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French Violates Confidentiality Rules by Commenting on Armstrong Doping Tests

The French anti-doping agency violated confidentiality rules by commenting publicly on a doping sample obtained from cyclist Lance Armstrong. Jean-Pierre Verdy, the operating chief for the Agence Française de Lutte contre le Dopage (AFLD), told a Reuters reporter that the 8-time winner of France’s Tour de France was “surprised” by the unannounced request for a hair sample on March 17, 2009. Verdy made the comments after an AFLD press conference the following day. "He was surprised we asked for a hair sample, he asked some questions."

AFLD President Pierre Bordry told reporters during the press conference that the French anti-doping agency just learned that Armstrong was training in in Beaulieu-sur-Mer in southern France and immediately rushed to obtain hair, blood and urine samples from him. "He must know that he is like everybody else," said Bordry apparently oblivious to indications suggesting Armstrong has been specifically targeted by anti-doping testers. “To have done this test yesterday was a good way to make him realize that he is like everyone else.”

Lance Armstrong criticized the AFLD’s allegation that he was “surprised” by the hair sample request via a Twitter message posted after the AFLD press conference. “I'm never surprised anymore,” wrote Armstrong. ”What does surprise me is that AFLD feels the need to publicly comment on confidential matters.” Verdy reported that the hair sampling "troubled [Armstrong] quite a lot"; if it did, it may have been because the anti-doping testers “butchered” Armstrong’s hair requiring him to get a buzz cut.

Steroid testing involving hair sampling is permitted under French law. But the results are not recognized by international agencies governing doping and/or cycling. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) currently only use blood and urine tests to detect prohibited substances. Hair testing is simply not a reliable method for detecting doping agents.

“To date hair testing is not considered to be sufficiently reliable for sanctioning anti-doping violations by the vast majority of the experts that WADA consulted,” according to WADA spokesman Frederic Donze in an email to the Associated Press. “However, hair testing can provide valuable information that can lead to target testing by anti-doping organizations, for example.”

This brings into question the purpose of obtaining hair samples from Lance Armstrong that could not be used to prove a positive doping result anyway. The hair test is also very expensive costing approximately $500 Euros per test.

The real reasons the French anti-doping agency (AFLD) made a big issue out of Lance Armstrong’s hair sampling test may be somewhat more nefarious. The AFLD discussed Lance Armstrong as it released the results of its hair sampling study that purportedly revealed the widespread use of anabolic steroids in various sports, including cycling. The 2008 study randomly selected 138 athletes from football, rugby, cycling and athletics and found 22 contained traces of prohibited anabolic steroids in their hair samples. Most of the positive results involved the commonly used anti-aging supplement DHEA which has proven relatively useless as a performance enhancement agent. Only three samples allegedly tested positive for elevated testosterone use. Was the AFLD trying to implicate Lance Armstrong?

Given the unreliability and lack of validity of this doping method, the results are, for all intents and purposes, meaningless. DHEA and testosterone are naturally-occurring steroids in the human body. The determination of the origin of DHEA or testosterone detected via hair sampling may prevent widespread adoption of the anti-doping procedure for these substances. The actions by the AFLD represent a calculated and contrived attempt to revisit the issue of Lance Armstrong and rumors of doping.

Sources

“Armstrong’s hair tested in new anti-doping effort,” March 18, 2009

“A bad hair day for Lance Armstrong,” March 18, 2009

“Agency finds traces of banned steroid in French athletes,” March 18, 2009

By Millard Baker

http://www.millardbaker.com

www.steroidsrx.com

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Tejada Refused to Tell Congressional Investigators What He Knew About Steroids in Baseball

Major League baseball player Miguel Tejada was sentenced to one year probation and 100 hours of community service for the charge of making misrepresentations to Congress. Tejada pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge in February 2009; the Dominican Republic citizen faced up to six months in prison and deportation for refusing to tell Congressional investigators what he knew about steroid use in professional baseball.

The steroid witch-hunt that has swept through professional sports over the past several years has focused primarily on making an example out of athletes who allegedly used anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) such as human growth hormone (HGH). Federal prosecutors have found the Anabolic Steroid Control Act (which criminalizes the use and distribution of steroids) to be ineffective at making examples out of steroid-using athletes. Prosecutors have resorted to the use (arguably the misuse and abuse) of federal perjury laws to indict baseball players and other athletes suspected of using PEDs.

