San Francisco Chronicle Sat. April 3rd. 2004
Laboratory samples that could show whether Barry Bonds and six other major-league baseball players used a designer steroid during the 2003 season still exist and are being sought by the federal grand jury that heard their testimony.
When the grand jury first subpoenaed the results of last year's drug testing of baseball players, it was believed that only written reports existed, but four sources with knowledge of the subpoena process told The Chronicle the actual urine samples remained and could be retested.
This is significant because one substance allegedly provided to athletes by the Burlingame nutritional supplements lab BALCO was THG, a designer steroid that was unknown when major-league baseball players were tested -- and thus couldn't be detected. Now it has been banned by baseball and can be detected through testing.
Bonds' attorney Michael Rains, when told that the samples existed, speculated that the government might want to use them to try to make a perjury case against players if their grand jury testimony was contradicted by test results. But he said Bonds had nothing to worry about.
The samples have become the subject of a legal struggle between the Major League Baseball Players Association and a San Francisco grand jury, which in February indicted Bonds' weight trainer and three other men on steroid conspiracy charges in connection with drugs allegedly distributed by BALCO. During the investigation, seven big-league players were summoned to testify before the grand jury. Early this year, the grand jury issued subpoenas to the two firms that administered baseball's first-ever steroids testing and have custody of the samples.
Baseball's drug testing was supposed to be anonymous, aimed not at identifying players but determining whether steroid use among them was widespread enough to justify regular testing and discipline for those subsequently caught with performance-enhancing drugs in their systems.
But after baseball announced that between 5 and 7 percent of tests found evidence of steroid use, the grand jury subpoenaed all documents and materials related to results of the testing.
If the government were to secure samples, it could do its own retesting for performance-enhancers, including THG.
At first, the grand jury sought the testing results of all major-league baseball players. After negotiations with the players' union and the testing agencies, the subpoena was reissued last month and was limited to the results of the seven players who testified.
In addition to Bonds, the other baseball players who testified were Yankees stars Jason Giambi and Gary Sheffield; Giambi's brother and former A's outfielder Jeremy; and former Giants Benito Santiago, Armando Rios and Bobby Estalella.
The Chronicle reported last month that federal investigators were told Bonds, Jason Giambi, Sheffield and Santiago received THG and a testosterone- based substance known as "the cream" from BALCO through Greg Anderson, Bonds' trainer. All of the athletes have denied wrongdoing.
A response to the subpoena is due Thursday, and it's unclear whether the union intends to comply or file a motion to quash.
"For the union and for Major League Baseball to just succumb to the subpoenas is a complete contradiction of what they told the players that this whole program was supposed to be about -- which is that it's confidential," said Rains, who said he had done extensive work in negotiating union contracts and saw this as mainly a labor concern.
Several lawyers connected to the case have said athletes had been given stiff warnings by the government prior to testifying that they could face perjury charges if they lied.
Oakland A's pitcher Tim Hudson, a former player representative, said Friday that he believed the union would fight the subpoena.
"I think as a union we should definitely do whatever is right to try to protect those players," Hudson said, "and I'm sure they will. ...I believe they will fight it. ...
"The players aren't the ones being investigated here in this whole BALCO thing. It's unfortunate that the players who are somehow involved with these people are getting dragged though the mud."
As for the possibility that the government could use the test samples in a perjury prosecution, Hudson said:
"That's not right. That's entrapment."
Giants relief pitcher Chad Zerbe, the team's player union representative, agrees about the subpoena.
"That should be fought," he said. "It's not like it was a test for the grand jury. ... No one's supposed to know who tested positive."
The commissioner's office and the players' association last year contracted with two firms to implement its testing program. Long Beach's Comprehensive Drug Testing coordinated the collection of specimens and compiled the data. Quest Diagnostics of Teterboro, N.J., performed the analyses on baseball's 1,438 urine samples, which were to be preserved until an agreed-upon time. Typically, samples are preserved by freezing; if handled properly, some experts say, they can be used for retesting years later.
The Collective Bargaining Agreement between the players and the owners called for all materials related to the testing program to be destroyed on an unspecified date after results of all tests had been calculated. But before that could happen, the subpoenas were issued.
