[benkenobi]

This is a bunch of BS that Bonds is saying. I'm sorry but the man A) should be stripped of ALL his records/awards, B) probably kicked out of baseball. Sorry guys I'm a huge baseball fan, and when guys get away with this stuff it drives me insane! It's time they laid down the law on steriods in baseball...


Bonds unknowingly used steroids
Believed BALCO products were legal supplements
By Rich Draper / MLB.com

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SAN FRANCISCO -- There's a new twist to the ongoing investigation into the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, known as BALCO, with Giants outfielder Barry Bonds reportedly telling a federal grand jury he used substances supplied by the company but didn't believe they were steroids.
According to a report on the San Francisco Chronicle's Web site late Thursday night, Bonds testified that he used a clear substance and cream during the 2003 season and was told by his personal trainer, Greg Anderson, they were nutritional supplement flaxseed oil and a rubbing balm for arthritis.

Prosecutors claim BALCO distributed undetectable steroids to athletes in the form of a clear substance taken orally and a cream rubbed onto the body.

Bonds has always denied he took steroids.

The Chronicle reported a transcript of Bonds' testimony revealed that prosecutors confronted him with documents and billing information which allegedly detailed Bonds' use of steroids, human growth hormone and other performance-enhancing substances between 2001 and 2003.

Bonds told his questioners that he had never seen the documents and had never paid Anderson for steroids. Bonds also said Anderson "wouldn't jeopardize our friendship" by giving him banned substances.

"Greg and I are friends," Bonds reportedly testified. "I never paid Greg for anything. ... You're going to bring up documents and more documents. I have never seen anything written by Greg Anderson on a piece of paper."

When asked about the allegations, Bonds' attorney Michael Raines told the Chronicle that he suspected the government leaked the secret testimony.

"My view has always been this case has been the U.S. vs. Bonds, and I think the government has moved in certain ways in a concerted effort to indict my client," said Rains. "And I think their failure to indict him has resulted in their attempts to smear him publicly."

Bonds told prosecutors that Anderson brought the products he believed to be legal supplements into the Giants' clubhouse at the San Francisco ballpark "once a homestand," according to the Chronicle.

Bonds reportedly testified, "I never asked Greg" [about what the products contained]. When he said it was flaxseed oil, I just said, 'Whatever.'

"It was in the ballpark ... in front of everybody. I mean, all the reporters, my teammates. I mean, they all saw it. I didn't hide it."

Yankees first baseman Jason Giambi and his brother Jeremy testified a week after Bonds that they had injected themselves with performance-enhancing drugs supplied by Anderson. Other players reportedly admitting they used such drugs were former Giants Benito Santiago, Bobby Estalella and Armando Rios.

Anderson was indicted on charges of money laundering and conspiracy to distribute steroids in February. His attorney told the Chronicle he never knowingly broke the law.

Before testifying, Bonds was reportedly told he would not be prosecuted for any crimes he admitted under oath if he answered questions truthfully, but could be subject to prosecution for perjury if he lied.

Bonds' long-time friend, Yankees outfielder Gary Sheffield, reportedly testified that Bonds arranged for him to receive "the cream" and "the clear" and "red beans" -- which prosecutors identified as steroids pills manufactured in Mexico -- while working out in the Bay Area prior to the 2002 season. Sheffield also said he was not told the substances were steroids.

Attorneys for Sheffield and Santiago were dismayed the grand jury secret testimony had been leaked, according to the Chronicle.


Rich Draper is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.