Sure, Barry. Next you'll tell us that "oral steroids isn't really steroids."
Bonds Said Unknowingly Used BALCO Supplements
story.news.yahoo.com
Fri Dec 3,12:38 PM ET Sports - Reuters
By Adam Tanner
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - San Francisco Giants (news) slugger Barry Bonds (news) told a grand jury last year that he unknowingly used substances at the heart of the BALCO steroid scandal, the San Francisco Chronicle reported on Friday.
The report comes on the same day that ABC News airs an interview with BALCO head Victor Conte in which he states he witnessed former Olympic sprint champion Marion Jones (news - web sites) using steroids in a drug program he devised.
Bonds and Jones are the two biggest names among many star athletes linked to BALCO, a San Francisco area lab which officially focused on nutritional supplements and blood testing. Both Bonds and Jones have praised BALCO's ZMA zinc supplement in public, but both have denied using steroids.
According to the Chronicle, a cautious Bonds told a closed-door federal grand jury he had received substances known as the clear and cream from his trainer Greg Anderson, who faces steroid distribution charges with Conte and two others.
But he said he believed he had received legal products to treat arthritis. "When he said it was flaxseed oil, I just said, 'Whatever,' the newspaper quoted Bonds as saying.
When Bonds won a record seventh Most Valuable Player award last month he cut off questioning about steroids, although he said: "No one ever helped me do anything except my father."
His attorney Mike Rains told Reuters last year that his client might have unknowingly taken steroids hidden in supplements made by BALCO. Rains scheduled a news conference in Oakland, California for later on Friday.
A person familiar with the grand jury transcripts said that of about 40 athletes to testify in the case, only Jones and Bonds denied knowingly taking steroids. The BALCO-related federal grand jury testimony is under court seal and prosecutors have declined to comment on their contents.
On Thursday, the San Francisco Chronicle reported New York Yankee Jason Giambi (news) told the grand jury he had used steroids. New York City newspapers reported on Friday that his legendary team is now seeking relief from paying him $82 million promised under his contract in the coming four years.
The renewed focus on the athletes linked to BALCO is apparently what Conte was seeking when he agreed to speak to ABC News 20/20 in a broadcast to air on Friday night. But his lawyers were dismayed by his statement that he helped track and field stars Marion Jones and Tim Montgomery (news - web sites) with steroids.
"I'm horribly disappointed," Troy Ellerman, who represents BALCO vice president Jim Valente, said when he learned of the interview contents. "This is surreal...oh, my gosh, why would he do it?"
Conte's lawyer Robert Holley, who had complained on Wednesday in court about the pretrial publicity in the case, also expressed surprise, but asked that he not be quoted on the issue. The BALCO trial could begin as early as next March. |