Miguel Tejada represents a unique case. Tejada has denied ever using any banned performance enhancing substance. The federal government has not accused Tejada of using steroids or even lying about his use of steroids. The government has explicitly admitted there is not sufficient evidence to prove that Tejada ever used steroids. He was not accused of perjury i.e. lying under oath. Instead, Tejada was accused of lying to Congressional investigators about his knowledge of steroid use by others in the MLB and his discussions with other MLB players about steroids.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia felt it was worthwhile to charge Miguel Tejada for lying to Congressional investigators when he told them that he had never used anabolic steroids nor had he any knowledge of other baseball players using (or even talking about). Tejada had denied awareness of any such discussions among his teammates or any participation in any such discussions during an August 26, 2005 interview (not under oath) with Congressional Committee interrogators.

Committee Staff: Has there been discussions among other players about steroids?

TEJADA: No, I never heard.

Committee Staff: You never heard any of that?

TEJADA: No. […]

Committee Staff: When you were playing with the Oakland A’s, they had a reputation in some places as a place where a lot of players used steroids; were you aware of that? […]

TEJADA: No.

Committee Staff: You never knew of any other player using steroids?

TEJADA: No.

Committee Staff: Or just that it was even an issue for some players? […]

TEJADA: I didn’t know any player.

The “Report to the Commissioner of Baseball of an Independent Investigation into the Illegal use of Steroids and Other Performance Enhancing Substances by Players in Major League Baseball” (“The Mitchell Report”) contained information that contradicted Tejada’s denials of steroid use among professional baseball players.

In 2003, Adam Piatt's locker was located next to Tejada's in the Oakland Athletics clubhouse. According to Piatt, Tejada asked specifically if he had any steroids. Piatt believed that Tejada asked him because Piatt was in good shape and generally friendly with him.

Piatt had several conversations with Tejada before a transaction occurred. Piatt admitted he had access to steroids and human growth hormone and agreed to obtain them for Tejada. Piatt recalled that he provided Tejada with testosterone or Deca-Durabolin, as well as human growth hormone. Piatt emphasized that he did not know whether Tejada actually used the substances.

Piatt's bank provided two checks deposited into Piatt's account that had been written to him from Miguel Tejada. The checks are dated March 21,2003 and are in the amounts of 53,100 and $3,200 respectively.

In light of the apparent contradictions, the leading steroid grandstander in Congress, Henry Waxman, requested that the Justice Department investigate whether Tejada lied to the House committee regarding his connections to Rafael Palmeiro. Palmeiro had accused Tejada of giving him a contaminated bottle of injectable Vitamin B-12 that allegedly caused him to test positive for stanozolol, the active ingredient in Winstrol. The government could not prove that Tejada ever used testosterone, Deca Durabolin or HGH; so they sought to prove he lied about ever talking to his teammate Adam Piatt about steroids.

Once the government obtained a conviction via Tejada’s guilty plea, federal prosecutors had nothing but praise for Miguel Tejada. U.S. Attorney Steven Durham thought Tejada was a wonderful and inspirational person who did not deserve to go to jail (but apparently only deserved to be subject to steroid trial in the court of public opinion):

He overcame extremely difficult economic circumstances in his childhood and, through considerable effort and dedication, became distinguished in his chosen profession. Others in his profession have described him as hard working, caring, and willing to share his time and knowledge with younger players and members of the public. He has given back to the community in which he was raised. He has maintained steady employment as a professional baseball player since 1993 and has been able to earn a substantial amount of money, a portion of which he has given to his father and his extended family in the Dominican Republic. He continues his ability to work, earn a regular income, and make positive contributions to society.

The praise of Tejada’s inspirational life story leads one to question why the government chose to prosecute Tejada in the first place. U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Alan Kay provides the answer and explained that Miguel Tejada’s misrepresentations to Congress threatened to jeopardize the entire institution of professional baseball!

"Your achievements do not minimize the seriousness of the violation that brings you before the court," Judge Kay told Tejada. According to Judge Kay, Congressional committees investigating steroids in baseball "were trying to protect the support that provides you and your fellow baseball players with a living."

Miguel Tejada apparently thwarted Congressional investigators who had the noble goal of protecting baseball from destruction by the villainous enemy represented by steroids.

It is beyond laughable that the government takes the steroid witch-hunt in baseball so seriously. The use of anabolic steroids in professional baseball has been a focal issue for Congressional leaders and federal prosecutors for several years. Prosecutors have somehow justified pursuing the relatively trivial issue of steroids in sports in spite of several major economic and financial issues facing our country. The government has found it worthwhile to pursue not only athletes who lie about their alleged steroid use but also athletes lie about fellow teammates who use steroids.

