Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Drug Bust Will Shock the Sports World

An Orlando pharmaceutical company that allegedly sold steroids and other performance enhancers over the Internet was raided yesterday and it will have huge implications in the world of sports on the high school, college and professional levels.


The Albany, N.Y., Times Union and ABCNews.com are reporting that investigators in the year-old case uncovered evidence that testosterone and other performance-enhancing drugs may have been fraudulently prescribed over the Internet to current and former major league baseball and NFL players, college athletes, high school coaches, a former Mr. Olympia champion and another top contender in the bodybuilding competition.


Albany County District Attorney P. David Soares declined to name any consumers but former major league baseball pitcher Jason Grimsley is reported to be on the customer list.


A team doctor for the Pittsburg Steelers was also questioned by a New York investigator over allegedly using his personal credit card to purchase $150,000 in testosterone and human growth hormone in 2006.

The physician, Richard A. Rydze, told the investigator the drugs were for his private patients, the paper said, citing an unidentified person briefed on the interview.


I guarantee that there are a lot of athletes, trainers and coaches that are going to lose a lot of sleep over this. Major League Baseball has no one but themselves to blame for the drug problems that they are facing. The Barry Bonds situation has been a fiasco from the start and players like Jason Giambi, Sammy Sosa and Mark McGuire were allowed to explain away their rapid body growth and continue on in baseball bliss.



This investigation was a year in the making and while right now the authorities are focusing more on the pushers than the users the users names will eventually come out and after that there may be a drastic change in the sports scene, on all levels.

UPDATE
Jose Canseco, Evander Holyfield and Gary Matthews Jr. have all been mentioned today in connection with this investigation.