The $20 million dollar Mitchell Report on anabolic steroids in professional baseball relied largely on the testimony of two former baseball trainers, Kirk Radomski and Brian McNamee. And the only reason the Mitchell Report contained such such evidence of steroid use by baseball players was because the Department of Justice forced Radomski and McNamee to cooperate with investigators from the Mitchell Report as a condition of their plea agreements. Was this an abuse of the government’s criminal powers? Was this legal? Was this ethical?
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I interviewed the Chris Bell, the director of “Bigger Stronger Faster” on the eve of the world premiere of his acclaimed steroid documentary last night at the Sundance Film Festival. There are a lot of interesting comments about anabolic steroids. But I thought readers of the Steroid Report would be particularly interested in Chris’ observations on Rep. Henry Waxman, the Congressman behind most of the steroids in baseball hearings:
Sphere: Related ContentSo I go into someone’s office who is a congressman and I’m a 33-year old kid at the time and I’m walking into his office… I’m really nervous. This guy is going to know it all – he’s going to have all the facts down, he’s going to be a politician, boom, boom, boom!”
David Soares was quoted comparing Signature Pharmacy to the powerful 1980s era cocaine cartels (at least the Hollywood version). Perhaps he sees himself as the star anti-steroid crusader in a future movie adaption about the steroid trafficking investigation?:
They’re living the lifestyle of the Tony Montanas of the ’70s and ’80s because they’re drug dealers…
The Albany District Attorney has spearheaded the investigation into the distribution of growth hormone, anabolic steroids and ancillary drugs by Signature Pharmacy and a network of longevity clinics. Physicians around the country were allegedly paid to write steroid prescriptions for patients they never examined. Read the rest of this entry »
Sphere: Related ContentMuch has been made of the lack of integrity in professional sports, most recently in baseball’s Mitchell Report, with revelations of widespread use of anabolic steroids, testosterone, and growth hormone. But few reporters seem to be interested in investigating the alleged improprieties of federal investigators involved in the crusade against doping in sports.
Roger Clemens’ defamation lawsuit against former trainer Brian McNamee vaguely hints at impropriety by federal investigators, including Jeff Novitsky, during their interrogation of McNamee. There is a long trail of alleged investigative misconduct that has followed Jeff Novitsky since the beginning of the BALCO scandal.
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The Mitchell Report made some nice weekend reading; it was a good piece of investigative journalism on the history of steroid use in professional baseball. I’ve offered my criticism of the Mitchell Report as being an overpriced review of secondary sources that was extensively documented elsewhere. But I must admit there was a good amount of primary source reporting in the testimony of Kirk Radomski and Brian McNamee (thanks to the U.S. Justice Department).
The allegations and naming of specific baseball players was the sensationalistic information that the public eagerly consumed. Some news organizations dismissed all of this as “hearsay.” This is incorrect. Willamette law professor Jeffrey Standen offers an excellent clarification: Read the rest of this entry »
Sphere: Related ContentSeveral months ago, Bill Llewellyn and Rick Collins told me about an independent filmmaker that was interested in hearing their perspective on the “steroid issue”; Chris Bell patiently spent several hours with each of them for on camera interviews. They had a good feeling about the film he was making finally hoping to see a truthful examination of anabolic steroids in society appear on the big screen.
I had the opportunity to meet Chris Bell, the director and screenwriter of “Bigger, Stronger, Faster,” at the 2007 Ironman Pro Expo in Pasadena thanks to an introduction from my good friend Rehan Jalali. After talking with Chris, I could understand why so many people were excited by this film. Clearly, Chris was striving for an open and honest examination of steroids free of the hysteria that is so commonplace nowadays. The irony is that it is most likely this same hysteria that makes financing of such independent documentaries possible. Read the rest of this entry »
Sphere: Related ContentDavid Jacobs, training partner of IFBB Pro bodybuilder Branch Warren, admitted to selling 40,000 vials of anabolic steroids and several thousand units of growth hormone as part of a sealed plea agreement earlier this month. The Plano-based national level bodybuilding competitor and personal trainer pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of conspiracy to distribute anabolic steroids. He was indicted in May 2007 as part of Operation Raw Deal. Read the rest of this entry »
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