Sources

“Tejada sentenced to probation, community service,” March 26, 2009

“Tejada To Plead He Lied In Inquiry,” February 11, 2009

“FBI Begins Preliminary Inquiry Into Miguel Tejada's Steroids Testimony,” January 17, 2008

“Miguel Tejada excerpt from Mitchell Report,” December 13, 2007

By Millard Baker

http://www.millardbaker.com

www.steroidsrx.com

The Incredible Bulk Blames NFL Shortcomings on Addiction to Painkillers and Alcohol

Former NFL player Tony Mandarich admitted to abusing steroids, pain killers and alcohol while he played college football for Michigan State University. Mandarich acknowledged using the performance-enhancing drugs during an interview for Showtime’s Inside the NFL with Armen Keteyian in September 2008 after years of denying anabolic steroid use. The interviewed marked the first of Mandarich’s appearances on the interview circuit promoting his forthcoming book, “My Dirty Little Secrets - Steroids, Alcohol & God: The Tony Mandarich Story.” The official publication date of the book is March 23, 2009.

The fact that Tony Mandarich, or any college of professional football player for that matter, used anabolic steroids is not particularly earth-shattering. However, Mandarich’s insistence that he did not use anabolic steroids in the National Football League (NFL) seems dubious. Sports writers have embraced the story of redemption from the evils of anabolic steroid and prescription drug abuse; they have largely accepted Mandarich’s version of his performance-enhancing drug use without reservation.

"The way I cheated on the drug test in college would not have worked in the NFL," according to Mandarich. "That's why I stopped." His stated reason for discontinuing the use of steroids when he entered the NFL was the impossibility of avoiding detection by the NFL’s anti-doping testing procedures. The NFL number two overall draft pick in 1989 passed three collegiate drug tests for steroids: one in January 1988 before the Rose Bowl, one in January 1989 before the Gator Bowl, and one at the NFL-sponsored National Scouting Combines in February 1989.

Matt Chaney, the author of “Spiral of Denial: Muscle Doping in American Football”, does not believe Tony Mandarich is being completely honest about his steroid use in the NFL. “That’s illogical. Testing was and remains a joke in college football, but it’s just as useless in pro football or any other sport, as Mandarich surely knows,” according to the author of the definitive history of anabolic steroid use in American-style football. “Given his NCAA football experience, Mandarich assuredly didn’t fear NFL urinalysis, as he feigns today during interviews for the book. Moreover, he regained massive weight following an illness, including muscle, to come back at 311 pounds for Indianapolis in 1996.”

The former NFL draft bust for the Green Bay Packers made a successful comeback in 1996 and played for three seasons with the Indianapolis Colts. Mandarich gained 60 pounds of muscle in the year prior to returning to the NFL as big and strong as ever. He squatted 680 lbs.; the 1996 squat far exceeded his previous personal best squat of 550 lbs during his steroid-fuel college years. H recently joked that the gains were the result of “creatine.”

Tony Mandarich admits anabolic steroids contributed to his success in college but denies using steroids in the NFL even during his successful comeback in 1996 that was accompanied by massive weight and strength gains. Even though most people attribute Mandarich’s poor performance in Green Bay during the 1989-1991 seasons to the discontinuation of anabolic steroids, Mandarich is quick to redirect blame to his addiction to alcohol and Stadol. “There are other factors that were involved that nobody knows about that were way more of an effect on why I had the huge downfall in Green Bay than steroids (such as) drug and alcohol abuse,” explained Mandarich. He views his catastrophic bust in Green Bay as a reminder of "what alcohol can do to you."

Tony Mandarich’s denial of steroid use as an NFL football player remains one of the most puzzling admissions in his new autobiography. After making a steroid confessional following twenty years of denial, why would Mandarich selectively tell the truth about his history of performance enhancing drug use? “He doesn’t cross a certain line by alleging pervasive muscle doping in The League,” according to Matt Chaney. “He acknowledges problems both personal and institutional, like abuse of pain-killing drugs, yet he suggests anabolic steroids and HGH don’t impact competition.” And of course, a redemption story doesn’t work if the protagonist fails to repudiate ALL drug use, especially anabolic steroids.

