages disputed by Mitchell. Which means it’s wise to question anything leaving Radomski’s lips.

“When he said he took me to the airport after we won the World Series, hey, I got my cousins, I got friends who were up there with me, and they all said, ‘That dude didn’t take you to no airport,’ ” said Justice, who did recall Brian McNamee, the former trainer, now famous for saying Roger Clemens was juiced.

As for using HGH, Justice admits that Brian McNamee did offer him the substance and said that it is not steroids. The trainer did this because Justice was suffering from pains due to his hernia and groin. And he did admit that he would have taken it if he wasn’t afraid of injecting himself using a needle since that was the only form the strength coach offered him. So no, he didn’t use the HGH either.

Tags: Brian McNamee, David Justice, human growth hormone, Kirk Radomski, Major League Baseball, Mitchell Report, Performance enhancing drugs, steroids

Posted in steroid nation, Steroids and Anabolic Steroids, Steroids in Baseball

While former US Senator George Mitchell moves on to a new project in the Middle East, issues about his disagreement with certain passages in Kirk Radomski’s book, “Bases Loaded”, are still being examined. Radomski wrote that the senator himself asked him if he knew anything about the illegal steroid use of certain athletes such as Randy Johnson and Alex Rodriguez. Not all that were asked were identified in the Mitchell Report though and according to the anabolic steroids dealer, this was because Mitchell couldn’t get any second hand information about them. The senator’s deputy, John Clarke, denied any allegations. The problem is, however, it isn’t only Radomski who pointed out this tactic. Past interviews with other baseball personalities revealed the Mitchell’s office tried to fish for names and information.

From Newsday.com

Former Yankees outfielder Chad Curtis, in an interview with Newsday that ran May 13, 2007, said his session with Mitchell’s investigators featured a fishing expedition involving Curtis’ former teammates.

“They tried to dig and prod,” Curtis said. “They at least tried to head down that road.”

In a report for ESPN.com on Dec. 11, 2007, Howard Bryant wrote that team strength coaches and trainers believed that the Mitchell team “explicitly pressured them to ‘guess’ about steroid use by specific players.”

Radomski is an important witness to the Clemens case and the Mitchell Report. It would look back if people start having the notion that the senator only wants positive news about his office and would rather hide the dirt on how the report was created. Although the Mitchell report had done a lot of good in naming athletes who had used steroids, the methods by which this information was taken would be scrutinized by the public.

Tags: Bases Loaded, George Mitchell, Kirk Radomski, Major League Baseball, Mitchell Report, Performance enhancing drugs, steroids

Posted in steroid nation, Steroids and Anabolic Steroids, Steroids in Baseball

It has been a week since the disputes on Kirk Radomski’s book, “Bases Loaded”, began  coming out. There have been so many factual errors in what he has written that even Sen. Mitchell and Major League Baseball had to release more accurate accounts. This time it is Brian McNamee, the chief accuser and Roger Clemens’ former trainer that gave out a statement contradictory to a passage from Radomski’s book. According to Radomski, McNamee bought steroids from him and had informed him that he injected Clemens with the steroid Winstrol. During his appearance for his deposition with committee investigators, McNamee had a different account than the steroid dealer.

From The New York Times:

“Did you ever indicate to Mr. Radomski that Roger Clemens was using steroids or  Human Growth Hormone” McNamee was asked by a committee investigator.

“No,” McNamee said.

“Did you ever drop hints to that effect?” McNamee was asked, referring to Radomski.

“No,” McNamee said.

McNamee added: “He would ask me how I was doing. You know, obviously he knew I trained him in the off-season.”

“But you’re saying you never told him that Clemens was using these substances?” McNamee was asked.

“Yes,” McNamee said.