Laboratory samples that could show whether Barry Bonds and six other major-league baseball players used a designer steroid during the 2003 season still exist and are being sought by the federal grand jury that heard their testimony.
When the grand jury first subpoenaed the results of last year's drug testing of baseball players, it was believed that only written reports existed, but four sources with knowledge of the subpoena process told The Chronicle the actual urine samples remained and could be retested.
This is significant because one substance allegedly provided to athletes by the Burlingame nutritional supplements lab BALCO was THG, a designer steroid that was unknown when major-league baseball players were tested -- and thus couldn't be detected. Now it has been banned by baseball and can be detected through testing.
Bonds' attorney Michael Rains, when told that the samples existed, speculated that the government might want to use them to try to make a perjury case against players if their grand jury testimony was contradicted by test results. But he said Bonds had nothing to worry about.
The samples have become the subject of a legal struggle between the Major League Baseball Players Association and a San Francisco grand jury, which in February indicted Bonds' weight trainer and three other men on steroid conspiracy charges in connection with drugs allegedly distributed by BALCO. During the investigation, seven big-league players were summoned to testify before the grand jury. Early this year, the grand jury issued subpoenas to the two firms that administered baseball's first-ever steroids testing and have custody of the samples.
Baseball's drug testing was supposed to be anonymous, aimed not at identifying players but determining whether steroid use among them was widespread enough to justify regular testing and discipline for those subsequently caught with performance-enhancing drugs in their systems.
But after baseball announced that between 5 and 7 percent of tests found evidence of steroid use, the grand jury subpoenaed all documents and materials related to results of the testing.
If the government were to secure samples, it could do its own retesting for performance-enhancers, including THG.
At first, the grand jury sought the testing results of all major-league baseball players. After negotiations with the players' union and the testing agencies, the subpoena was reissued last month and was limited to the results of the seven players who testified.
In addition to Bonds, the other baseball players who testified were Yankees stars Jason Giambi and Gary Sheffield; Giambi's brother and former A's outfielder Jeremy; and former Giants Benito Santiago, Armando Rios and Bobby Estalella.
The Chronicle reported last month that federal investigators were told Bonds, Jason Giambi, Sheffield and Santiago received THG and a testosterone- based substance known as "the cream" from BALCO through Greg Anderson, Bonds' trainer. All of the athletes have denied wrongdoing.
A response to the subpoena is due Thursday, and it's unclear whether the union intends to comply or file a motion to quash.
"For the union and for Major League Baseball to just succumb to the subpoenas is a complete contradiction of what they told the players that this whole program was supposed to be about -- which is that it's confidential," said Rains, who said he had done extensive work in negotiating union contracts and saw this as mainly a labor concern.
Several lawyers connected to the case have said athletes had been given stiff warnings by the government prior to testifying that they could face perjury charges if they lied.
Oakland A's pitcher Tim Hudson, a former player representative, said Friday that he believed the union would fight the subpoena.
"I think as a union we should definitely do whatever is right to try to protect those players," Hudson said, "and I'm sure they will. ...I believe they will fight it. ...
"The players aren't the ones being investigated here in this whole BALCO thing. It's unfortunate that the players who are somehow involved with these people are getting dragged though the mud."
As for the possibility that the government could use the test samples in a perjury prosecution, Hudson said:
"That's not right. That's entrapment."
Giants relief pitcher Chad Zerbe, the team's player union representative, agrees about the subpoena.
"That should be fought," he said. "It's not like it was a test for the grand jury. ... No one's supposed to know who tested positive."
The commissioner's office and the players' association last year contracted with two firms to implement its testing program. Long Beach's Comprehensive Drug Testing coordinated the collection of specimens and compiled the data. Quest Diagnostics of Teterboro, N.J., performed the analyses on baseball's 1,438 urine samples, which were to be preserved until an agreed-upon time. Typically, samples are preserved by freezing; if handled properly, some experts say, they can be used for retesting years later.
The Collective Bargaining Agreement between the players and the owners called for all materials related to the testing program to be destroyed on an unspecified date after results of all tests had been calculated. But before that could happen, the subpoenas were issued.
