Steroids' reach grows, By: Pete Iorizzo
February 28, 2007
Clarification: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported several athletes were linked to Signature Pharmacy in Orlando. In fact, the names of former professional boxer and heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield, Los Angeles Angels center fielder Gary Matthews Jr., and retired baseball star Jose Canseco, an admitted steroid user, were allegedly included on customer lists for Applied Pharmacy Services in Mobile, Ala., whose two owners have been indicted by an Albany County grand jury.
Tuesday's raid of an Orlando, Fla., pharmacy accused of trafficking performance-enhancing drugs over the Internet may prove to be one of the most significant steroids busts in history, a leading expert said.
Sources said the investigation, led by Albany County District Attorney David Soares' office, revealed that Signature Pharmacy customers included several former and current professional athletes.
Among those linked to the company were former Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Jason Grimsley and a team doctor for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
In a related case in Mobile, Ala., two owners of Applied Pharmacy Services have been indicted by an Albany County grand jury. Their customer list allegedly includes former professional boxer and heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield, Los Angeles Angels center fielder Gary Matthews Jr., and retired baseball star Jose Canseco, an admitted steroid user.
More names of professional athletes, college athletes and even high school coaches may surface as the investigation continues.
"This has the potential to be a huge story," said Gary Wadler, a physician and member of the World Anti-Doping Agency's prohibited list and methods committee. "The question is, will it result in actions that try to deal with this problem?"
Steroids long has been a salient issue in sports, from stories in the 1950s about weightlifters using testosterone to the 2005 congressional hearings about performance-enhancing drugs in baseball. But rare is the instance when so many high-profile athletes across different sports are connected to an accused steroids provider.
Representatives for the athletes alleged to be customers of the pharmacy said they only learned about the investigation Tuesday.
Tim Mead, the Angels' vice president for communications, said he informed Matthews Jr. about the Times Union report before a spring training game Tuesday.
"There's nothing much to say," Mead said. "A name is mentioned. It's sketchy at best. Certainly as we acquire more information, we'll look into it."
Matthews Jr., a 32-year-old veteran, signed a $50 million contract with the Angels this past off-season. He enjoyed a career year in 2006, batting .313 and hitting 19 home runs for the Texas Rangers.
The agents for Matthews Jr. and Grimsley declined comment, as did a spokesman for Major League Baseball.
Representatives from the Steelers, as well as the doctor, repeatedly declined comment when contacted over the past two weeks.
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said, "We just became aware of this, and we will look into it."
A spokesman for Holyfield said when the former heavyweight champion was asked about Signature Pharmacy, Holyfield said he never heard of the company.
Holyfield, 44, is slated to fight Vinny Maddalone on March 17 in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Wadler, an associate professor at the New York University School of Medicine and lead author of the book "Drugs and the Athlete," said he wasn't taken aback by the revelations. He said because of poor testing standards in professional sports, athletes only tend to be caught when their names surface in connection with trafficking stings.
"Does this surprise me? No," Wadler said. "It's almost an inevitability."
Links between steroids and sports can be traced to the world's first organized competitions, when ancient Greek wrestlers ate meat for weeks to build muscle. By the 1950s, athletes experimented with testosterone. And during the 1980s, a black market for performance-enhancing drugs ballooned, leading to some of the first anti-doping policies in professional and Olympic sports.
Today, both the NFL and MLB test for some performance-enhancing drugs and outline penalties for those caught doping. But even with stricter rules and more public awareness, questions shroud some of the sports world's predominant figures.
Wadler said he believes more athletes than the public might guess use performance-enhancing drugs.
"I'm very sad to say, none of this surprises me anymore," he said.