Even if McNamee is the more important witness and that they could probably let go of Radomski, the cooperation of the two is essential in swaying the jury to believe the accusation against Clemens. According to a former federal prosecutor, the contradictory statements of McNamee and Radomski would hurt the perjury case and would give Clemens an uncalled for advantage. Ever since the release of his book, Radomski’s credibility has been put into question. The defense can use even the slightest inconsistencies to plant some doubt in the mind of the jury.

Tags: Bases Loaded, Brian McNamee, Kirk Radomski, Major League Baseball, Roger Clemens, steroids, winstrol

Posted in steroid nation, Steroids and Anabolic Steroids, Steroids in Baseball

Kirk Radomski has been bumping into a lot of disputes lately, just after his book, “Bases Loaded”, had been available for preview. First there was this 2-time “correction” by George Mitchell, and now, Major League Baseball officials are not happy with what they’ve read.

Radomski wrote that players were summoned in order to tell them that they had positive results during tests for steroid use. According to the steroid dealer, one player approached him and told him that the commissioner’s office wanted him to drop by for that reason. The main problem with this is that testing during those times were introduced on an anonymous basis and that it would imply that the baseball officials had been trying to limit the number of athletes who would have positive results the next season by warning them early.

Rob Mandred, one of the drug test’s officials, tried to clarify the mistakes on the passage.

From The New York Times:

In a telephone interview Wednesday, Rob Manfred, baseball’s top drug-testing official, said that the passage in Radomski’s book was “categorically incorrect.”

“By no means were we involved in that process; any suggestion that we were involved is untrue,” he said.

What actually occurred in 2004, when anabolic steroids testing began in earnest, is murky. In his report on baseball and performance-enhancing drugs, George J. Mitchell said that at least one player was told in 2004 by the players union that he tested positive in 2003 and that he would be tested again in the coming weeks. Mitchell said other players who tested positive in 2003 might have received similar warnings from the union. He did not cite any attempts by the commissioner’s office to tell players about positive tests or warn them about coming tests.

Interestingly, there is some misinformation written on Radomski’s book. One of these is that he mentioned that Roger Clemens and Jose Canseco even if they had played together several times. Another is an incident with Dwight Gooden testing positive for cocaine use during the wrong year.

Tags: Bases Loaded, drug test, Kirk Radomski, Major League Baseball, Mitchell Report, Performance enhancing drugs, steroids

Posted in steroid nation, Steroids and Anabolic Steroids, Steroids in Baseball

The famous Mitchell Report lists down 90 current and former Major League Baseball players that had been using performance enhancing drugs. In order to create this list, George Mitchell needed the cooperation of steroid dealer Kirk Radomski who had provided anabolic steroids to different athletes. Radomski currently wrote a book, “Bases Loaded” that discusses how Mitchell attempted to tie athletes with steroid use. He wrote that before the release of the Mitchell Report, Mitchell himself asked him specific questions on the athletes. Mitchell had good information but needed a second source to confirm which of those players were using performance enhancing drugs. Mitchell needed Radomski to remember whom he had dealt with and make sure that the stories are correct. Radomski wrote that he didn’t have firsthand knowledge on some of the players that Mitchell asked about. These individuals were left out of the Mitchell Report.

Mitchell rebuts what Radomski had written, saying that the steroid dealer’s account on the conference was inaccurate.

From The New York Times:

“At no time did we raise the names of specific players who had not previously been identified to us by Mr. Radomski, including in the Dec. 11, 2007, telephone call,” John Clarke, a spokesman for Mitchell, said in an e-mail message Tuesday night.

This isn’t the first time Mitchell commented about what was written in Radomski’s book. The claims of the first dispute were similar to the second one.

On Monday, Mitchell disputed a separate passage in the book in which Radomski describes being asked by Mitchell about five high-profile major leaguers who were not among his customers. Radomski writes that Mitchell had suspicions about the five players and had been told by baseball officials that some had tested positive for steroids.

