Giambi subpoenaed by grand jury investigating steroid use

AP ^ | 10/20/03 | staff

[Nonstatist]

New York Yankees slugger Jason Giambi has been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury investigating a company that prescribes nutritional supplements for elite athletes, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Monday.

Before the second game of the World Series on Sunday, Giambi told the Chronicle, "Uh, yeah, I was," when asked if he had been subpoenaed in connection with the probe of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, or BALCO.

Giambi said he visited Burlingame, Calif.-based BALCO last fall before going on a tour of Japan with other major leaguers.

"I just asked about some vitamins and supplements and stuff like that," Giambi said. "No big deal."

BALCO, whose clients include San Francisco Giants star Barry Bonds and Oakland Raiders linebacker Bill Romanowski, was raided in early September by agents of the Internal Revenue Service and a San Mateo County narcotics task force.

Authorities have refused to discuss the case, and the focus of the grand jury is unclear. Officials with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, however, have said that earlier this year, a coach sent them a used syringe containing a designer steroid and said he got the substance from BALCO founder Victor Conte.

Conte, who told The Associated Press in an e-mail that about 40 athletes have been subpoenaed in the case, has said he was not the source of the substance in the syringe, a steroid called tetrahydrogestrinone, or THG.

Conte says that BALCO analyzes blood and urine samples from athletes, and then prescribes supplements to compensate for deficiencies in vitamins and minerals.

Although many of BALCO's star clients have not commented on the burgeoning case, the agent for U.S. shot put champion Kevin Toth told The Associated Press that Toth had been subpoenaed, and sprinter Kelli White told the San Francisco Chronicle that she too has been called to the grand jury. Testimony before the panel is expected to begin this week.

[Nonstatist]

Does anyone doubt that maybe Giambi and Bonds have had a little "help" along the way? Still, it doesent appear to have helped Giambi in hitting the high fastball..

[tallhappy]

I've noticed Giambi seems a lot less hulking than he used to be.

[11th Earl of Mar]

Officials with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency

They should be disbanded immediately. If the US can't solve harmful, street drugs, what makes anyone think that the gob'ment can irradicate sports supplements?

The Olympics ban many supplements sold over the counter in every health food store in America.

[justshutupandtakeit]

I am not sure that is really a government agency. Probably it is associated with the Olympic Committee.

[cgk]

There's a new WP article on this...naming SOME names.

Here: "USADA: Elite Athletes Using 'Designer' Steroid "

Snips:

BALCO's legal nutrition products have been used or endorsed by a long list of well-known athletes, including home run king Barry Bonds and track and field stars Marion Jones, Tim Montgomery and Kelli White.

BALCO trumpets on its Web sites its affiliation with track and field athletes, players in the NBA, NFL and Major League Baseball and tennis players. Among the dozens listed include Michael Chang, John Elway, Dan Marino, Bill Romanowski and Regina Jacobs. The company claims that Bonds came to BALCO in the winter of 2000.

"I'm just shocked by what they've been able to do for me," Bonds is quoted as saying in an article on the Web site.

This has been bumming me out ever since I read about it a week or so ago - when it came out in Track & Field News. One of my "idols", whose career I've followed for nearly 16 years now, did VERY well in Palo Alto - placed 2nd, and was ranked #1 in the world a month later. I'm praying her tests come back clean.