Baseball Slugger Bonds Linked to BALCO Indictments February 26, 2004
News Summary
San Francisco Giants superstar Barry Bonds has been linked to two of the four men indicted for supplying athletes with steroids and other performance-enhancing substances, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Feb. 13.Indictments were recently handed down to Victor Conte Jr., president and chief executive officer of Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO) in Burlingame, Calif.; James J. Valente, vice president of BALCO; former Olympic track coach Remi Korchemny; and trainer Greg Anderson.
Bonds, who has denied using performance-enhancing drugs, has publicly endorsed Conte and BALCO. In addition, Anderson is his personal weight trainer and long-time friend.
The documents claim that Anderson, who has several professional athletes as clients, played a key role in providing drugs to a "professional baseball player."
Attorney Michael Rains said the references could lead people to speculate that the baseball player is Bonds.
"I guess people will think what they're gonna think. I do know that Greg trained a number of other professional athletes, including other ballplayers. I know other ballplayers who Greg trained were subpoenaed to testify, and I think it would be simply inappropriate and pure speculation and just flat-out wrong that merely because there is reference to Greg and a pro baseball player that that has to be Barry Bonds, because I don't think it is. It's not Barry," said Rains.
Following the indictments, Bonds issued the following statement: "I am saddened by the news of the indictment against my trainer and friend. I don't know the state of the evidence, and it would be inappropriate to comment on this matter."
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