Radomski says he told Mitchell he had no firsthand knowledge linking these five players to drug use, and ultimately, only one of them was named in the report. Mitchell, however, said Monday that at no time did he raise with Radomski the names of specific players who had not previously been identified by Radomski.

While the publishers of the book have not yet released their comments on the ongoing dispute, “Bases Loaded” will be released in stores by next week.

Tags: Bases Loaded, George Mitchell, Kirk Radomski, Major League Baseball, Mitchell Report, Performance enhancing drugs, steroids

Posted in steroid nation, Steroids and Anabolic Steroids, Steroids in Baseball

After Kirk Radomski, a steroid supplier, appears and gives his statement in front of the federal grand jury, Roger Clemens might not be the only Major League Baseball celebrity in the hotseat. According to a source close to the investigation, Houston Astros star Miguel Tejada might face the same fate as Clemens. Tejada is one of the athletes identified in the Mitchell Report which gave out names of players who had been tested positive or had been reported to use anabolic steroids and other performance enhancing drugs. Tejada has been investigated by the FBI last January 2008 at the request of Rep. Henry Waxman amidst the athlete’s statement that he did not use any steroids. According to the Mitchell Report, however, a former teammate was able to purchase performance enhancing drugs from Tejada which the later got from Radomski.

From Daily News:

“It is often the case, for the sake of economy, for the Justice Department to name two or more defendants in a single indictment with respect to crimes that are related,” said former federal prosecutor Mathew Rosengart, now a partner at Manatt, Phelps and Phillips. “That seems to fit for Clemens and Tejada.”

Both players should be worried that the grand jury will authorize indictments.

“I’d be preparing for an indictment,” said William Callahan, a former federal prosecutor in New York and Washington who is now a consultant for law firms.

It is common for grand juries to deliver charges when asked by prosecutors and the bad news for Tejada, his defense lawyer won’t even be present in the proceedings. The grand jury for Clemens’ and possibly Tejada’s cases were hand picked by the court to investigate steroid use in various sports. They had been looking over the evidences for some time now and are definitely knowledgeable in this field.

Tags: Henry Waxman, Kirk Radomski, Major League Baseball, Miguel Tejada, Mitchell Report, Performance enhancing drugs, Roger Clemens, steroids

Posted in steroid nation, Steroids and Anabolic Steroids, Steroids in Baseball

Roger Clemens’ name has been quite the buzz in the recent Major League Baseball news. Have you ever wondered who is the man behind all these evidences and reports that have been released? It is federal agent Jeff Novitzky who now finds himself away from the back stage where he had been working for the past year.

Novitzky serves as the bridge between the prosecutors and two major witnesses to the Clemens case — convicted anabolic steroids dealer Kirk Radomski and Clemens’ then-trainer, Brian McNamee. Novitzky has been helping in the investigations and in gathering evidences to present to the grand jury. These will help determine if Clemens has been telling the truth in saying that he did not use any performance enhancing drugs.

From New York Times:

Novitzky uncovered evidence that Radomski was a steroids supplier who had provided major league players with performance-enhancing drugs. As part of Radomski’s plea agreement with the government, he helped lead Novitzky to McNamee, who like Radomski cooperated with George J. Mitchell’s investigation into the use of performance-enhancing drugs in baseball. A little more than a year ago, the Mitchell Report linked dozens of players — including Clemens — to performance-enhancing drugs. Much of what was in the report was based on information from Radomski and McNamee.

Two athletes had been found to use steroids based on McNamee’s accounts. These were Andy Pettitte (who has now declined a contract with the Yankees) and Chuck Knoblauch (who is currently not playing anymore). While the two have confirmed that McNamee had been providing them with performance enhancing drugs, it is still unknown when they will testify in Washington.

Tags: Andy Pettitte, Brian McNamee, Jeff Novitzky, Kirk Radomski, Major League Baseball, Performance enhancing drugs, Roger Clemens, steroids

Posted in steroid nation, Steroids and Anabolic Steroids, Steroids in Baseball