Jason Giambi Admits Steroids Use

Giambi admits using steroids (ESPN)

Jason Giambi admitted to a federal grand jury he took steroids and human growth hormone in 2003, according to transcripts of testimony obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle and published in the newspaper’s Thursday editions. The New York Yankees slugger’s admission in December 2003 contradicts denials he has made since then that he never took performance-enhancing drugs.

But in the testimony obtained by the Chronicle, the former American League MVP told the grand jury investigating the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative steroids case he used steroids obtained from Greg Anderson, the personal trainer for San Francisco Giants star Barry Bonds. Giambi did not implicate Bonds in his testimony; he pointed out that Anderson was secretive about who he was working for and what he was doing to help other professional athletes.

A shame, although hardly surprising. My guess is that the late Ken Caminiti was not far from wrong when he claimed that half of major leaguers have used performance-enhancing drugs.

Update: Jeff Quinton is on this one, too.

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James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor and Department Head of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.

Comments

  1. Mark Hasty says:

    Supposedly there’s an interview coming up Friday in which one of the BALCO operatives is going to name names . . . it wouldn’t suprise me if a couple more steroid users decide to fess up before their names get dragged through the muck.

  2. 42nd SSD says:

    Eventually we’ll need to come to grips with the reality that athletes can and will use “performance-enhancing” drugs. It’s too lucrative a market for the dealers and too attractive an idea for the athletes, and the professionals have the money to spend.

    An interesting take on the issue is Paul Kimmage’s “Rough Ride”, which was written many years ago but still applies today. Amphetamines, steroids and even relatively esoteric drugs such as EPO were (and, I’m sure still are) (ab)used by by at least a few cyclists. He compared it to the ever-escalating US/Soviet arms race, both in terms of the users and the detection strategies, and there’s definitely something to that idea.

    As I see it, we can continue to ostracize the few who are caught and greatly increase the risks for the many; or, acknowledge the reality, try to set reasonable limits, and recognize that modern professional sports are getting closer to performance art than real competition.

    Is condoning steroid use ultimately to the benefit of society? No. But we can’t stop it either, and I’m not convinced the ostracizing deters very many potential users. It may even have the opposite effect, in that a lot of incorrect information is being spread about their appropriate uses, benefits and drawbacks.

    I don’t like it either. But what I like even less is the glamorous aura surrounding professional sports. As in the fashion industry, much of it is a dirty, ugly business.

  3. andy from Twins Killings says:

    Hey, can you please add me to the links about the Giambi scandal. I have a lenghty post about it on my blog…

    http://twins.mostvaluablenetwork.com