Who Is the Most Hated Figure in the BALCO Scandal?

Feb 7

Barry Bonds and Female Athletes Who Use Anabolic Steroids

It is hard to imagine a more unsympathetic or disliked figure in the BALCO scandal than Barry Bonds. The unpopularity of Bonds is undeniable but the media’s and general public’s treatment of female athletes implicated in the BALCO scandal is worse. Don’t believe me? Consider that the defense argument of elite sprint cyclist Tammy Thomas, while very similar to that of Bonds, was summarily dismissed by journalists covering the case. On the other hand, the unpopular Bonds has enjoyed scores of journalists and fans coming to his side, no matter their dislike of him, to support his innocence. Society has clearly demonized steroid users but nothing is more repulsive to the layperson than a woman who uses steroids. Not even Barry Bonds.

Sports writers and baseball fans love to talk about their dislike – or even outright hatred – of baseball home run king Barry Bonds. The federal government is no Barry Bonds fan either. The feds, in a morally inspired witch hunt against anabolic steroids, wanted to make an example out of Barry Bonds. Bonds has come to symbolize the infamous steroid era in baseball. The government hated Bonds so much that he became their primary target in the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO) doping scandal. The BALCO scandal has been identified by the media as the largest doping scandal in the history of competitive sports. A $55 million steroid witch-hunt has been organized, in large part, to bring down a single man. The feds have insufficient evidence to indict Bonds on steroid possession charges, so they have grossly abused/misused federal perjury laws in an attempt to convict Bonds for “lying” about his use of steroids. That is some serious dislike for Barry Bonds.

As Barry Bonds pejury trial approaches, we’ve seen people rushing to his defense. There is a movement among sports writers and sports bloggers, using the same defense argument presented by attorneys for BALCO cyclist Tammy Thomas, to spread the word that Barry Bonds may be innocent of criminal wrongdoing. I think the big question here is ‘where were these people during the Tammy Thomas trial?’

Jonathan Littman of Yahoo! Sports started the movement with an exclusive “blockbuster” announcement that Barry Bonds may be innocent of lying about the use of steroids. Littman’s “investigative journalism” led him to recently unsealed grand jury transcripts that apparently acknowledge that tetrahydrogestrinone (THG) was not illegal under the Anabolic Steroids Control Act of 1990; THG was not on the Major League Baseball prohibited substances list and, more importantly for purposes of legal proceedings, it was legal to possess and use. This is OLD NEWS. Where was Jonathan Littman during the Tammy Thomas trial? Has Littman done any research into the legal issues involving steroids during the post-BALCO era?

Mike Freeman, a national columnist for CBS Sports, explains the significance of the THG legal status to the Bonds perjury case:

Basically, the government has portrayed Bonds as a steroid cheat and someone who lied about using the Clear and is prosecuting Bonds for that lie. But if the Clear wasn't a steroid, then when Bonds testified he wasn't knowingly using steroids, he was telling the truth.

This isn't just a technicality. This is a major front falling in the government's case: that Bonds lied about using steroids. It appears he didn't.

The biggest issue is the government itself. They apparently knew that the Clear wasn't technically categorized as a steroid and still pursued a perjury case against Bonds anyway.

If all of this is accurate it's a gross abuse of power. It means the government is simply using Bonds' notoriety -- and infamy -- to make an example of him.

Where was Mike Freeman, with his astute observations, during the Tammy Thomas trial?

The sad part of the story is that sports writers, after several years of high-profile stories covering anabolic steroids in sports, are still grossly ignorant about the legal issues and pharmacological issues surrounding anabolic steroids.

Jonathan Littman thinks his investigation uncovered “blockbuster” new evidence. The mainstream press marvels at the discovery that THG was legal at the time of the BALCO scandal. Pitifully, this information has been widely available for years.

On February 12, 2004, in the indictment against the BALCO mastermind Victor Conte, the government identified tetrahydrogestrinone (THG) as a “misbranded drug” and specifically NOT an anabolic steroids or schedule III controlled substance.

On November 3, 2005, in the indictment against the BALCO designer steroid chemist Patrick Arnold, the government identified tetrahydrogestrinone (THG) as a “misbranded drug” and specifically NOT an anabolic steroids or schedule III controlled substance (like norbolethone).

On January 18, 2007, steroid expert published the authoritative steroid guide used by law enforcement in various countries entitled “Anabolics 2007” with a clear explanation of its legal status:

It was also technically legal to own in the U.S., being that it was unknown to lawmakers at the time the Anabolic Steroid Control Act was written. But with the international doping scandal that would come to surround BALCO Laboratories, any value that THG held as a "designer steroid" has since disappeared. This steroid was also added to the U.S. controlled substance list in January 2005. Victor Conte would serve several months in prison for his role in the BALCO scandal, due to the fact that an unknown drug like THG may have been legal to own, but it was not legal to sell.

Popular anabolic steroid websites have clearly stated the legal status of THG at the time of the BALCO scandal for years.

The use of tetrahydrogestrinone (THG) by several elite athletes led the US Congress to add it to the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2004 as a "Schedule III" controlled substance. THG, although pharmacologically defined as an anabolic-androgenic steroid, was legally defined as an "unapproved new drug" during its role in the BALCO scandal.

During the perjury trial of BALCO cyclist Tammy Thomas in March-April 2008, defense attorney Ethan Balogh presented the inconvenient fact that tetrahydrogestrinone (THG) was NOT legally classified as an “anabolic steroid” until the Anabolic Steroid Control Act of 2004 was passed; THG was one of the 26 compounds added to the Controlled Substances Act with this legislation. Consequently, THG was NOT a controlled substance until the passage of the legislation. Furthermore, THG was not on the WADA/IOC banned substances list at the time.

Why didn’t anyone learn that THG was legal to possess and use during the Tammy Thomas trial? Why did it take Barry Bonds and HIS perjury case to make this line of defense credible? The innumerable Barry Bonds detractors are willing to give credence to the latest exculpatory “new” evidence reported by Yahoo! Sports Jonathan Littman. Yet you would be hard-pressed to have found anyone sympathetic to this evidence during Tammy Thomas perjury trial? Why was this argument summarily dismissed by sports writers? Could it be that a female who uses anabolic steroids is hated even more than Barry Bonds?

The general public loves to ridicule the virilizing side effects that steroids can have for a woman; who can forget the derogatory bearded lady and gravelly voice jokes about Thomas. The side effect of increased muscularity in a man is admirable, attempts at demonization notwithstanding. Society has a love-hate relationship with male steroid user but has nothing but contempt for a female steroid user.

The most hated figure in the BALCO scandal: Barry Bonds or Tammy Thomas?

Sources:

“Bonds blockbuster: ‘The Clear’ was legal,” January 14, 2009

“This much is Clear: Bonds getting raw deal,” January 16, 2009

“Anabolics 2007: Anabolic Steroid Reference Manual,” Body of Science

“Tetrahydrogestrinone (THG) Steroid Profile,” MESO-Rx.com

“Live blog: Defense makes its case in the Tammy Thomas trial,” April 2, 2008

MESO-Rx – http://www.meso-rx.com

By Millard Baker

http://www.millardbaker.com

www.SteroidsRx.com