Sources

“Twitter: @Tony_Mandarich,” March 16, 2009

“Media’s Dopey Redemption Theme Ridiculous for Baseball,” March 14, 2009

“Tony Mandarich explains why he stopped taking steroids in NFL,” March 10, 2009

“Tony Mandarich Is Very, Very Sorry,” March 9, 2009

“Showtime Inside the NFL with Armen Keteyian,” October 4, 2008

“Tony Mandarich eyeing NFL comeback,” April 25, 1996

“The Big Enchilada,” April 24, 1989

“Spiral of Denial: Muscle Doping in American Football” by Matt Chaney

“My Dirty Little Secrets - Steroids, Alcohol & God” by Tony Mandarich

By Millard Baker

http://www.millardbaker.com

www.SteroidsRx.com

Genetic Profile Determines Who Can Use Steroids Without Getting Caught

Athletes with East Asian ethnic backgrounds can use significant amounts of the anabolic steroid testosterone while avoiding detection by current doping protocols according to a study recently published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine (BJSM). The testosterone: epitestosterone ratio (T:E ratio) test is the standard doping procedure used to screen athletes for testosterone use by several sporting bodies including the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). WADA has established a threshold of 4.0 for T:E ratio as indicative of testosterone administration. Athletes who trigger the threshold are subjected to additional testing (carbon isotope ratio test) to determine if the elevated testosterone ratio can be attributed to synthetic testosterone.

A certain type of genetic variation called the UGT2B17 homozygous deletion/deletion genotype gives steroid tested athletes of Asian ethnicity a huge advantage over athletes lacking the genetic variation. Studies have shown that as many as 40% of athletes with UGT2B17 homozygous deletion/deletion genotype can take at least 500 mg of testosterone enanthate and still maintain a 4:1 T:E ratio. Athletes of Asian ethnic backgrounds are most likely to possess the “doping friendly” genotype.

The T:E ratio has long been known to be flawed and largely ineffective by individuals who worked with steroid tested athletes. Underground steroid guru Dan Duchaine first alerted athletes decades ago that some of them could get away with taking small amounts of testosterone even when tested. BALCO mastermind Victor Conte concurred more recently about the ease of beating the steroid testing system. Anti-doping experts such as Charles Yesalis and Don Catlin have also reluctantly acknowledged that this is true.

The T:E ratio test results in a lot of false negatives (athletes use testosterone but don’t get caught) as well as false positives (innocent athletes test positive for steroid use). "I could figure out how to take a fair amount of testosterone and you’d never catch me, and if I can say that, a lot of others can too," says Don Catlin.

The BJSM study was entitled “Steroid profiles of professional soccer players: an international comparative study”. It compared the steroid profile of 57 Africans, 32 Asians, 50 Caucasians and 32 Hispanics and found significant genetic variations among all ethnic groups when it came to the UGT2B17 gene. The study found that Asian athletes were more likely than other ethnic groups to possess the UGT2B17 deletion gene followed by Hispanics, Africans and Caucasians. Previous studies have suggested other ethnic groups may be even more likely to possess the doping advantageous genotype. The doping-friendly genetic variation was present in 78% of ethnic group identified as “Mulatto (Brazilian).”

The Swiss researchers concluded that the unique and non-specific T:E ratio of 4.0 was not a suitable anti-doping protocol. But rather than reject the flawed T:E ratio test, the researchers proposed a solution that would discriminate between different ethnic groups. They proposed ethnic specific thresholds for athletes such that ethnic groups with highest probability of the UGT2B17 deletion gene would face the most stringent threshold i.e. African:5.6; Asian:3.8; Caucasian:5.7; Hispanic:5.8.

The ethnic-specific thresholds are an inadequate solution for several reasons including, but not limited to, the increasingly multicultural composition of most societies. Furthermore, there is considerable intra-ethnic variability in the doping-friendly genotype. Eastern Asian ethnic groups are much significantly more likely to possess the UGT2B17 genotype than Asian Pacific groups. Koreans (78%) are more likely to possess the genotype than Japanese/Southern Asian/Southern Chinese (30.4%). So, ethnic-specific thresholds based on broad categories like Asians or Africans are too broad and consequently offer little advantage to the non-specific threshold of 4.0.

Testosterone was the very first anabolic-androgenic steroid to be isolated, synthesized, and administered in humans. It was the first steroid to be used by athletes for performance-enhancing purposes. Athletes have used it in sports competition for over 50 years. The use of the T:E ratio anti-doping test has not deterred much less eliminated the use of testosterone in sports. The testosterone loophole is indicative of the abysmal failure of anti-doping agencies at addressing doping in sports. If athletes can still get away with using the most basic, primary anabolic steroids, then they certainly are not fearful that anti-doping technology will ever catch up. A level playing field doesn’t exist even at the genotypic level even when it comes to the ability escape doping detection. Furthermore, could there be a rogue chemist who creates a pharmaceutical drug that can block the UGT2B17 enzyme or a scientist who can use gene therapy to alter the UGT2B17 gene?

Sources

“Steroid profiles of professional soccer players: an international comparative study,” March 12, 2009

“Ethnicity matters in detecting steroid use,” March 12, 2009

“Some Athletes’ Genes Help Outwit Doping Test,” April 30, 2008

“Common Doping Test for Athletes is Unfair (and Racist),” March 23, 2008

By Millard Baker

http://www.millardbaker.com

www.SteroidsRx.com

Biological Evidence Links Clemens to Anabolic Steroids

Former Major League Baseball strength and conditioning coach Brian McNamee claimed to have injected pitcher Roger Clemens with human growth hormone (HGH) and the anabolic steroids Winstrol, Deca Durabolin and Sustanon 250 in 1998, 2000 and 2001. The revelations were published in December 2007 as part of the Mitchell Report investigating steroid use in baseball. The federal prosecutors in San Francisco, who spearheaded the BALCO steroid investigation and steroid-related perjury charges against Barry Bonds, also compelled McNamee to provide testimony about his alleged participation in steroid use by Roger Clemens.

Roger Clemens adamantly denied the allegations by McNamee and mounted an aggressive public relations campaign to discredit Brian McNamee after the Mitchell Report was released. Clemens accused McNamee of lying in a January 6, 2008 interview with Mike Wallace on 60 Minutes. On January 7, 2008, Roger Clemens and his attorney Rusty Hardin held a press conference where they played a 17-minute audio transcript of a secretly recorded telephone conversation Clemens had with McNamee; Hardin attempted, somewhat incompetently, to convince the public that the ambiguous phone conversation bolstered his client’s credibility. Clemens’ legal team also filed a lawsuit against McNamee for defamation of character on the same day.

McNamee’s attorney Richard D. Emery responded harshly to the press conference arranged by Clemens stating, “It’s war now!” In response to the public relations tactics by Clemens and his legal team, McNamee provided federal prosecutors with steroid paraphernalia containing biological evidence supporting his contention that he injected Clemens with steroids. The so-called evidence included a used needles/syringes, ampoules, and blood-soaked gauze pads; McNamee saved the evidence in an empty Miller Lite beer can which was packaged in a FedEx box for storage in his basement for over seven years!

Brian McNamee recently recounted the story behind the specific steroid paraphernalia given to the government. The specific steroid injection in question occurred in Roger Clemen’s Manhattan high-rise apartment in July/August 2001:

Roger Clemens denied the use of anabolic steroid and performance enhancing drugs under oath during testimony in front of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on February 13, 2008. Chairman Henry Waxman and ranking Republican Tom Davis identified seven inconsistencies in the testimony of Clemens and referred the case to the Justice Department. In January 2009, the Justice Department convened a grand jury to formally consider charges of perjury against Clemens.

On February 2, 2009, the Washington Post reported that federal authorities had linked the steroid syringes/needles with Roger Clemens’ DNA. The link between steroids and Roger Clemens was further bolstered when banned anabolic steroids were also discovered in the syringe according to a report by Michael Schmidt of the New York Times on March 9, 2009.

Rusty Hardin, Clemens’ lead defense attorney, has dismissed the steroid paraphernalia manufactured evidence that represents another fabrication by Brian McNamee.

Hardin continued his attacks on the credibility of McNamee while claiming that Roger Clemens never used anabolic steroids or HGH. “Duh,” said Hardin. “Do you really think McNamee was going to fabricate this stuff and not make sure there were substances on there? The fact is Roger never used steroids or H.G.H.”

However, legal experts believe the evidence will be admissible in court should a grand jury indict Roger Clemens on perjury-related charges. UCLA law professor Jennifer Mnookin believes a judge will allow a jury to assess credibility of the evidence.

“The presence of Clemens’s DNA alone makes these materials an important part of the case and makes it likely that the judge would let them in and let the jury weigh whether to believe that they are authentic,” she said.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia will ask the grand jury to indict Roger Clemens on steroid-related perjury charges based on what they consider “overwhelming” evidence that he lied to federal authorities.

Sources

“Clemens Case Sinking Fast,” March 11, 2009

“Banned Substances Found on Materials Linked to Clemens,” March 9, 2009

“Grand jury to consider Roger Clemens perjury evidence; Brian McNamee set for end-of-week interview,” January 13, 2009

“Clemens’ DNA is Linked to Syringes,” February 2, 2009

“Clemens’s Lawyer Plays Tape of McNamee Call,” January 8, 2008

By Millard Baker

http://www.millardbaker.com

www.steroidsrx.com